Breast of Mutton

The Book of Household Management · Beeton, Mrs. (Isabella Mary) · 1861
Source
The Book of Household Management
Time
Total: 150 min
Yield
4.0 – 5.0 persons
Status
success · extracted 13 days ago
Not a recipe
No
Ingredients (9)
Instructions (9)
  1. Cut the mutton into pieces about 2 inches square, and let it be tolerably lean.
  2. Put it into a stewpan, with a little fat or butter, and fry it of a nice brown.
  3. Dredge in a little flour.
  4. Slice the onions, and put it with the herbs in the stewpan.
  5. Pour in sufficient water just to cover the meat, and simmer the whole gently until the mutton is tender.
  6. 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.
  7. Add about a quart of young green peas, and let them boil gently until done.
  8. If using bacon, add it and stew with the mutton.
  9. 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.
Original Text
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.
Notes
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