[431]MUTTON, GRASS LAMB AND HOUSE LAMBRelevés and Entrées.From the culinary standpoint, the ovine species supplies three kinds of meat,viz:—Mutton—properly so-called when the meat is derived from the adult animal.Lamb—the young, weaned sheep, not yet fully grown, the meat of which is the more highly esteemed the younger the animal is.House Lamb—the sheep’s unweaned young that has not yet grazed.The “Pauillac” lamb, which is imported from France, is the most excellent example of the last kind. Good house lambs are also killed in England; they are quite equal to Pauillac lamb, but their season is short. As regards ordinary English mutton and lamb, however, the delicacy and quality of these meats are unrivalled.But for its greater delicacy and tenderness, grass lamb, which corresponds with what the French call “agneau de pré-salé” is scarcely distinguishable from mutton. The recipes suited to it are the same as those given for mutton; and all that is necessary is to allow for differences of quality in calculating the time of cooking.House lamb, the white flesh of which is quite different, admits of some of the mutton recipes; but it is generally prepared after special formulæ, the details of which I shall give hereafter.When served roasted, hot or cold, mutton and grass and house lamb are always accompanied by mint sauce, the recipe for which I gave under No.136.In view of the similarity of their preparations, and in order to avoid finicking repetitions, I have refrained from giving separate recipes for lamb and mutton respectively. The reader will therefore bear in mind that the formulæ relating to mutton also apply to grass lamb.[432]1298—SADDLE OF MUTTON1299—BARON OR PAIR OF HIND-QUARTERS OF MUTTON1300—DOUBLE OR PAIR OF LEGS OF MUTTON1301—FILLETS OF MUTTON1302—NECK OF MUTTON (Relevés)Saddle of muttonis that part of the sheep which reaches from the bone of the haunch to the floating ribs.Baron of muttoncomprises the saddle and the two legs,i.e., a pair of hind-quarters.Doubleconsists of the two unseparated legs, minus the saddle.The Baron and the Double are almost always cuts of lamb.The fillet is one half of the saddle, when the latter is cut into two, lengthwise; that is to say, divided down the middle in suchwise as to bisect the spinal column. These fillets are sometimes boned, rolled over with the kernel of meat in the centre, and strung, in which case the skin should be removed before rolling. Saddle of mutton, before being roasted, should be cleared of all its superfluous underlying fat; and the flanks should be so shortened as to just meet when drawn over the fillets. The overlying skin should be removed, and the saddle should be strung in five or six places to keep it in shape.In the case of a saddle of lamb, the skin need not be completely removed, but slit in various places. As to neck of mutton, this should be shortened as for the cutting of ordinary cutlets; the skin and the bones of the chine should be removed, as also the meat at the end of the rib-bones, down to two-thirds in. from the extremity of each. The cushion is then covered with slices of bacon, tied on with string.When the piece is roasted and dished, a frill should be placed on the end of each bared bone. Neck of mutton ought never to comprise more than nine to ten ribs, counting from the floating ones; it should consist of rather less if anything.Mutton Relevés allow more particularly of vegetable and rice garnishes.Garnishes with sauces do not suit them so well, even when the pieces are braised. As for paste garnishes, such as macaroni, noodles, gniokis; they are seldom used.Garnishes for mutton relevés should therefore be chosen, in preference, from among the following, the details of which I gave under “Filet de Bœuf” (Nos.1044to1074) and which I recallhereafter:—Andalouse,Bouquetière,Châtelaine,Clamart,Dauphine,[433]Dubarry,Duchesse,Japonaise,Jardinière,Lorette,Macédoine,Montmorency,Moderne,Nivernaise,Orientale,Petit-Duc,Provençale,Renaissance,Richelieu,St. Germain.Apart from these compound garnishes, the following simple garnishes also suit admirably, either alone, or separated by some kind of potatopreparation:—Braised Lettuce, stuffed with ordinary forcemeat or rice.Cabbages, moulded to the shape of small balls, braised and stuffed with fine mince-meat or rice.Haricot-beans,PeasandBroad-beans, cohered with butter.Asparagus-heads, white or green, cooked and cohered with butter.Celery,Endives, andChicory, all braised.Brussels Sprouts,Cauliflowers,Broccoli, etc.Finally, the garnishes and modes of preparation termed:à l’Anglaise,à la Boulangère,Braisés,Mariné en Chevreuil, which I give below for the leg and the shoulder, may be applied perfectly well to other large pieces of mutton.1303—LARGE COLD JOINTS OF MUTTONRefer to Cold Beef; in all cases keep the dishing simple.The garnishing is optional.1304—LEG AND SHOULDER OF MUTTONLegs of mutton or lamb ought never to appear on any but an ordinary luncheon menu. Although, strictly speaking, they should always be served after one of the ways described hereafter, all the garnishes given above may be applied to them.Shoulders may be roasted whole; but they may also be boned, seasoned inside, rolled up, and firmly strung. They may be treated like the legs, and the same garnishes are suited to them.1305—GIGOT BOUILLIA L’ANGLAISETrim the leg, shorten it in the region of the tibia bone, and plunge it into a stewpan of boiling water, salted in the proportion of one-third oz. of salt per quart of water.For an ordinary leg, add: three medium-sized carrots, two onions, each stuck with a clove, a faggot, and two cloves of garlic.Let the leg cook for a quarter of an hour for each two lbs. of its weight.Dish with vegetables all round, and serve at the same time a butter sauce with capers.N.B.—Leg of muttonà l’anglaisemay be accompanied by[434]purées of turnips, celery, etc., and these vegetables should cook with the meat. A purée of potatoes or of haricot beans may be sent to the table with the meat; but, in this case, of course, the vegetables would be served separately.1306—BRAISED LEG OF MUTTONSuppress the pelvic bone, shorten the end bone and brown the leg in the oven.Now, put it in an oval utensil, garnished for braising; add just enough white stock to barely cover the joint, and cook gently, allowing forty minutes per lb. of meat.Transfer the leg to a tray; strain the braising-liquor; clear it of all grease, and reduce it to half. Sprinkle the meat with a few tablespoonfuls of this reduced gravy, and set it to glaze in the oven.Serve at the sametime:—(1) Either a purée of potatoes, of turnips, of haricot-beans, of cauliflower, etc., or(2) The reduced braising-liquor.1307—GIGOTA LA BOULANGÈREThe leg may either be boned, seasoned inside and strung; or the end-bone may simply be shortened and that of the pelvis removed.In either case, put it in an earthenware dish, and brown it well in the oven, on both sides; then complete its cooking, all but a third.This done, set round the joint four large, sliced onions, just tossed in butter, that they may acquire some colour, and eight large, peeled potatoes cut into roundels one half in. thick. Sprinkle this garnish with the grease of the joint, and then complete the cooking of the leg and its garnish.Serve in the dish in which the joint has cooked.1308—GIGOT MARINE EN CHEVREUILShorten the end-bone; remove the bone of the pelvis, and skin the top of the leg, leaving the meat in that region quite bare. Lard with very small strips of bacon, and put the meat into amarinadeprepared after the manner described under No.170. The length of its stay in themarinadeshould be based upon the tenderness of the meat and atmospheric conditions. In winter the time averages about three or four days, and in summer two days.To Roast the Joint.—Withdraw it from themarinadeand dry it thoroughly; set it on a stand in the baking-tray; and put[435]it into a very fierce oven, that the meat maysetimmediately. The object of the very fierce oven is to prevent the juices absorbed from themarinadeescaping in steam and thereby hardening the meat.Towards the close of the operation,rissolethe larding bacon well.Set on a long dish; fix a frill to the bone, and serve a Chevreuil sauce separately.Chevreuil Sauce à la Française.—With themarinadeof the joint and aMirepoixwith ham, prepare a sufficient quantity of Poivrade sauce (No.49) to obtain two-thirds of a pint of it after it has been strained through a colander—an operation which should be effected with the application of great pressure to the aromatics.Despumate this sauce for thirty minutes, and add, little by little, half a wine-glassful of excellent red wine. Finish the seasoning with a little cayenne and a pinch of powdered sugar, and once more rub the whole through tammy or a fine strainer.1309—GIGOTA LA SOUBISEBraise the leg of mutton as shown under No.247. When it is two-thirds done, transfer it to another utensil; strain the braising-liquor over it, and add thereto three lbs. of sliced onions and two-third lb. of rice.Gently complete the cooking of the joint, together with the onions and the rice. Thisdone:—(1) put it on a baking-tray and glaze it in the oven; (2) quickly rub the onions and the rice through a fine sieve or tammy.Set the leg of mutton on a long dish; put a frill on the bone, and serve, separately, the well-heated Soubise, finished with one oz. of butter.N.B.—This Soubise may be prepared separately; but in this case it has much less flavour than when it is made from the onions and the rice which have cooked in the braising-liquor. I therefore urge the adoption of the recipe as it stands.1310—COLD LEG OF MUTTONDish it very simply, like other cold large joints of mutton.1311—CUTLETSMutton and lamb cutlets are sometimessautéd; but grilling is the most suitable method of cooking them. When the nature of their preparation requires that they should be treatedà l’anglaise, fry them in clarified butter. All the garnishes, given[436]under “Tournedos,” except those served with sauces, may be applied to cutlets.The latter also allow of a few special garnishes, and these I give in the following recipes.1312—CÔTELETTESA LA CHAMPVALLON(10 Cutlets)Take some cutlets from the region underlying the shoulder; that is to say, those uncovered by the removal of this joint. And do not clear the bone-ends of their meat, as when frills are to be fixed to them.Season them with salt and pepper, and brown them in butter on both sides. This done, put them in an earthenware dish with half lb. of sliced onions, tossed in butter without colouration; moisten with enough white stock to almost cover the cutlets and the onions; add the quarter of a clove of garlic, crushed, and a faggot; boil, and set in the oven. At the end of twenty minutes, add one and one-half lbs. of potatoes, fashioned to the shape of corks, and cut into thin roundels; season, and complete the cooking, basting often the while.When the cutlets are cooked, the moistening should be almost entirely reduced.1313—CÔTELETTES LAURAGrill the cutlets, and, meanwhile, prepare a garnish (the quantity of which should be such as to allow two and one-half oz. of it per cutlet) of parboiled macaroni, cut into half-inch lengths, cohered with cream, and combined, per lb., with three and one-half oz. of peeled, pressed, andconcassedtomatoes, tossed in butter.Or, when white truffles are in season, prepare some macaroni with cream, as above, combined with the peelings of raw, white truffles.Cut some very soft pig’s caul into triangles, proportionate in size to the cutlets; spread a little macaroni on each triangle; on the latter set a cutlet; cover the cutlets with some more macaroni, and enclose the whole in the caul. Lay the cutlets on a dish.Sprinkle with fine raspings and melted butter, and set to grill at the salamander, or in a fierce oven, for seven or eight minutes.Dish the cutlets in the form of a crown, and surround them with a thread of clear half-glaze sauce, combined with tomatoes.1314—CÔTELETTESA LA MAINTENONFry the cutlets in butter, on one side only. This done, put a heaped tablespoonful of aMaintenonpreparation (No.226)[437]on each; shape it like a dome, by means of the blade of a small knife dipped in tepid water, and put the cutlets, one by one, on a tray. TheMaintenonpreparation should be laid on the cooked side of each cutlet and sprinkled with fine raspings and melted butter. Now put the cutlets in a rather hot oven for seven or eight minutes in orderto:—(1) Allow agratinto form over the surface of the garnish.(2) Finish the cooking of the cutlets.Dish the latter in the form of a crown, and serve, separately, a sauceboat of meat glaze finished with butter.1315—CÔTELETTESA LA MURILLOFry the cutlets in butter, on one side only; and garnish the cooked side, dome-fashion, with a fine hash of mushrooms, cohered with a little very reduced Béchamel sauce.Set them on a tray; sprinkle with grated Parmesan and a few drops of melted butter, and glaze in a fierce oven. Dish the cutlets in the form of a crown; fix a frill to each, and surround them with mild capsicums and tomatoes, both of which should be sliced, tossed in butter, and mixed.1316—CÔTELETTESA LA PROVENÇALEFor tencutlets:—(1) Reduce one-half pint of Béchamel sauce to a third, and add thereto the third of a garlic clove, crushed, and the yolks of three eggs; (2) prepare at the same time as the cutlets, ten grilled mushrooms; and ten stoned, stuffed and poached olives, girded by a strip of anchovy fillet.Fry the cutlets in butter, on one side only. Cover the cooked side of each with the preparation described above; set them on a tray; sprinkle them with a few drops of melted butter, and put them in the oven, that their garnish may be glazed and that their cooking may be completed.Dish in the form of a circle; place a grilled mushroom (convex side uppermost) in the middle of each cutlet, and, on each mushroom, a stuffed olive.1316a—CÔTELETTES DE MOUTONA LA REFORMETrim six mutton cutlets; season them; dip them in melted butter, and roll them in bread-crumbs, combined with finely-chopped ham in the proportion of a third of the weight of the bread-crumbs. Now cook them gently in clarified butter.Dish them in a circle on a hot dish, and send the following sauce to the table withthem:—Take a small saucepan, and mix therein three tablespoonfuls of half-glaze sauce, the same quantity of Poivrade sauce,[438]and one coffeespoonful of red-currant jelly; add one coffeespoonful of each of the following shortjuliennegarnishes to the sauce; viz.: hard-boiled white of egg; very red, salted tongue; gherkins; mushrooms, and truffles.1317—CÔTELETTESA LA SÉVIGNÉHave ready a preparation of mushroom and artichoke-bottom croquettes, in the proportion of one heaped tablespoonful for each cutlet.Fry the cutlets in butter, on one side only. Garnish the fried side of each, dome-fashion, with the above preparation; treat themà l’anglaise, and sprinkle them with melted butter.Put them in the oven to complete their cooking, and, at the same time, to colour their coating of egg and bread-crumbs.Dish in the form of a crown.1318—CÔTELETTESA LA SUÉDOISEPlace the cutlets on a dish, and drop thereon some minced onions and shallots, bits of parsley stalks, thyme and bay. Sprinkle them with the juice of a lemon and a few drops of oil, and leave them tomarinadefor thirty minutes, turning them over the while, from time to time.This done, dry them; dip them in melted butter, sprinkle them with bread-crumbs, and grill them.Dish them in the form of a crown, and garnish the centre of the dish with the following, which may also be sent separately: one-half lb. of peeled and finely-sliced apples, quickly stewed to a purée with the third of a wineglassful of white wine. When about to serve, add to this purée two and one-half oz. of finely-grated horse-radish, or the latter grated and afterwards finely chopped.1319—CÔTELETTES EN BELLE VUEProceed after one of the recipes given for veal cutlets and grenadins “en Belle Vue.”1320—CÔTELETTES EN CHAUDFROIDCut some very regular cutlets from a neck of mutton or lamb, which should have been trimmed as explained, braised, and left to cook in its braising-liquor. Clear all grease from the latter; strain it; reduce it, and add to it a brown chaud-froid sauce (No.34).Dip the cutlets in the sauce when it is almost cold; set them on a tray; deck the kernel of meat in each with a fine slice[439]of truffle, and sprinkle with cold, melted aspic. When the sauce has set well, pass the point of a small knife round the cutlets, with the view of removing the superfluous sauce; and either dish them round a vegetable salad, cohered and moulded, or simply dish them in the form of a circle and place a pyramid of cohered, vegetable salad in their midst.1321—NOISETTES DE MOUTONMuttonnoisettes, and especially those of lamb, may be classed among the choicest of entrées. They are cut from either the fillet or the neck; but, in the latter case, only the first six or seven ribs are used.Noisettesare grilled orsautéd, and all the recipes given for Tournedos (Nos.1077to1139) and for cutlets, may be applied to them.1322—MINION FILLETSThe minion fillets of mutton or lamb consist of the two muscles which lie under the saddle. Their mode of preparation changes according to their size. Thus, if they are small, they are served whole, after having been trimmed, sometimes larded; andsautéd.If they are large, they are divided into two or three parts, cut laterally and aslant; they are flattened, trimmed to the shape of ellipses, seasoned, dipped in melted butter, sprinkled with fine bread-crumbs, and finally, gently grilled.Minion fillets of beef, obtained from the narrow extremity or head of the fillet, are also used occasionally; and these are generally flattened, dipped in butter and fine bread-crumbs, and grilled.These fillets are served chiefly with vegetable purées or withmacédoinesof fresh vegetables.The sauces best suited to them are the Béarnaise and the Robert Escoffier.1323—SHEEP’S TONGUESSalted or fresh sheep’s tongues make an excellent luncheon entrée.They are cooked after the manner of ox and calf’s tongues, due allowance being made for the difference of size.The various garnishes given for ox and calf’s tongues may also be used in this case.1324—SHEEP’S TROTTERSSheep’s trotters, as they reach us from the purveyor, should first be well singed over spirits of wine, and then rubbed with a clean piece of linen. The little tuft of hair in the cleft of[440]the hoof is next removed, the hoof itself is suppressed, and the trotters are split open lengthwise and boned. Sheep’s trotters are cooked like calf’s feet, in the specialcourt-bouillonor blanc, given under No.167.1325—FRITÔTOF SHEEP’S TROTTERSFifteen minutes before frying them, put the sheep’s trotters into a receptacle with lemon juice, a few drops of oil and some chopped parsley; keeping the quantity of these ingredients in proportion to the number of trotters. Be careful to toss the latter from time to time in themarinade.A few moments before serving, dip the half-trotters into batter (No.232) and plunge them into an abundant and hot frying-medium.Drain them when the batter is nicely dry and golden; and dish on a napkin with a border of very green fried parsley.Serve a tomato sauce separately.1326—PIEDS DE MOUTON POULETTEFor this dish the trotters should, as far as possible, be freshly cooked. For twenty trotters prepare two-thirds of a pint of poulette sauce; add the trotters thereto, well drained; toss them in the sauce, and dish them in a timbale with a sprinkling of chopped parsley.1327—PIEDS DE MOUTON ROUENNAISEInstead of cooking the sheep’s trotters in ablanc, braise them; add a little Madeira to their braising-liquor, and cook them thoroughly.Prepare a forcemeat, consisting of one and one-half lbs. of very fine sausage-meat; three oz. of chopped onions, cooked in butter without colouration, and a large pinch of parsley.When the trotters are cooked, transfer them to a dish; almost entirely reduce their braising-liquor; add to this two liqueur-glassfuls of burnt brandy, for each ten trotters, and add this reduced braising-liquor to the forcemeat. Cut ten rectangles six inches long by four inches wide out of pig’s caul.Spread a tablespoonful of forcemeat over each; set two trotters on the forcemeat of each rectangle; cover up with forcemeat, and draw the ends of the caul together in suchwise as to enclose the whole.Sprinkle with bread-crumbs and melted butter; grill gently, and serve.[441]1328—PIEDS DE MOUTON TYROLIENNECook a fair-sized chopped onion in butter, together with three peeled, pressed, and roughly-chopped tomatoes. Season with salt and pepper; add a pinch of chopped parsley, a little crushed garlic, one-sixth of a pint of Poivrade sauce, and twenty freshly-cooked and well-drained sheep’s trotters.Simmer for ten minutes and dish in a timbale.1329—MUTTON KIDNEYSMutton kidneys are either grilled orsautéd. When they are to be grilled, first remove the fine skin enveloping them, cut them in halves, without completely severing them on their concave side, and impale them on a small skewer, with the view of keeping them open during the grilling operation. Before grilling they may or may not be dipped in melted butter and rolled in bread-crumb.When they are to besautéd, clear the kidneys, as before, of the thin skin which envelops them; cut them into halves, and then into slices one-quarter in. thick.Kidneys, of what kind soever, should be cooked very quickly, otherwise they harden. After having seasoned them, put them into very hot butter, and toss them over a fierce fire in order to stiffen them. This done, drain them; and let them stand for a few minutes, that they may exude the blood they contain, which sometimes has a distinct ammoniacal smell.Meanwhile, swill the utensil in which they have beensautéd, and finish the sauce, to which they are added when dishing up. Never let the kidneys boil in the sauce, for they would immediately harden.1330—ROGNONS SAUTÉSBERCYSlice, season, and quickly toss the mutton kidneys in butter, and drain them.For six kidneys put one tablespoonful of finely-chopped shallots into the saucepan, and just heat it. Moisten with one-sixth of a pint of white wine; reduce to half; add two tablespoonfuls of melted meat glaze, and a few drops of lemon-juice, and put the kidneys in this sauce. Add two and one-half oz. of butter, cut into small pieces; melt this on the corner of the stove, tossing and rolling the pan the while; dish in a timbale, and sprinkle a pinch of chopped parsley over the kidneys.1331—ROGNONS SAUTÉSBORDELAISEFry the mutton kidneys, and drain them as above.Put into the saucepan one-third of a pint of Bordelaise sauce[442]combined with poached dice of marrow, a pinch of chopped parsley, and three oz. of slicedcèpes, tossed in butter and oil and well drained.Return the kidneys to the saucepan; toss them in the sauce, and dish in a timbale.1332—ROGNONS SAUTÉSCARVALHOFry the skinned, halved and seasoned mutton kidneys in butter, and dish them, each on a smallcroûtonof bread-crumb, cut to the shape of a cock’s comb and fried in butter. On each half-kidney, set a small cooked mushroom and a slice of truffle.Swill the saucepan with Madeira; add a little half-glaze; put in a small quantity of butter, away from the fire, and pour this sauce over the kidneys.1333—ROGNONS SAUTÉSAU CHAMPAGNERemove the outer skin from the mutton kidneys; cut them in two lengthwise; season them; fry them quickly in butter, and dish in a timbale.Swill the saucepan with one-half pint of champagne per six kidneys; reduce almost entirely; add two tablespoonfuls of melted meat glaze; add a small quantity of butter, and pour this sauce over the kidneys.N.B.—The preparation of kidneyssautédwith wine always follows the same principle; that is to say, the saucepan in which the kidneys have cooked is always swilled with a quantity of wine, in proportion to the number of kidneys; a proportionate amount of meat glaze is then added, and after the sauce has been slightly buttered, the kidneys are tossed in it.1334—ROGNONS SAUTÉSHONGROISERemove the outer skin from the mutton kidneys; cut them into halves; slice and season them; fry them in butter, and drain them.In the saucepan that has served in the cooking of the kidneys, fry a chopped onion with butter, and add thereto a pinch of paprika.Moisten with a tablespoonful of cream, and reduce; add one-sixth of a pint of velouté, boil for a moment, and rub through tammy.Heat this sauce; put the kidneys into it, toss them for a minute, so as to heat without boiling them, and dish in a timbale.1335—ROGNONS SAUTÉSCHASSEURQuickly fry the sliced mutton kidneys in butter and drain them.[443]Swill the saucepan with white wine and almost entirely reduce; add one-third of a pint of Chausseur sauce for each six kidneys; put the kidneys in this sauce, toss them for an instant; dish them in a timbale, and sprinkle with a pinch of chopped parsley.1336—ROGNONS SAUTÉSA L’INDIENNEFor six mutton kidneys: fry a chopped onion in butter and add a large pinch of curry thereto. Moisten with one-sixth pint of velouté; cook for a few minutes, and rub through tammy.Clear the kidneys of their outer skin; slice and season them, and fry them quickly in butter. Put them into the sauce; dish them in a timbale, and serve some rice “à l’Indienne” separately.1337—ROGNONS SAUTÉSTURBIGOClear the mutton kidneys of their outer skin and cut them in halves; season them; fry them quickly in butter, and dish them in a circle in a timbale.In their midst set a garnish of small, cooked mushrooms, and grilledchipolatasausages; and pour thereon a highly-seasoned,tomatédhalf-glaze sauce.1338—CROÛTE AUX ROGNONSCut some crusts two and one-half in. in diameter and one and one-third in. thick, from a tin-loaf, and allow one for each person. Remove the crumb from their inside, leaving only a slight thickness at the bottom; butter them, and dry them in the oven.Garnish these crusts with mutton kidneyssautédwith mushrooms, and combined with small, ordinary forcemeat quenelles, and slices of truffle.Dish on a napkin, and serve very hot.1339—TURBAN DE ROGNONSA LA PIÉMONTAISEGarnish a border or aSavarin-mouldwith “rizotto à la Piémontaise,” press the latter lightly into the utensil, and keep the mould hot.Clear the mutton kidneys of their outer skin; cut them into halves; season them, and fry them quickly in butter.Turn out on a round dish, set the half-kidneys in a circle on the “Turban,” alternating them with fine slices of truffle, and pour atomatédhalf-glaze sauce, flavoured with truffle essence, in the middle.1340—ROGNONSA LA BROCHETTECut the mutton kidneys into halves, as explained, without dividing them; impale them two or four at a time, on a skewer;[444]season them, and grill them in a somewhat fierce oven. Set them, with the skewers withdrawn, upon a hot dish, and put into the cavity of each a piece of softened, Maître-d’hôtel butter, the size of a hazel nut.1341—ROGNONS BROCHETTEA L’ESPAGNOLEPrepare the mutton kidneys as above.Grill the same quantity of small, pressed and seasoned half-tomatoes. Garnish these tomatoes with a piece, the size of a walnut, of Maître-d’hôtel butter, combined with two-thirds oz. of chopped capsicum per three oz. of butter. Dish these tomatoes in a circle; set a kidney on each, and surround with a border consisting of rings of onion, seasoned, dredged and crisply fried in oil.1342—ROGNONS BROCHETTE AU VERT PRÉPrepare the mutton kidneys exactly as explained under the first of this kind of recipes, and surround them with small heaps of straw potatoes and bunches of very green parsley.1343—BROCHETTES DE ROGNONSRemove the outer skin from the mutton kidneys, and cut them into roundels one-third in. thick. Season these roundels and stiffen them in butter over a very fierce fire. Impale them on skewers, alternating them with squares ofblanchedlean bacon and slices ofsautédmushrooms. Sprinkle with melted butter and raspings, and grill.These brochettes are generally served as they stand.Various Preparations of Mutton.
[431]MUTTON, GRASS LAMB AND HOUSE LAMBRelevés and Entrées.From the culinary standpoint, the ovine species supplies three kinds of meat,viz:—Mutton—properly so-called when the meat is derived from the adult animal.Lamb—the young, weaned sheep, not yet fully grown, the meat of which is the more highly esteemed the younger the animal is.House Lamb—the sheep’s unweaned young that has not yet grazed.The “Pauillac” lamb, which is imported from France, is the most excellent example of the last kind. Good house lambs are also killed in England; they are quite equal to Pauillac lamb, but their season is short. As regards ordinary English mutton and lamb, however, the delicacy and quality of these meats are unrivalled.But for its greater delicacy and tenderness, grass lamb, which corresponds with what the French call “agneau de pré-salé” is scarcely distinguishable from mutton. The recipes suited to it are the same as those given for mutton; and all that is necessary is to allow for differences of quality in calculating the time of cooking.House lamb, the white flesh of which is quite different, admits of some of the mutton recipes; but it is generally prepared after special formulæ, the details of which I shall give hereafter.When served roasted, hot or cold, mutton and grass and house lamb are always accompanied by mint sauce, the recipe for which I gave under No.136.In view of the similarity of their preparations, and in order to avoid finicking repetitions, I have refrained from giving separate recipes for lamb and mutton respectively. The reader will therefore bear in mind that the formulæ relating to mutton also apply to grass lamb.
From the culinary standpoint, the ovine species supplies three kinds of meat,viz:—
Mutton—properly so-called when the meat is derived from the adult animal.
Lamb—the young, weaned sheep, not yet fully grown, the meat of which is the more highly esteemed the younger the animal is.
House Lamb—the sheep’s unweaned young that has not yet grazed.
The “Pauillac” lamb, which is imported from France, is the most excellent example of the last kind. Good house lambs are also killed in England; they are quite equal to Pauillac lamb, but their season is short. As regards ordinary English mutton and lamb, however, the delicacy and quality of these meats are unrivalled.
But for its greater delicacy and tenderness, grass lamb, which corresponds with what the French call “agneau de pré-salé” is scarcely distinguishable from mutton. The recipes suited to it are the same as those given for mutton; and all that is necessary is to allow for differences of quality in calculating the time of cooking.
House lamb, the white flesh of which is quite different, admits of some of the mutton recipes; but it is generally prepared after special formulæ, the details of which I shall give hereafter.
When served roasted, hot or cold, mutton and grass and house lamb are always accompanied by mint sauce, the recipe for which I gave under No.136.
In view of the similarity of their preparations, and in order to avoid finicking repetitions, I have refrained from giving separate recipes for lamb and mutton respectively. The reader will therefore bear in mind that the formulæ relating to mutton also apply to grass lamb.
Saddle of muttonis that part of the sheep which reaches from the bone of the haunch to the floating ribs.
Baron of muttoncomprises the saddle and the two legs,i.e., a pair of hind-quarters.
Doubleconsists of the two unseparated legs, minus the saddle.
The Baron and the Double are almost always cuts of lamb.
The fillet is one half of the saddle, when the latter is cut into two, lengthwise; that is to say, divided down the middle in suchwise as to bisect the spinal column. These fillets are sometimes boned, rolled over with the kernel of meat in the centre, and strung, in which case the skin should be removed before rolling. Saddle of mutton, before being roasted, should be cleared of all its superfluous underlying fat; and the flanks should be so shortened as to just meet when drawn over the fillets. The overlying skin should be removed, and the saddle should be strung in five or six places to keep it in shape.
In the case of a saddle of lamb, the skin need not be completely removed, but slit in various places. As to neck of mutton, this should be shortened as for the cutting of ordinary cutlets; the skin and the bones of the chine should be removed, as also the meat at the end of the rib-bones, down to two-thirds in. from the extremity of each. The cushion is then covered with slices of bacon, tied on with string.
When the piece is roasted and dished, a frill should be placed on the end of each bared bone. Neck of mutton ought never to comprise more than nine to ten ribs, counting from the floating ones; it should consist of rather less if anything.
Mutton Relevés allow more particularly of vegetable and rice garnishes.
Garnishes with sauces do not suit them so well, even when the pieces are braised. As for paste garnishes, such as macaroni, noodles, gniokis; they are seldom used.
Garnishes for mutton relevés should therefore be chosen, in preference, from among the following, the details of which I gave under “Filet de Bœuf” (Nos.1044to1074) and which I recallhereafter:—
Andalouse,Bouquetière,Châtelaine,Clamart,Dauphine,[433]Dubarry,Duchesse,Japonaise,Jardinière,Lorette,Macédoine,Montmorency,Moderne,Nivernaise,Orientale,Petit-Duc,Provençale,Renaissance,Richelieu,St. Germain.
Apart from these compound garnishes, the following simple garnishes also suit admirably, either alone, or separated by some kind of potatopreparation:—
Braised Lettuce, stuffed with ordinary forcemeat or rice.
Cabbages, moulded to the shape of small balls, braised and stuffed with fine mince-meat or rice.
Haricot-beans,PeasandBroad-beans, cohered with butter.
Asparagus-heads, white or green, cooked and cohered with butter.
Celery,Endives, andChicory, all braised.Brussels Sprouts,Cauliflowers,Broccoli, etc.
Finally, the garnishes and modes of preparation termed:à l’Anglaise,à la Boulangère,Braisés,Mariné en Chevreuil, which I give below for the leg and the shoulder, may be applied perfectly well to other large pieces of mutton.
Refer to Cold Beef; in all cases keep the dishing simple.
The garnishing is optional.
Legs of mutton or lamb ought never to appear on any but an ordinary luncheon menu. Although, strictly speaking, they should always be served after one of the ways described hereafter, all the garnishes given above may be applied to them.
Shoulders may be roasted whole; but they may also be boned, seasoned inside, rolled up, and firmly strung. They may be treated like the legs, and the same garnishes are suited to them.
Trim the leg, shorten it in the region of the tibia bone, and plunge it into a stewpan of boiling water, salted in the proportion of one-third oz. of salt per quart of water.
For an ordinary leg, add: three medium-sized carrots, two onions, each stuck with a clove, a faggot, and two cloves of garlic.
Let the leg cook for a quarter of an hour for each two lbs. of its weight.
Dish with vegetables all round, and serve at the same time a butter sauce with capers.
N.B.—Leg of muttonà l’anglaisemay be accompanied by[434]purées of turnips, celery, etc., and these vegetables should cook with the meat. A purée of potatoes or of haricot beans may be sent to the table with the meat; but, in this case, of course, the vegetables would be served separately.
Suppress the pelvic bone, shorten the end bone and brown the leg in the oven.
Now, put it in an oval utensil, garnished for braising; add just enough white stock to barely cover the joint, and cook gently, allowing forty minutes per lb. of meat.
Transfer the leg to a tray; strain the braising-liquor; clear it of all grease, and reduce it to half. Sprinkle the meat with a few tablespoonfuls of this reduced gravy, and set it to glaze in the oven.
Serve at the sametime:—
(1) Either a purée of potatoes, of turnips, of haricot-beans, of cauliflower, etc., or
(2) The reduced braising-liquor.
The leg may either be boned, seasoned inside and strung; or the end-bone may simply be shortened and that of the pelvis removed.
In either case, put it in an earthenware dish, and brown it well in the oven, on both sides; then complete its cooking, all but a third.
This done, set round the joint four large, sliced onions, just tossed in butter, that they may acquire some colour, and eight large, peeled potatoes cut into roundels one half in. thick. Sprinkle this garnish with the grease of the joint, and then complete the cooking of the leg and its garnish.
Serve in the dish in which the joint has cooked.
Shorten the end-bone; remove the bone of the pelvis, and skin the top of the leg, leaving the meat in that region quite bare. Lard with very small strips of bacon, and put the meat into amarinadeprepared after the manner described under No.170. The length of its stay in themarinadeshould be based upon the tenderness of the meat and atmospheric conditions. In winter the time averages about three or four days, and in summer two days.
To Roast the Joint.—Withdraw it from themarinadeand dry it thoroughly; set it on a stand in the baking-tray; and put[435]it into a very fierce oven, that the meat maysetimmediately. The object of the very fierce oven is to prevent the juices absorbed from themarinadeescaping in steam and thereby hardening the meat.
Towards the close of the operation,rissolethe larding bacon well.
Set on a long dish; fix a frill to the bone, and serve a Chevreuil sauce separately.
Chevreuil Sauce à la Française.—With themarinadeof the joint and aMirepoixwith ham, prepare a sufficient quantity of Poivrade sauce (No.49) to obtain two-thirds of a pint of it after it has been strained through a colander—an operation which should be effected with the application of great pressure to the aromatics.
Despumate this sauce for thirty minutes, and add, little by little, half a wine-glassful of excellent red wine. Finish the seasoning with a little cayenne and a pinch of powdered sugar, and once more rub the whole through tammy or a fine strainer.
Braise the leg of mutton as shown under No.247. When it is two-thirds done, transfer it to another utensil; strain the braising-liquor over it, and add thereto three lbs. of sliced onions and two-third lb. of rice.
Gently complete the cooking of the joint, together with the onions and the rice. Thisdone:—(1) put it on a baking-tray and glaze it in the oven; (2) quickly rub the onions and the rice through a fine sieve or tammy.
Set the leg of mutton on a long dish; put a frill on the bone, and serve, separately, the well-heated Soubise, finished with one oz. of butter.
N.B.—This Soubise may be prepared separately; but in this case it has much less flavour than when it is made from the onions and the rice which have cooked in the braising-liquor. I therefore urge the adoption of the recipe as it stands.
Dish it very simply, like other cold large joints of mutton.
Mutton and lamb cutlets are sometimessautéd; but grilling is the most suitable method of cooking them. When the nature of their preparation requires that they should be treatedà l’anglaise, fry them in clarified butter. All the garnishes, given[436]under “Tournedos,” except those served with sauces, may be applied to cutlets.
The latter also allow of a few special garnishes, and these I give in the following recipes.
Take some cutlets from the region underlying the shoulder; that is to say, those uncovered by the removal of this joint. And do not clear the bone-ends of their meat, as when frills are to be fixed to them.
Season them with salt and pepper, and brown them in butter on both sides. This done, put them in an earthenware dish with half lb. of sliced onions, tossed in butter without colouration; moisten with enough white stock to almost cover the cutlets and the onions; add the quarter of a clove of garlic, crushed, and a faggot; boil, and set in the oven. At the end of twenty minutes, add one and one-half lbs. of potatoes, fashioned to the shape of corks, and cut into thin roundels; season, and complete the cooking, basting often the while.
When the cutlets are cooked, the moistening should be almost entirely reduced.
Grill the cutlets, and, meanwhile, prepare a garnish (the quantity of which should be such as to allow two and one-half oz. of it per cutlet) of parboiled macaroni, cut into half-inch lengths, cohered with cream, and combined, per lb., with three and one-half oz. of peeled, pressed, andconcassedtomatoes, tossed in butter.
Or, when white truffles are in season, prepare some macaroni with cream, as above, combined with the peelings of raw, white truffles.
Cut some very soft pig’s caul into triangles, proportionate in size to the cutlets; spread a little macaroni on each triangle; on the latter set a cutlet; cover the cutlets with some more macaroni, and enclose the whole in the caul. Lay the cutlets on a dish.
Sprinkle with fine raspings and melted butter, and set to grill at the salamander, or in a fierce oven, for seven or eight minutes.
Dish the cutlets in the form of a crown, and surround them with a thread of clear half-glaze sauce, combined with tomatoes.
Fry the cutlets in butter, on one side only. This done, put a heaped tablespoonful of aMaintenonpreparation (No.226)[437]on each; shape it like a dome, by means of the blade of a small knife dipped in tepid water, and put the cutlets, one by one, on a tray. TheMaintenonpreparation should be laid on the cooked side of each cutlet and sprinkled with fine raspings and melted butter. Now put the cutlets in a rather hot oven for seven or eight minutes in orderto:—
(1) Allow agratinto form over the surface of the garnish.
(2) Finish the cooking of the cutlets.
Dish the latter in the form of a crown, and serve, separately, a sauceboat of meat glaze finished with butter.
Fry the cutlets in butter, on one side only; and garnish the cooked side, dome-fashion, with a fine hash of mushrooms, cohered with a little very reduced Béchamel sauce.
Set them on a tray; sprinkle with grated Parmesan and a few drops of melted butter, and glaze in a fierce oven. Dish the cutlets in the form of a crown; fix a frill to each, and surround them with mild capsicums and tomatoes, both of which should be sliced, tossed in butter, and mixed.
For tencutlets:—(1) Reduce one-half pint of Béchamel sauce to a third, and add thereto the third of a garlic clove, crushed, and the yolks of three eggs; (2) prepare at the same time as the cutlets, ten grilled mushrooms; and ten stoned, stuffed and poached olives, girded by a strip of anchovy fillet.
Fry the cutlets in butter, on one side only. Cover the cooked side of each with the preparation described above; set them on a tray; sprinkle them with a few drops of melted butter, and put them in the oven, that their garnish may be glazed and that their cooking may be completed.
Dish in the form of a circle; place a grilled mushroom (convex side uppermost) in the middle of each cutlet, and, on each mushroom, a stuffed olive.
Trim six mutton cutlets; season them; dip them in melted butter, and roll them in bread-crumbs, combined with finely-chopped ham in the proportion of a third of the weight of the bread-crumbs. Now cook them gently in clarified butter.
Dish them in a circle on a hot dish, and send the following sauce to the table withthem:—
Take a small saucepan, and mix therein three tablespoonfuls of half-glaze sauce, the same quantity of Poivrade sauce,[438]and one coffeespoonful of red-currant jelly; add one coffeespoonful of each of the following shortjuliennegarnishes to the sauce; viz.: hard-boiled white of egg; very red, salted tongue; gherkins; mushrooms, and truffles.
Have ready a preparation of mushroom and artichoke-bottom croquettes, in the proportion of one heaped tablespoonful for each cutlet.
Fry the cutlets in butter, on one side only. Garnish the fried side of each, dome-fashion, with the above preparation; treat themà l’anglaise, and sprinkle them with melted butter.
Put them in the oven to complete their cooking, and, at the same time, to colour their coating of egg and bread-crumbs.
Dish in the form of a crown.
Place the cutlets on a dish, and drop thereon some minced onions and shallots, bits of parsley stalks, thyme and bay. Sprinkle them with the juice of a lemon and a few drops of oil, and leave them tomarinadefor thirty minutes, turning them over the while, from time to time.
This done, dry them; dip them in melted butter, sprinkle them with bread-crumbs, and grill them.
Dish them in the form of a crown, and garnish the centre of the dish with the following, which may also be sent separately: one-half lb. of peeled and finely-sliced apples, quickly stewed to a purée with the third of a wineglassful of white wine. When about to serve, add to this purée two and one-half oz. of finely-grated horse-radish, or the latter grated and afterwards finely chopped.
Proceed after one of the recipes given for veal cutlets and grenadins “en Belle Vue.”
Cut some very regular cutlets from a neck of mutton or lamb, which should have been trimmed as explained, braised, and left to cook in its braising-liquor. Clear all grease from the latter; strain it; reduce it, and add to it a brown chaud-froid sauce (No.34).
Dip the cutlets in the sauce when it is almost cold; set them on a tray; deck the kernel of meat in each with a fine slice[439]of truffle, and sprinkle with cold, melted aspic. When the sauce has set well, pass the point of a small knife round the cutlets, with the view of removing the superfluous sauce; and either dish them round a vegetable salad, cohered and moulded, or simply dish them in the form of a circle and place a pyramid of cohered, vegetable salad in their midst.
Muttonnoisettes, and especially those of lamb, may be classed among the choicest of entrées. They are cut from either the fillet or the neck; but, in the latter case, only the first six or seven ribs are used.
Noisettesare grilled orsautéd, and all the recipes given for Tournedos (Nos.1077to1139) and for cutlets, may be applied to them.
The minion fillets of mutton or lamb consist of the two muscles which lie under the saddle. Their mode of preparation changes according to their size. Thus, if they are small, they are served whole, after having been trimmed, sometimes larded; andsautéd.
If they are large, they are divided into two or three parts, cut laterally and aslant; they are flattened, trimmed to the shape of ellipses, seasoned, dipped in melted butter, sprinkled with fine bread-crumbs, and finally, gently grilled.
Minion fillets of beef, obtained from the narrow extremity or head of the fillet, are also used occasionally; and these are generally flattened, dipped in butter and fine bread-crumbs, and grilled.
These fillets are served chiefly with vegetable purées or withmacédoinesof fresh vegetables.
The sauces best suited to them are the Béarnaise and the Robert Escoffier.
Salted or fresh sheep’s tongues make an excellent luncheon entrée.
They are cooked after the manner of ox and calf’s tongues, due allowance being made for the difference of size.
The various garnishes given for ox and calf’s tongues may also be used in this case.
Sheep’s trotters, as they reach us from the purveyor, should first be well singed over spirits of wine, and then rubbed with a clean piece of linen. The little tuft of hair in the cleft of[440]the hoof is next removed, the hoof itself is suppressed, and the trotters are split open lengthwise and boned. Sheep’s trotters are cooked like calf’s feet, in the specialcourt-bouillonor blanc, given under No.167.
Fifteen minutes before frying them, put the sheep’s trotters into a receptacle with lemon juice, a few drops of oil and some chopped parsley; keeping the quantity of these ingredients in proportion to the number of trotters. Be careful to toss the latter from time to time in themarinade.
A few moments before serving, dip the half-trotters into batter (No.232) and plunge them into an abundant and hot frying-medium.
Drain them when the batter is nicely dry and golden; and dish on a napkin with a border of very green fried parsley.
Serve a tomato sauce separately.
For this dish the trotters should, as far as possible, be freshly cooked. For twenty trotters prepare two-thirds of a pint of poulette sauce; add the trotters thereto, well drained; toss them in the sauce, and dish them in a timbale with a sprinkling of chopped parsley.
Instead of cooking the sheep’s trotters in ablanc, braise them; add a little Madeira to their braising-liquor, and cook them thoroughly.
Prepare a forcemeat, consisting of one and one-half lbs. of very fine sausage-meat; three oz. of chopped onions, cooked in butter without colouration, and a large pinch of parsley.
When the trotters are cooked, transfer them to a dish; almost entirely reduce their braising-liquor; add to this two liqueur-glassfuls of burnt brandy, for each ten trotters, and add this reduced braising-liquor to the forcemeat. Cut ten rectangles six inches long by four inches wide out of pig’s caul.
Spread a tablespoonful of forcemeat over each; set two trotters on the forcemeat of each rectangle; cover up with forcemeat, and draw the ends of the caul together in suchwise as to enclose the whole.
Sprinkle with bread-crumbs and melted butter; grill gently, and serve.
Cook a fair-sized chopped onion in butter, together with three peeled, pressed, and roughly-chopped tomatoes. Season with salt and pepper; add a pinch of chopped parsley, a little crushed garlic, one-sixth of a pint of Poivrade sauce, and twenty freshly-cooked and well-drained sheep’s trotters.
Simmer for ten minutes and dish in a timbale.
Mutton kidneys are either grilled orsautéd. When they are to be grilled, first remove the fine skin enveloping them, cut them in halves, without completely severing them on their concave side, and impale them on a small skewer, with the view of keeping them open during the grilling operation. Before grilling they may or may not be dipped in melted butter and rolled in bread-crumb.
When they are to besautéd, clear the kidneys, as before, of the thin skin which envelops them; cut them into halves, and then into slices one-quarter in. thick.
Kidneys, of what kind soever, should be cooked very quickly, otherwise they harden. After having seasoned them, put them into very hot butter, and toss them over a fierce fire in order to stiffen them. This done, drain them; and let them stand for a few minutes, that they may exude the blood they contain, which sometimes has a distinct ammoniacal smell.
Meanwhile, swill the utensil in which they have beensautéd, and finish the sauce, to which they are added when dishing up. Never let the kidneys boil in the sauce, for they would immediately harden.
Slice, season, and quickly toss the mutton kidneys in butter, and drain them.
For six kidneys put one tablespoonful of finely-chopped shallots into the saucepan, and just heat it. Moisten with one-sixth of a pint of white wine; reduce to half; add two tablespoonfuls of melted meat glaze, and a few drops of lemon-juice, and put the kidneys in this sauce. Add two and one-half oz. of butter, cut into small pieces; melt this on the corner of the stove, tossing and rolling the pan the while; dish in a timbale, and sprinkle a pinch of chopped parsley over the kidneys.
Fry the mutton kidneys, and drain them as above.
Put into the saucepan one-third of a pint of Bordelaise sauce[442]combined with poached dice of marrow, a pinch of chopped parsley, and three oz. of slicedcèpes, tossed in butter and oil and well drained.
Return the kidneys to the saucepan; toss them in the sauce, and dish in a timbale.
Fry the skinned, halved and seasoned mutton kidneys in butter, and dish them, each on a smallcroûtonof bread-crumb, cut to the shape of a cock’s comb and fried in butter. On each half-kidney, set a small cooked mushroom and a slice of truffle.
Swill the saucepan with Madeira; add a little half-glaze; put in a small quantity of butter, away from the fire, and pour this sauce over the kidneys.
Remove the outer skin from the mutton kidneys; cut them in two lengthwise; season them; fry them quickly in butter, and dish in a timbale.
Swill the saucepan with one-half pint of champagne per six kidneys; reduce almost entirely; add two tablespoonfuls of melted meat glaze; add a small quantity of butter, and pour this sauce over the kidneys.
N.B.—The preparation of kidneyssautédwith wine always follows the same principle; that is to say, the saucepan in which the kidneys have cooked is always swilled with a quantity of wine, in proportion to the number of kidneys; a proportionate amount of meat glaze is then added, and after the sauce has been slightly buttered, the kidneys are tossed in it.
Remove the outer skin from the mutton kidneys; cut them into halves; slice and season them; fry them in butter, and drain them.
In the saucepan that has served in the cooking of the kidneys, fry a chopped onion with butter, and add thereto a pinch of paprika.
Moisten with a tablespoonful of cream, and reduce; add one-sixth of a pint of velouté, boil for a moment, and rub through tammy.
Heat this sauce; put the kidneys into it, toss them for a minute, so as to heat without boiling them, and dish in a timbale.
Quickly fry the sliced mutton kidneys in butter and drain them.
[443]Swill the saucepan with white wine and almost entirely reduce; add one-third of a pint of Chausseur sauce for each six kidneys; put the kidneys in this sauce, toss them for an instant; dish them in a timbale, and sprinkle with a pinch of chopped parsley.
For six mutton kidneys: fry a chopped onion in butter and add a large pinch of curry thereto. Moisten with one-sixth pint of velouté; cook for a few minutes, and rub through tammy.
Clear the kidneys of their outer skin; slice and season them, and fry them quickly in butter. Put them into the sauce; dish them in a timbale, and serve some rice “à l’Indienne” separately.
Clear the mutton kidneys of their outer skin and cut them in halves; season them; fry them quickly in butter, and dish them in a circle in a timbale.
In their midst set a garnish of small, cooked mushrooms, and grilledchipolatasausages; and pour thereon a highly-seasoned,tomatédhalf-glaze sauce.
Cut some crusts two and one-half in. in diameter and one and one-third in. thick, from a tin-loaf, and allow one for each person. Remove the crumb from their inside, leaving only a slight thickness at the bottom; butter them, and dry them in the oven.
Garnish these crusts with mutton kidneyssautédwith mushrooms, and combined with small, ordinary forcemeat quenelles, and slices of truffle.
Dish on a napkin, and serve very hot.
Garnish a border or aSavarin-mouldwith “rizotto à la Piémontaise,” press the latter lightly into the utensil, and keep the mould hot.
Clear the mutton kidneys of their outer skin; cut them into halves; season them, and fry them quickly in butter.
Turn out on a round dish, set the half-kidneys in a circle on the “Turban,” alternating them with fine slices of truffle, and pour atomatédhalf-glaze sauce, flavoured with truffle essence, in the middle.
Cut the mutton kidneys into halves, as explained, without dividing them; impale them two or four at a time, on a skewer;[444]season them, and grill them in a somewhat fierce oven. Set them, with the skewers withdrawn, upon a hot dish, and put into the cavity of each a piece of softened, Maître-d’hôtel butter, the size of a hazel nut.
Prepare the mutton kidneys as above.
Grill the same quantity of small, pressed and seasoned half-tomatoes. Garnish these tomatoes with a piece, the size of a walnut, of Maître-d’hôtel butter, combined with two-thirds oz. of chopped capsicum per three oz. of butter. Dish these tomatoes in a circle; set a kidney on each, and surround with a border consisting of rings of onion, seasoned, dredged and crisply fried in oil.
Prepare the mutton kidneys exactly as explained under the first of this kind of recipes, and surround them with small heaps of straw potatoes and bunches of very green parsley.
Remove the outer skin from the mutton kidneys, and cut them into roundels one-third in. thick. Season these roundels and stiffen them in butter over a very fierce fire. Impale them on skewers, alternating them with squares ofblanchedlean bacon and slices ofsautédmushrooms. Sprinkle with melted butter and raspings, and grill.
These brochettes are generally served as they stand.