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Trim them well, scraping the bones; roll them in a little melted butter
or oil, season, and broil them; or they are nice egged, bread-crumbed,
and fried. They are especially nice when broiled, served around a bed of
mashed boiled potatoes: the cutlets help to season the potatoes, which
in turn well suit the meat. Tomato-sauce is also a favorite companion to
the cutlets. They may, however, be served with almost any kind of
vegetables, such as pease or string-beans, in the centre of the dish,
and the cutlets arranged in a circle around.
RAGOUTS (_made of Pieces of Mutton, Veal, Beef, or Rabbits_).
Cut the upper parts, or the neck, from a fore-quarter of mutton (or take
inferior cuts from any part) into pieces for a ragout; heat a heaping
table-spoonful of drippings, or lard, in a saucepan, and when hot
_sauté_ in it the pieces of mutton (say two pounds) until they are
almost done; take them out, put in a table-spoonful of flour, brown it,
add at first a little cold or lukewarm water, mix it well, then add a
quart of boiling water; now add also salt, Cayenne pepper, two cloves,
the pieces of _sautéd_ meat, three or four onions (not large), and six
or seven peeled potatoes. Some prefer to boil the potatoes a few minutes
in other water first, as the water in which potatoes are boiled is
considered unwholesome; cover the stew-pan well. When the vegetables are
cooked, take them and the meat out, skim off every particle of fat from
the gravy, taste to see if it is properly seasoned, pour it over the
ragout, and serve.
These ragouts can be made with the neck, or any pieces of veal, in the
same manner, or with pieces of beef, in which case carrots might be
substituted for the potatoes. A ragout of rabbits is most excellent made
in the same way, adding a glassful of red wine when it is almost done.
In buying a fore quarter of mutton, there are enough trimmings for a
good ragout, with a shapely roast besides.
ANOTHER RAGOUT (_of Pieces of Mutton, Veal, Beef, etc._).
Make rich pie-paste about the size of an egg (for four persons); roll it
a quarter of an inch thick; cut it into diamonds, say an inch long and
half an inch broad. Bake them, and put them aside until five minutes
before serving the ragout. Take mutton, veal, beef, or almost any kind
of meat. Any cheap cut of meat will make a good ragout, and choice cuts
had better be cooked in other ways. In this instance, I will say, cut
two pounds from the side of mutton. Put a table-spoonful of lard or
drippings into a saucepan, and when hot _sauté_ in it the pieces of
mutton; when half done, place them in a kettle. Add a heaping
table-spoonful of flour to the drippings in the saucepan; stir it
constantly several minutes to brown, then add gradually a pint of hot
water; now pour this over the meat in the kettle, adding three small
onions, two sprigs of parsley, three cloves, and a clove or bulb of
garlic, if you have it; pepper and salt. Cover it closely, and let it
simmer slowly for an hour, occasionally turning the kettle to one side
to skim off all the fat. Five minutes before serving, add the diamonds
of crust.
At the moment of serving, take out the meat, crust, and three onions,
and arrange them on a hot platter. Pass the gravy through a sieve, and
skim off every remaining particle of fat; taste to see if it is properly
seasoned with pepper and salt, and pour it over the meat.