Ingredients.—1 breast of lamb, pepper and salt to taste, sufficient stock to cover it, 1 glass of sherry, thickening of butter and flour. Mode.—Skin the lamb, cut it into pieces, and season them with pepper and salt; lay these in a stewpan, pour in sufficient stock or gravy to cover them, and stew very gently until tender, which will be in about 1½ hour. Just before serving, thicken the sauce with a little butter and flour; add the sherry, give one boil, and pour it over the meat. Green peas, or stewed mushrooms, may be strewed over the meat, and will be found a very great improvement. Time.—1½ hour. Average cost, 10d. per lb. Sufficient for 3 persons. Seasonable.—Grass lamb, from Easter to Michaelmas.
Lamb, to Carve.—Leg, loin, saddle, shoulder, are carved as mutton.
LAMB, Fore-quarter of, to Carve.
We always think that a good and practised carver delights in the manipulation of this joint, for there is a little field for his judgment and dexterity which does not always occur. The separation of the shoulder from the breast is the first point to be attended to; this is done by passing the knife round the dotted line, as shown by the figures 1, 2, 3, 4, and 5, so as to cut through the skin, and then, by raising with a little force the shoulder, into which the fork should be firmly fixed, it will come away with just a little more exercise of the knife. In dividing the shoulder and breast, the carver should take care not to cut away too much of the meat from the latter, as that would rather spoil its appearance when the shoulder is removed. The breast and shoulder being separated, it is usual to lay a small piece of butter, and sprinkle a little cayenne, lemon-juice, and salt between them; and when this is melted and incorporated with the meat and gravy, the shoulder may, as more convenient, be removed into another dish. The next operation is to separate the ribs from the brisket, by cutting through the meat on the line 5 to 6. The joint is then ready to be served to the guests; the ribs being carved in the direction of the lines from 9 to 10, and the brisket from 7 to 8. The carver should ask those at the table what parts they prefer—ribs, brisket, or a piece of the shoulder.
FORE-QUARTER OF LAMB.
LAMB CUTLETS.
Ingredients.—Loin of lamb, pepper and salt to taste. Mode.—Trim off the flap from a fine loin of lamb, and cut it into cutlets about ¾ inch in thickness. Have ready a bright clear fire; lay the cutlets on a gridiron, and broil them of a nice pale brown, turning them when required. Season them with pepper and salt; serve very hot and quickly, and garnish with crisped parsley, or place them on mashed potatoes. Asparagus, spinach, or peas are the favourite accompaniments to lamb chops. Time.—About 8 or 10 minutes. Average cost, 1s. per lb. Sufficient.—Allow 2 cutlets to each person. Seasonable from Easter to Michaelmas.
LAMB, Cutlets and Spinach (an Entrée).
Ingredients.—8 cutlets, egg and bread-crumbs, salt and pepper to taste, a little clarified butter. Mode.—Cut the cutlets from a neck of lamb, and shape them by cutting off the thick part of the chine-bone. Trim off most of the fat and all the skin, and scrape the top part of the bones quite clean. Brush the cutlets over with egg, sprinkle them with bread-crumbs, and season with pepper and salt. Now dip them into clarified butter, sprinkle over a few more bread-crumbs, and fry them over a sharp fire, turning them when required. Lay them before the fire to drain, and arrange them on a dish with spinach in the centre, which should be previously well boiled, drained, chopped, and seasoned. Time.—About 7 or 8 minutes. Average cost, 10d. per lb. Sufficient for 4 persons. Seasonable from Easter to Michaelmas.