Book of Household Management — 033 - Recipes. Chapter 15. Part 1.

703. INGREDIENTS.

--The remains of any joint of cold roast mutton, 1 or 2 onions, 1 bunch of savoury herbs, pepper and salt to taste, 2 blades of pounded mace or nutmeg, 2 tablespoonfuls of gravy, mashed potatoes.

_Mode_.

--Mince an onion rather fine, and fry it a light-brown colour;

add the herbs and mutton, both of which should be also finely minced and well mixed; season with pepper and salt, and a little pounded mace or nutmeg, and moisten with the above proportion of gravy.

Put a layer of mashed potatoes at the bottom of a dish, then the mutton, and then another layer of potatoes, and bake for about 1/2 hour.

_Time_.

--1/2 hour.

_Average cost_, exclusive of the meat, 4d.

_Seasonable_ at any time.

_Note_.

--If there should be a large quantity of meat, use 2 onions instead of 1. BOILED BREAST OF MUTTON AND CAPER SAUCE.

704. INGREDIENTS.

--Breast of mutton, bread crumbs, 2 tablespoonfuls of minced savoury herbs (put a large proportion of parsley), pepper and salt to taste.

_Mode_.

--Cut off the superfluous fat; bone it; sprinkle over a layer of bread crumbs, minced herbs, and seasoning; roll, and bind it up firmly.

Boil _gently_ for 2 hours, remove the tape, and serve with caper sauce, No. 382, a little of which should be poured over the meat.

_Time_.

--2 hours.

_Average cost_, 6d.

per lb.

_Sufficient_ for 4 or 6 persons.

_Seasonable_ all the year.

BOILED LEG OF MUTTON.

705. INGREDIENTS.

--Mutton, water, salt.

_Mode_.

--A.

leg of mutton for boiling should not hang too long, as it will not look a good colour when dressed.

Cut off the shank-bone, trim the knuckle, and wash and wipe it very clean; plunge it into sufficient boiling water to cover it; let it boil up, then draw the saucepan to the side of the fire, where it should remain till the finger can be borne in the water.

Then place it sufficiently near the fire, that the water may gently simmer, and be very careful that it does not boil fast, or the meat will be hard.

Skim well, add a little salt, and in about 2-1/4 hours after the water begins to simmer, a moderate-sized leg of mutton will be done.

Serve with carrots and mashed turnips, which may be boiled with the meat, and send caper sauce (No. 382) to table with it in a tureen.

_Time_.

--A moderate-sized leg of mutton of 9 lbs.

, 2-1/4 hours after the water boils; one of 12 lbs.

, 3 hours.

_Average cost_, 8-1/2d.

per lb.

_Sufficient_.

--A moderate-sized leg of mutton for 6 or 8 persons.

_Seasonable_ nearly all the year, but not so good in June, July, and August.

_Note_.

--When meat is liked very _thoroughly_ cooked, allow more time than stated above.

The liquor this joint was boiled in should be converted into soup.

THE GOOD SHEPHERD.

--The sheep's complete dependence upon the shepherd for protection from its numerous enemies is frequently referred to in the Bible; thus the Psalmist likens himself to a lost sheep, and prays the Almighty to seek his servant; and our Saviour, when despatching his twelve chosen disciples to preach the Gospel amongst their unbelieving brethren, compares them to lambs going amongst wolves.

The shepherd of the East, by kind treatment, calls forth from his sheep unmistakable signs of affection.

The sheep obey his voice and recognize the names by which he calls them, and they follow him in and out of the fold.

The beautiful figure of the "good shepherd," which so often occurs in the New Testament, expresses the tenderness of the Saviour for mankind.

"The good shepherd giveth his life for the sheep."

--_John_, x. 11. "I am the good shepherd, and know my sheep, and am known by mine."

--_John_, x. 14. "And other sheep I have which are not of this fold: them also I must bring, and they shall hear my voice: and there shall be one fold and one shepherd."

--_John_, x. 16. BONED LEG OF MUTTON STUFFED.

706. INGREDIENTS.

--A small leg of mutton, weighing 6 or 7 lbs.

, forcemeat, No. 417, 2 shalots finely minced.

_Mode_.

--Make a forcemeat by recipe No. 417, to which add 2 finely-minced shalots.

Bone the leg of mutton, without spoiling the skin, and cut off a great deal of the fat.

Fill the hole up whence the bone was taken, with the forcemeat, and sew it up underneath, to prevent its falling out.

Bind and tie it up compactly, and roast it before a nice clear fire for about 2-1/2 hours or rather longer; remove the tape and send it to table with a good gravy.

It may be glazed or not, as preferred.

_Time_.

--2-1/2 hours, or rather longer.

_Average cost_, 4s.

8d.

_Sufficient_ for 6 or 7 persons.

_Seasonable_ at any time.

BRAISED FILLET OF MUTTON, with French Beans.

707. INGREDIENTS.

--The chump end of a loin of mutton, buttered paper, French beans, a little glaze, 1 pint of gravy.

_Mode_.

--Roll up the mutton in a piece of buttered paper, roast it for 2 hours, and do not allow it to acquire the least colour.

Have ready some French beans, boiled, and drained on a sieve; remove the paper from the mutton, glaze it; just heat up the beans in the gravy, and lay them on the dish with the meat over them.

The remainder of the gravy may be strained, and sent to table in a tureen.

_Time_.

--2 hours.

_Average cost_, 8-1/2d.

per lb.

_Sufficient_ for 4 or 5 persons.

_Seasonable_ at any time.

VARIOUS QUALITIES OF MUTTON--Mutton is, undoubtedly, the meat most generally used in families; and, both by connoisseurs and medical men, it stands first in favour, whether its the favour, digestible qualifications, or general wholesomeness, be considered.

Of all mutton, that furnished by South-Down sheep is the most highly esteemed; it is also the dearest, on account of its scarcity, and the great demand of it.

Therefore, if the housekeeper is told by the butcher that he has not any in his shop, it should not occasion disappointment to the purchaser.

The London and other markets are chiefly supplied with sheep called half-breeds, which are a cross between the Down and Lincoln or Leicester.

These half-breeds make a greater weight of mutton than the true South-Downs, and, for this very desirable qualification, they are preferred by the great sheep-masters.

The legs of this mutton range from 7 to 11 lbs.

in weight; the shoulders, necks, or loins, about 6 to 9 lbs.

; and if care is taken not to purchase it; the shoulders, necks, or loins, about 8 to 9 lbs.

; and it cure is taken not to purchase it too fat, it will be found the most satisfactory and economical mutton that can be bought.

BRAISED LEG OF MUTTON.

708. INGREDIENTS.

--1 small leg of mutton, 4 carrots, 3 onions, 1 faggot of savoury herbs, a bunch of parsley, seasoning to taste of pepper and salt, a few slices of bacon, a few veal trimmings, 1/2 pint of gravy or water.

_Mode_.

--Line the bottom of a braising-pan with a few slices of bacon, put in the carrots, onions, herbs, parsley, and seasoning, and over these place the mutton.

Cover the whole with a few more slices of bacon and the veal trimmings, pour in the gravy or water, and stew very gently for 4 hours.

Strain the gravy, reduce it to a glaze over a sharp fire, glaze the mutton with it, and send it to table, placed on a dish of white haricot beans boiled tender, or garnished with glazed onions.

_Time_.

--4 hours.

Average cost, 5s.

_Sufficient_ for 6 or 7 persons.

_Seasonable_ at any time.

THE ORDER OF THE GOLDEN FLEECE.

--This order of knighthood was founded by Philip the Good, duke of Burgundy, in 1429, on the day of his marriage with the Princess Isabella of Portugal.

The number of the members was originally fixed at thirty-one, including the sovereign, as the head and chief of the institution.

In 1516, Pope Leo X. consented to increase the number to fifty-two, including the head.

In 1700 the German emperor Charles VI.

and King Philip of Spain both laid claim to the order.

The former, however, on leaving Spain, which he could not maintain by force of arms, took with him, to Vienna, the archives of the order, the inauguration of which he solemnized there in 1713, with great magnificence; but Philip V. of Spain declared himself Grand Master, and formally protested, at the congress of Cambrai (1721), against the pretensions of the emperor.

The dispute, though subsequently settled by the intercession of France, England, and Holland, was frequently renewed, until the order was tacitly introduced into both countries, and it now passes by the respective names of the Spanish or Austrian "Order of the Golden Fleece," according to the country where it is issued.

AN EXCELLENT WAY TO COOK A BREAST OF MUTTON.

709. INGREDIENTS.

--Breast of mutton, 2 onions, salt and pepper to taste, flour, a bunch of savoury herbs, green peas.

_Mode_.

--Cut the mutton into pieces about 2 inches square, and let it be tolerably lean; put it into a stewpan, with a little fat or butter, and fry it of a nice brown; then dredge in a little flour, slice the onions, and put it with the herbs in the stewpan; pour in sufficient water _just_ to cover the meat, and simmer the whole gently until the mutton is tender.

Take out the meat, strain, and skim off all the fat from the gravy, and put both the meat and gravy back into the stewpan; add about a quart of young green peas, and let them boil gently until done.

2 or 3 slices of bacon added and stewed with the mutton give additional flavour; and, to insure the peas being a beautiful green colour, they may be boiled in water separately, and added to the stew at the moment of serving.

_Time_.

--2-1/2 hours.

_Average cost_, 6d.

per lb.

_Sufficient_ for 4 or 5 persons.

_Seasonable_ from June to August.

NAMES OF ANIMALS SAXON, AND OF THEIR FLESH NORMAN.

--The names of all our domestic animals are of Saxon origin; but it is curious to observe that Norman names have been given to the different sorts of flesh which these animals yield.

How beautifully this illustrates the relative position of Saxon and Norman after the Conquest.

The Saxon hind had the charge of tending and feeding the domestic animals, but only that they might appear on the table of his Norman lord.

Thus 'ox,' 'steer,' 'cow,' are Saxon, but 'beef' is Norman; 'calf' is Saxon, but 'veal' Norman;

'sheep' is Saxon, but 'mutton' Norman; so it is severally with 'deer' and 'venison,' 'swine' and 'pork,' 'fowl' and 'pullet.'

'Bacon,' the only flesh which, perhaps, ever came within his reach, is the single exception.

BROILED MUTTON AND TOMATO SAUCE (Cold Meat Cookery).

710. INGREDIENTS.

--A few slices of cold mutton, tomato sauce, No. 529. _Mode_.

--Cut some nice slices from a cold leg or shoulder of mutton;

season them with pepper and salt, and broil over a clear fire.

Make some tomato sauce by recipe No. 529, pour it over the mutton, and serve.

This makes an excellent dish, and must be served very hot.

_Time_.

--About 5 minutes to broil the mutton.

_Seasonable_ in September and October, when tomatoes are plentiful and seasonable.

SHEPHERDS AND THEIR FLOCKS.

--The shepherd's crook is older than either the husbandman's plough or the warrior's sword.

We are told that Abel was a keeper of sheep.

Many passages in holy writ enable us to appreciate the pastoral riches of the first eastern nations; and we can form an idea of the number of their flocks, when we read that Jacob gave the children of Hamor a hundred sheep for the price of a field, and that the king of Israel received a hundred thousand every year from the king of Moab, his tributary, and a like number of rams covered with their fleece.

The tendency which most sheep have to ramble, renders it necessary for them to be attended by a shepherd.

To keep a flock within bounds, is no easy task; but the watchful shepherd manages to accomplish it without harassing the sheep.

In the Highlands of Scotland, where the herbage is scanty, the sheep-farm requires to be very large, and to be watched over by many shepherds.

The farms of some of the great Scottish landowners are of enormous extent.

"How many sheep have you on your estate?"

asked Prince Esterhazy of the duke of Argyll.

"I have not the most remote idea," replied the duke; "but I know the shepherds number several thousands."

BROILED MUTTON CHOPS.

711. INGREDIENTS.

--Loin of mutton, pepper and salt, a small piece of butter.

_Mode_.

--Cut the chops from a well-hung tender loin of mutton, remove a portion of the fat, and trim them into a nice shape; slightly beat and level them; place the gridiron over a bright clear fire, rub the bars with a little fat, and lay on the chops.

Whilst broiling, frequently turn them, and in about 8 minutes they will be done.

Season with pepper and salt, dish them on a very hot dish, rub a small piece of butter on each chop, and serve very hot and expeditiously.

_Time_.

--About 8 minutes.

_Average cost_, 10d.

per lb.

_Sufficient_.

--Allow 1 chop to each person.

_Seasonable_ at any time.

CHINA CHILO.

712. INGREDIENTS.

--1-1/2 lb.

of leg, loin, or neck of mutton, 2 onions, 2 lettuces, 1 pint of green peas, 1 teaspoonful of salt, 1 teaspoonful of pepper, 1/4 pint of water, 1/4 lb.

of clarified butter; when liked, a little cayenne.

_Mode_.

--Mince the above quantity of undressed leg, loin, or neck of mutton, adding a little of the fat, also minced; put it into a stewpan with the remaining ingredients, previously shredding the lettuce and onion rather fine; closely cover the stewpan, after the ingredients have been well stirred, and simmer gently for rather more than 2 hours.

Serve in a dish, with a border of rice round, the same as for curry.

_Time_.

--Rather more than 2 hours.

_Average cost_, 1s.

6d.

_Sufficient_ for 3 or 4 persons.

_Seasonable_ from June to August.

CURRIED MUTTON (Cold Meat Cookery).

713. INGREDIENTS.

--The remains of any joint of cold mutton, 2 onions, 1/4 lb.

of butter, 1 dessertspoonful of curry powder, 1 dessertspoonful of flour, salt to taste, 1/4 pint of stock or water.

_Mode_.

--Slice the onions in thin rings, and put them into a stewpan with the butter, and fry of a light brown; stir in the curry powder, flour, and salt, and mix all well together.

Cut the meat into nice thin slices (if there is not sufficient to do this, it may be minced), and add it to the other ingredients; when well browned, add the stock or gravy, and stew gently for about 1/2 hour.

Serve in a dish with a border of boiled rice, the same as for other curries.

_Time_.

--1/2 hour.

_Average cost_, exclusive of the meat, 6d.

_Seasonable_ in winter.

CUTLETS OF COLD MUTTON (Cold Meat Cookery).

714. INGREDIENTS.

--The remains of cold loin or neck of mutton, 1 egg, bread crumbs, brown gravy (No. 436), or tomato sauce (No. 529).

_Mode_.

--Cut the remains of cold loin or neck of mutton into cutlets, trim them, and take away a portion of the fat, should there be too much;

dip them in beaten egg, and sprinkle with bread crumbs, and fry them a nice brown in hot dripping.

Arrange them on a dish, and pour round them either a good gravy or hot tomato sauce.

_Time_.

--About 7 minutes.

_Seasonable_.

--Tomatoes to be had most reasonably in September and October.

DORMERS.

715. INGREDIENTS.

--1/2 lb.

of cold mutton, 2 oz.

of beef suet, pepper and salt to taste, 3 oz.

of boiled rice, 1 egg, bread crumbs, made gravy.

_Mode_.

--Chop the meat, suet, and rice finely; mix well together, and add a high seasoning of pepper and salt, and roll into sausages; cover them with egg and bread crumbs, and fry in hot dripping of a nice brown.

Serve in a dish with made gravy poured round them, and a little in a tureen.

_Time_.

--1/2 hour to fry the sausages.

_Average cost_, exclusive of the meat, 6d.

_Seasonable_ at any time.

THE GOLDEN FLEECE.

--The ancient fable of the Golden Fleece may be thus briefly told:--Phryxus, a son of Athamus, king of Thebes, to escape the persecutions of his stepmother Ino, paid a visit to his friend Aeetes, king of Colchis.

A ram, whose fleece was of pure gold, carried the youth through the air in a most obliging manner to the court of his friend.

When safe At Colchis, Phryxus offered the ram on the altars of Mars, and pocketed the fleece.

The king received him with great kindness, and gave him his daughter Chalciope in marriage; but, some time after, he murdered him in order to obtain possession of the precious fleece.

The murder of Phryxus was amply revenged by the Greeks.

It gave rise to the famous Argonautic expedition, undertaken by Jason and fifty of the most celebrated heroes of Greece.

The Argonauts recovered the fleece by the help of the celebrated sorceress Medea, daughter of Aeetes, who fell desperately in love with the gallant but faithless Jason.

In the story of the voyage of the Argo, a substratum of truth probably exists, though overlaid by a mass of fiction.

The ram which carried Phryxus to Colchis is by some supposed to have been the name of the ship in which he embarked.

The fleece of gold is thought to represent the immense treasures he bore away from Thebes.

The alchemists of the fifteenth century were firmly convinced that the Golden Fleece was a treatise on the transmutation of metals, written on sheepskin.

HARICOT MUTTON.

I.

716. INGREDIENTS.

--4 lbs.

of the middle or best end of the neck of mutton, 3 carrots, 3 turnips, 3 onions, popper and salt to taste, 1 tablespoonful of ketchup or Harvey's sauce.

_Mode_.

--Trim off some of the fat, cut the mutton into rather thin chops, and put them into a frying-pan with the fat trimmings.

Fry of a pale brown, but do not cook them enough for eating.

Cut the carrots and turnips into dice, and the onions into slices, and slightly fry them in the same fat that the mutton was browned in, but do not allow them to take any colour.

Now lay the mutton at the bottom of a stewpan, then the vegetables, and pour over them just sufficient boiling water to cover the whole.

Give one boil, skim well, and then set the pan on the side of the fire to simmer gently until the meat is tender.

Skim off every particle of fat, add a seasoning of pepper and salt, and a little ketchup, and serve.

This dish is very much better if made the day before it is wanted for table, as the fat can be so much more easily removed when the gravy is cold.

This should be particularly attended to, as it is apt to be rather rich and greasy if eaten the same day it is made.

It should be served in rather a deep dish.

_Time_.

--2-1/2 hours to simmer gently.

_Average cost_, for this quantity, 3s.

_Sufficient_ for 6 or 7 persons.

_Seasonable_ at any time.

II.

717. INGREDIENTS.

--Breast or scrag of mutton, flour, pepper and salt to taste, 1 large onion, 3 cloves, a bunch of savoury herbs, 1 blade of mace, carrots and turnips, sugar.

_Mode_.

--Cut the mutton into square pieces, and fry them a nice colour;

then dredge over them a little flour and a seasoning of pepper and salt.

Put all into a stewpan, and moisten with boiling water, adding the onion, stuck with 3 cloves, the mace, and herbs.

Simmer gently till the meat is nearly done, skim off all the fat, and then add the carrots and turnips, which should previously be cut in dice and fried in a little sugar to colour them.

Let the whole simmer again for 10 minutes; take out the onion and bunch of herbs, and serve.

_Time_.

--About 3 hours to simmer.

_Average cost_, 6d.

per lb.

_Sufficient_ for 4 or 5 persons.

_Seasonable_ at any time.

HARICOT MUTTON (Cold Meat Cookery).

718. INGREDIENTS.

--The remains of cold neck or loin of mutton, 2 oz.

of butter, 3 onions, 1 dessertspoonful of flour, 1/2 pint of good gravy, pepper and salt to taste, 2 tablespoonfuls of port wine, 1 tablespoonful of mushroom ketchup, 2 carrots, 2 turnips, 1 head of celery.

_Mode_.

--Cut the cold mutton into moderate-sized chops, and take off the fat; slice the onions, and fry them with the chops, in a little butter, of a nice brown colour; stir in the flour, add the gravy, and let it stew gently nearly an hour.

In the mean time boil the vegetables until _nearly_ tender, slice them, and add them to the mutton about 1/4 hour before it is to be served.

Season with pepper and salt, add the ketchup and port wine, give one boil, and serve.

_Time_.

--1 hour.

_Average cost_, exclusive of the cold meat, 9d.

_Seasonable_ at any time.

HASHED MUTTON.

719. INGREDIENTS.

--The remains of cold roast shoulder or leg of mutton, 6 whole peppers, 6 whole allspice, a faggot of savoury herbs, 1/2 head of celery, 1 onion, 2 oz.

of butter, flour.

_Mode_.

--Cut the meat in nice even slices from the bones, trimming off all superfluous fat and gristle; chop the bones and fragments of the joint, put them into a stewpan with the pepper, spice, herbs, and celery; cover with water, and simmer for 1 hour.

Slice and fry the onion of a nice pale-brown colour, dredge in a little flour to make it thick, and add this to the bones, &c. Stew for 1/4 hour, strain the gravy, and let it cool; then skim off every particle of fat, and put it, with the meat, into a stewpan.

Flavour with ketchup, Harvey's sauce; tomato sauce, or any flavouring that may be preferred, and let the meat gradually warm through, but not boil, or it will harden.

To hash meat properly, it should be laid in cold gravy, and only left on the fire just long enough to warm through.

_Time_.

--1-1/2 hour to simmer the gravy.

_Average cost_, exclusive of the meat, 4d.

_Seasonable_ at any time.

HASHED MUTTON.

--Many persons express a decided aversion to hashed mutton; and, doubtless, this dislike has arisen from the fact that they have unfortunately never been properly served with this dish.

If properly done, however, the meat tender (it ought to be as tender as when first roasted), the gravy abundant and well flavoured, and the sippets nicely toasted, and the whole served neatly; then, hashed mutton is by no means to be despised, and is infinitely more wholesome and appetizing than the cold leg or shoulder, of which fathers and husbands, and their bachelor friends, stand in such natural awe.

HODGE-PODGE (Cold Meat Cookery).

720. INGREDIENTS.

--About 1 lb.

of underdone cold mutton, 2 lettuces, 1 pint of green peas, 5 or 6 green onions, 2 oz.

of butter, pepper and salt to taste, 1/2 teacupful of water.

_Mode_.

--Mince the mutton, and cut up the lettuces and onions in slices.

Put these in a stewpan, with all the ingredients except the peas, and let these simmer very gently for 3/4 hour, keeping them well stirred.

Boil the peas separately, mix these with the mutton, and serve very hot.