If your butcher has not done it,—and the chances are that he has not,
unless you stood by to see it attended to,—trim off the superfluous fat
and skin, so as to give the chops a certain litheness and elegance of
shape. Dip each in beaten egg, roll in pounded cracker, and fry in hot
lard or dripping. If the fat is unsalted, sprinkle the chops with salt
before rolling in the egg. Serve up dry and hot.
_Or,_
You may omit the egg and cracker, and broil on a gridiron over a bright
fire. Put a little salt and pepper upon each chop, and butter them
before they go to table. Cook lamb chops in the same way.
MUTTON CUTLETS. (_Baked_).
Cut them from the neck, and trim neatly. Lay aside the bits of bone
and meat you cut off, to make gravy. Pour a little melted butter over
the cutlets, and let them lie in it for fifteen minutes, keeping them
just warm enough to prevent the butter from hardening; then dip each in
beaten egg, roll in cracker-crumbs, and lay them in your dripping-pan
with a _very_ little water at the bottom. Bake quickly, and baste often
with butter and water. Put on the bones, etc., in enough cold water to
cover them; stew, and season with sweet herbs, pepper, and salt, with a
spoonful of tomato catsup. Strain when all the substance is extracted
from the meat and bones; thicken with browned flour, and pour over the
cutlets when they are served.