7. Breast.

A Saddle is the Two Loins. A Chine, the Two Necks. Mutton is best suited for table in autumn, winter, and early spring. It is not considered quite so good when grass-lamb is in full season, nor during the sultry months of summer. TO CHOOSE MUTTON. THE best mutton is small-boned, plump, finely-grained, and short-legged; the lean of a dark, rather than of a bright hue, and the fat white and clear: when this is yellow, the meat is rank, and of bad quality. Mutton is not considered by experienced judges to be in perfection until it is nearly or quite five years old; but to avoid the additional expense of feeding the animal so long, it is commonly brought into the market at three years old. The leg and the loin are the superior joints; and the preference would probably be given more frequently to the latter, but for the superabundance of its fat, which renders it a not very economical dish. The haunch consists of the leg and the part of the loin adjoining it; the saddle, of the two loins together, or of the undivided _back_ of the sheep: these last are always roasted, and are served usually at good tables, or for company-dinners, instead of the smaller joints. The shoulder, dressed in the ordinary way, is not very highly esteemed, but when boned, rolled, and filled with forcemeat, it is of more presentable appearance, and to many tastes, far better eating; though some persons prefer it in its natural form, accompanied by stewed onions. It is occasionally boiled or stewed, and covered with rich onion sauce. The flesh of that part of the neck which is commonly called the “best end,” or the _back ribs_, and which adjoins the loin, is the most succulent and tender portion of the sheep, and makes an excellent small roast, and is extremely good served as cutlets, after being divested of the superabundant fat. It is likewise very frequently boiled; but so cooked it makes but an unsightly and insipid dish, though an idea prevails in this country that it is a very wholesome one. Cutlets (or _chops_, as the butchers term them) are commonly taken from the loin, and are generally charged at a higher rate than _joints_ of mutton, in consequence, probably, of the constant demand for them. They may likewise be cut from the saddle, but will then be very large, and of no better quality than when the two loins which form the saddle are divided in the usual way, though a certain degree of fashion has of late been accorded to them.[78] The scrag, or that part of it which joins the head, is seldom used for any other purpose than making broth, and should be taken off before the joint is dressed. Cutlets from the thick end of the loin are commonly preferred to any others, but they are frequently taken likewise from the best end of the neck (sometimes called the _back-ribs_) and from the middle of the leg. Mutton kidneys are dressed in various ways, and are excellent in many. The trotters and the head of a sheep may be converted into very good dishes, but they are scarcely worth the trouble which is required to render them palatable. The loin and the leg are occasionally cured and smoked like hams or bacon. Footnote 78: Many years since, these “_saddle-back_” cutlets were supplied to us by a country butcher, and though of very fine South Down mutton, had no particular importance attached to them, nor were they considered as remarkably new. TO ROAST A HAUNCH OF MUTTON.[79] Footnote 79: We recommend Liebig’s directions for roasting (page 171), to be applied here, and for the joints which follow. This joint should be well kept, and when the larder-accommodations of a house not are good, the butcher should be requested to hang it the proper time. Roast it carefully at a large sound fire, and let it remain at a considerable distance for at least a couple of hours; then draw it nearer, but never sufficiently so to burn or injure the fat. Keep it constantly basted; flour it soon after it is laid to the fire, instead of frothing it, as this latter mode is not generally relished, though fashion is in its favour. In from three and a half to four hours, the haunch will be done, and it will require something less of time when not kept back at first, as we have advised. Serve it with a good _Espagnole_, or with plain mutton-gravy and currant-jelly. This joint, when the meat is of very fine quality, may be dressed and served exactly like venison. 3-1/2 to 4 hours. 5 hours or more by the _slow_ method. ROAST SADDLE OF MUTTON. This is an excellent joint, though not considered a very economical one. It is usual for the butcher to raise the skin from it before it is sent in, and to skewer it on again, that in the roasting the juices of the meat may be better preserved, and the fat prevented from taking too much colour, as this should be but delicately browned. In less than half an hour before the mutton is done, remove the skin, and flour the joint lightly after having basted it well. Our own great objection to frothed meat would lead us to recommend that the skin should be taken off half an hour earlier, and that the joint should be kept at sufficient distance from the fire to prevent the possibility of the fat being burned; and that something more of time should be allowed for the roasting. With constant basting, great care, and good management, the cook may always ensure the proper appearance of this, or of any other joint (except, perhaps, of a haunch of venison) without having recourse to papering or pasting, or even to replacing the skin; but when unremitted attention cannot be given to this one part of the dinner, it is advisable to take all precautions that can secure it from being spoiled. 2-1/2 to 2-3/4 hours. More if _very_ large. TO ROAST A LEG OF MUTTON. In a cool and airy larder a leg of mutton will hang many days with advantage, if the kernel be taken out, and the flap wiped very dry when it is first brought in; and it is never tender when freshly killed: in warm weather it should be well dredged with pepper to preserve it from the flies. If washed before it is put upon the spit, it should be wiped as dry as possible afterwards, and well floured soon after it is laid to the fire. When the excellence of the joint is more regarded than the expense of fuel, it should be roasted by what we have denominated the _slow method_; that is to say, it should be kept at a considerable distance from the fire, and remain at it four hours instead of two: it may be drawn nearer for the last twenty or thirty minutes to give it colour. The gravy will flow from it in great abundance when it is cut, and the meat will be very superior to that roasted in the usual way. When this plan is not pursued, the mutton should still be kept quite a foot from the fire until it is heated through, and never brought sufficiently near to scorch or to harden any part. It should be _constantly basted_ with its own fat, for if this be neglected, all other precautions will fail to ensure a good roast; and after it is dished a little fine salt should be sprinkled lightly on it, and a spoonful or two of boiling water ladled over. This is the most palatable mode of serving it, but it may be frothed when it is preferred so, though we would rather recommend that the flour should be dredged on in the first instance, as it then prevents the juices of the meat from escaping, and forms a savoury coating to it; while the raw taste which it so often retains with mere frothing is to many eaters especially objectionable. Leg of mutton, 7 to 8 lbs.: slow method 4 hours, common method 1-3/4 to 2 hours. _Obs._—Many common cooks injure their roasts exceedingly by pouring abundance of hot water over them, “_to make gravy_” as they call it. This should never be done. The use of any portion may, perhaps, be rationally objected to; but when the joint is not carefully cooked it is sometimes very dry without it. A few spoonsful of Liebeg’s extract of meat will supply excellent gravy for this, or for any other dish of roasted meat. BRAISED LEG OF MUTTON. Take out the bone as far as the first joint by the directions of the following receipt; roll some large strips of bacon in a seasoning of mixed spice, and of savoury herbs minced extremely fine or dried and reduced to powder, and with these lard the inside of the boned portion of the joint; or fill the cavity with forcemeat highly seasoned with eschalot or garlic. Sew up the meat, and place it in a braising-pan or ham-kettle nearly of its size, with slices of bacon under and over it, two or three onions, four or five carrots, two bay leaves, a large bunch of savoury herbs, a few bones, or bits of undressed mutton or veal, and about three quarters of a pint of gravy. Stew the meat as softly as possible from four to five hours, and keep live embers on the pan (or, as this mode of cooking is not general in England, set the mutton, if it can be done conveniently, into a moderately-heated oven, after having luted the edges of the vessel in which it is arranged with a bit of coarse paste); lift it out, strain the gravy, reduce it quickly to glaze, and brush the meat with it; or merely strain, free it from fat, and pour it over the mutton. White beans (_haricots blancs_), boiled tender and well drained, or a mild ragout of garlic or eschalots, may be laid in the dish under it. The joint can be braised equally well without any part of it being boned. 3 to 5 hours. LEG OF MUTTON BONED AND FORCED. Select for this dish a joint of South Down or of any other delicate-sized mutton, which has been kept sufficiently long to render it very tender. Lay it on a clean cloth spread upon a table, and turn the underside upwards. With a sharp-edged boning-knife cut through the middle of the skin, from the knuckle to the first joint, and raise it from the flesh on the side along which the bone runs, until the knife is just above it, then cut through the flesh down to the bone; work the knife round it in every part till you reach the socket; next remove the flat bone from the large end of the joint, and pass the knife freely round the remaining one, as it is not needful to take it out clear of the meat; when you again reach the middle joint, loosen the skin round it with great care, and the two bones can then be drawn out without being divided. This being done, fill the cavities with the forcemeat, No. 1. (Chapter VIII.), adding to it a somewhat high seasoning of eschalot, garlic, or onion; or cut out with the bone, nearly a pound of the inside of the mutton, chop it fine with six ounces of delicate striped bacon, and mix with it thoroughly three quarters of an ounce of parsley, and half as much of thyme and winter savoury, all minced extremely small; a half teaspoonful of pepper (or a third as much of cayenne); the same of mace, salt, and nutmeg, and either the grated rind of a small lemon, or four eschalots finely shred. When the lower part of the leg is filled, sew the skin neatly together where it has been cut open, and tie the knuckle round tightly, to prevent the escape of the gravy. Replace the flat bone at the large end, and with a long needle and twine, draw the edges of the meat together over it. If it can be done conveniently, it is better to roast the mutton thus prepared in a cradle spit or upon a bottle-jack, with the knuckle downwards. Place it at first far from the fire, and keep it constantly basted. It will require nearly or quite three hours’ roasting. Remove the twine before it is served, and send it very hot to table with some rich brown gravy. A BOILED LEG OF MUTTON WITH TONGUE AND TURNIPS. (_An excellent Receipt._) Trim into handsome form a well-kept, but perfectly sweet leg of mutton, of middling weight; wash, but do not soak it; lay it into a vessel as nearly of its size as convenient, and pour in rather more than sufficient cold water[80] to cover it; set it over a good fire, and when it begins to boil take off the scum, and continue to do so until no more appears; throw in a tablespoonful of salt (after the first skimming), which will assist to bring it to the surface, and as soon as the liquor is clear, add two moderate-sized onions stuck with a dozen cloves, a large faggot of parsley, thyme, and winter savoury, and four or five large carrots, and half an hour afterwards as many turnips. Draw the pan to the side of the fire, and let the mutton be simmered _gently_ from two hours to two and a half, from the time of its first beginning to boil. Serve it with caper, brown cucumber, or oyster sauce. If stewed _softly_, as we have directed, the mutton will be found excellent dressed thus; otherwise, it will but resemble the unpalatable and ragged-looking joints of fast-boiled meat, so constantly sent to table by common English cooks. Any undressed bones of veal, mutton, or beef, boiled with the joint will improve it much, and the liquor will then make excellent soup or _bouillon_. A small smoked ox-tongue boiled very tender will generally be much approved as an accompaniment to the mutton, though it is out of the usual course to serve them together: innovation on established usages is, however, sometimes to be recommended. The tongue should be garnished with well-prepared mashed turnips, moulded with a tablespoon into the form of a half-egg, and sent to table as hot as possible; or the turnips may be dished apart. Footnote 80: We have left this receipt unaltered, instead of applying to it Baron Liebeg’s directions for his improved method of boiling meat, because his objections to the immersion of the joint in _cold_ water are partially obviated, by its being placed immediately over a sound fire, and heated quickly; and the mutton is very good thus dressed. 2 to 2-1/2 hours. ROAST OR STEWED FILLET OF MUTTON. Cut some inches from either end of a large and well-kept leg of mutton, and leave the fillet shaped like one of veal. Remove the bone, and fill the cavity with forcemeat (No. 1, Chapter VIII.), which may be flavoured with a little minced eschalot, when its flavour is liked: more forcemeat may be added by detaching the skin sufficiently on the flap side to admit it. When thus prepared, the fillet may be roasted, and served with currant-jelly and brown gravy, or with only melted butter poured over it; or it may be stewed gently for nearly or quite four hours, in a pint of gravy or broth, after having been floured and browned all over in a couple of ounces of butter: it must then be turned every hour that it may be equally done. Two or three small onions, a faggot of herbs, a couple of carrots sliced, four or five cloves, and twenty whole peppercorns can be added to it at will. Roasted 2 hours, or stewed 4 hours. _Obs._—At a large fire, half an hour less of time will roast the mutton sufficiently for English taste in general. TO ROAST A LOIN OF MUTTON. The flesh of the loin of mutton is superior to that of the leg, when roasted; but to the frugal housekeeper this consideration is usually overbalanced by the great weight of fat attached to it; this, however, when economy is more considered than appearance, may be pared off and melted down for various kitchen uses. When thus reduced in size, the mutton will be soon roasted. If it is to be dressed in the usual way, the butcher should be desired to take off the skin; and care should be taken to preserve the fat from being ever so lightly burned: it should be managed, indeed, in the same manner as the saddle, in every respect, and carved also in the same way, either in its entire length or in oblique slices. Without the fat, 1 to 1-1/2 hour; with 1-1/4 to 1-3/4 hour. TO DRESS A LOIN OF MUTTON LIKE VENISON. Skin and bone a loin of mutton, and lay it into a stewpan, or braising-pan, with a pint of water, a large onion stuck with a dozen cloves, half a pint of port wine and a spoonful of vinegar; add, when it boils, a small faggot of thyme and parsley, and some pepper and salt: let it stew three hours, and turn it often. Make some gravy of the bones, and add it at intervals to the mutton when required. This receipt comes to us so strongly recommended by persons who have partaken frequently of the dish, that we have not thought it needful to prove it ourselves. 3 hours. ROAST NECK OF MUTTON. This is a very favourite joint in many families, the flesh being more tender and succulent than that even of the loin; and when only a small roast is required, the best end of the neck of mutton, or the middle, if divested of a large portion of the fat and cut into good shape, will furnish one of appropriate size and of excellent quality. Let the ends be cut quite even and the bones short, so as to give a handsome squareness of form to the meat. The butcher, if directed to do so, will chop off the chine bone, and divide the long bones sufficiently at the joints to prevent any difficulty in separating them at table. From four to five pounds weight of the neck will require from an hour to an hour and a quarter of roasting at a clear and brisk, but not _fierce_, fire. It should be placed at a distance until it is heated through, and then moved nearer, and kept _thoroughly basted_ until it is done. Tomatas baked or roasted may be sent to table with it; or a little plain gravy and red currant-jelly; or it may be served without either. When the entire joint, with the exception of the scrag-end (which should always be taken off), is cooked, proportionate time must be allowed for it. TO ROAST A SHOULDER OF MUTTON. Flour it well, and baste it constantly with its own dripping; do not place it close enough to the fire for the fat to be in the slightest degree burned, or even too deeply browned. An hour and a half will roast it, if it be of moderate size. Stewed onions are often sent to table with it. A shoulder of mutton is sometimes boiled, and smothered with onion sauce. 1-1/2 hour. THE CAVALIER’S BROIL. Half roast or stew, or parboil, a small, or moderate-sized shoulder of mutton; lift it into a hot dish, score it on both sides down to the bone, season it well with fine salt and cayenne or pepper, and finish cooking it upon the gridiron over a brisk fire. Skim the fat from any gravy that may have flowed from it, and keep the dish which contains it quite hot to receive the joint again. Warm a cupful of pickled mushrooms, let a part of them be minced, and strew them over the broil when it is ready to be served; arrange the remainder round it, and send it instantly to table. The reader will scarcely need to be told that this is an excellent dish. FORCED SHOULDER OF MUTTON. Cut off all the flesh from the inside of the joint down to the blade-bone, and reserve it for a separate dish. It may be lightly browned with some turnips or carrots, or both, and made into a small harrico or stewed simply in its own gravy, or it will make in part, a pie or pudding. Bone the mutton (see page 219), flatten it on a table, lay over the inside some thin and neatly-trimmed slices of striped bacon, and spread over them some good veal forcemeat (No. 1, Chapter VIII.) to within an inch of the outer edge; roll the joint up tightly towards the knuckle (of which the bone may be left in or not, at pleasure), secure it well with tape or twine, and stew it gently in good gravy, from four hours to four and a half. 4 to 4-1/2 hours. _Obs._—In France it is usual to substitute _sausage-meat_ for the bacon and veal stuffing in this dish, but it does not appear to us to be well suited to it. MUTTON CUTLETS STEWED IN THEIR OWN GRAVY. (_Good._) Trim the fat entirely from some cutlets taken from the loin; just dip them into cold water, dredge them moderately with pepper, and plentifully on both sides with flour; rinse a thick iron saucepan with spring water, and leave three or four tablespoonsful in it; arrange the cutlets in one flat layer, if it can be done conveniently, and place them over a very gentle fire; throw in a little salt when they begin to stew, and let them simmer as _softly as possible_, but without ceasing, from an hour and a quarter to an hour and a half. If dressed with great care, which they require, they will be equally tender, easy of digestion, and nutritious; and being at the same time free from everything which can disagree with the most delicate stomach, the receipt will be found a valuable one for invalids. The mutton should be of good quality, but the excellence of the dish mainly depends on its being _most gently stewed_; for if allowed to boil quickly all the gravy will be dried up, and the meat will be unfit for table. The cutlets must be turned when they are half done: two or three spoonsful of water or gravy may be added to them should they not yield sufficient moisture; or if closely arranged in a single layer at first, water may be poured in to half their depth. The advantage of this receipt is, that none of the nutriment of the meat is lost; for that which escapes from the cutlets remains in the gravy, which should all be served with them: any fat which may be perceived upon it should be carefully skimmed off. Cold broth used for it instead of water will render it extremely good. 1-1/4 to 1-3/4 hour. TO BROIL MUTTON CUTLETS. (ENTRÉE.) These may be taken from the loin, or the best end of the neck, but the former are generally preferred. Trim off a portion of the fat, or the whole of it, unless it be liked; pepper the cutlets, heat the gridiron, rub it with a bit of the mutton suet, broil them over a brisk fire, and turn them often until they are done; this, for the generality of eaters, will be in about eight minutes, if they are not more than half an inch thick, which they should not be. French cooks season them with pepper and salt, and brush them lightly with dissolved butter or oil, before they are laid to the fire, and we have found the cutlets so managed extremely good. Lightly broiled, 7 to 8 minutes. Well done, 10 minutes. _Obs._—A cold Maître d’Hôtel sauce may be laid under the cutlets when they are dished; or they may be served quite dry, or with brown gravy; or with good melted butter seasoned with mushroom catsup, cayenne, and chili vinegar or lemon-juice. CHINA CHILO Mince a pound of an undressed loin or leg of mutton, with or without a portion of its fat; mix with it two or three young lettuces shred small, a pint of young peas, a teaspoonful of salt, half as much pepper, four tablespoonsful of water, from two to three ounces of good butter, and, if the flavour be liked, a few green onions minced. Keep the whole well stirred with a fork over a clear and gentle fire until it is quite hot, then place it closely covered by the side of the stove, or on a high trivet, that it may stew as softly as possible for a couple of hours. One or even two half-grown cucumbers, cut small by scoring the ends deeply as they are sliced, or a quarter of a pint of minced mushrooms may be added with good effect; or a dessertspoonful of currie-powder and a large chopped onion. A dish of boiled rice should be sent to table with it. Mutton, 1 pint; green peas, 1 pint: young lettuces, 2; salt, 1 teaspoonful; pepper, 1/2 teaspoonful; water, 4 tablespoonsful; butter, 2 to 3 oz.: 2 hours. Varieties: cucumbers, 2; or mushrooms minced, 1/4 pint; or currie-powder, 1 dessertspoonful, and 1 large onion. A GOOD FAMILY STEW OF MUTTON. Put into a broad stewpan or saucepan, a flat layer of mutton chops, freed entirely from fat and from the greater portion of the bone, or in preference a cutlet or two from the leg, divided into bits of suitable size, then just dipped into cold water, seasoned with pepper, and lightly dredged with flour; on these put a layer of mild turnips sliced half an inch thick, and cut up into squares; then some carrots of the same thickness, with a seasoning of salt and black pepper between them; next, another layer of mutton, then plenty of vegetables, and as much weak broth or cold water as will barely cover the whole; bring them slowly to a boil, and let them just simmer from two to three hours, according to the quantity. One or two minced onions may be strewed between the other vegetables when their flavour is liked. The savour of the dish will be increased by browning the meat in a little butter before it is stewed, and still more so by frying the vegetables lightly as well, before they are added to it. A head or two of celery would to many tastes improve the flavour of the whole. In summer, cucumber, green onions, shred lettuces, and green peas may be substituted for the winter vegetables. Mutton, free from fat, 2-1/2 lbs.; turnips, 3 lbs; carrots, 3 lbs.; celery (if added), 2 small heads: 2 to 3 hours. _Obs._—The fat and trimmings of the mutton used for this and for other dishes into which only the lean is admissible, may be turned to useful account by cutting the whole up rather small, and then boiling it in a quart of water to the pound, with a little spice, a bunch of herbs and some salt, until the fat is nearly dissolved: the liquid will then, if strained off and left until cold, make tolerable broth, and the cake of fat which is on the top, if again just melted and poured free of sediment into small pans, will serve excellently for common pies and for frying kitchen dinners. Less water will of course produce broth of better quality, and the addition of a small quantity of fresh meat or bones will render it very good. AN IRISH STEW. Take two pounds of small thick mutton cutlets with or without fat, according to the taste of the persons to whom the stew is to be served; take also four pounds of good potatoes, weighed after they are pared; slice them thick, and put a portion of them in a flat layer into a large thick saucepan or stewpan; season the mutton well with pepper, and place some of it on the potatoes; cover it with another layer, and proceed in the same manner with all, reserving plenty of the vegetable for the top; pour in three quarters of a pint of cold water, and add, when the stew begins to boil, an ounce of salt; let it simmer gently for two hours, and serve it very hot. When the addition of onion is liked, strew some minced over the potatoes. Mutton cutlets, 2 lbs.; potatoes, 4 lbs.; pepper, 1/2 oz.; salt, 1 oz.; water, 3/4 pint: 2 hours. _Obs._—For a real Irish stew the potatoes should be boiled to a mash: an additional quarter of an hour may be necessary for the full quantity here, but for half of it two hours are quite sufficient. A BAKED IRISH STEW. Fill a brown upright Nottingham jar with alternate layers of mutton (or beef), sliced potatoes, and mild onions; and put in water and seasoning as above; cover the top closely with whole potatoes (pared), and send the stew to a moderate oven. The potatoes on the top should be well cooked and _browned_ before the stew is served. We have not considered it necessary to try this receipt, which was given to us by some friends who keep an excellent table, and who recommended it much. It is, of course, suited only to a _quite plain_ family dinner. The onions can be omitted when their flavour is not liked. CUTLETS OF COLD MUTTON. Trim into well-shaped cutlets, which should not be very thin, the remains of a roast loin or neck of mutton, or of a quite underdressed stewed or boiled joint; dip them into egg and well-seasoned bread-crumbs, and broil or fry them over a quick fire that they may be browned and heated through without being too much done. This is a very good mode of serving a half roasted loin or neck. When the cutlets are _broiled_ they should be dipped into, or sprinkled thickly with butter just dissolved, or they will be exceedingly dry; a few additional crumbs should be made to adhere to them after they are moistened with this. MUTTON KIDNEYS À LA FRANÇAISE. (ENTRÉE.) Skin six or eight fine fresh mutton kidneys, and without opening them, remove the fat; slice them rather thin, strew over them a large dessertspoonful of minced herbs, of which two-thirds should be parsley and the remainder thyme, with a tolerable seasoning of pepper or cayenne, and some fine salt. Melt two ounces of butter in a frying-pan, put in the kidneys and brown them quickly on both sides; when nearly done, stir amongst them a dessertspoonful of flour and shake them well in the pan; pour in the third of a pint of gravy (or of hot water in default of this), the juice of half a lemon, and as much of Harvey’s sauce, or of mushroom catsup, as will flavour the whole pleasantly; bring these to the point of boiling, and pour them into a dish garnished with fried sippets, or lift out the kidneys first, give the sauce a boil and pour it on them. In France, a couple of glasses of champagne, or, for variety, of claret, are frequently added to this dish: one of port wine can be substituted for either of these. A dessertspoonful of minced eschalots may be strewed over the kidneys with the herbs; or two dozens of very small ones previously stewed until tender in fresh butter over a gentle fire, may be added after they are dished. This is a very excellent and approved receipt. Fried 6 minutes. BROILED MUTTON KIDNEYS. Split them open lengthwise without dividing them, strip off the skin and fat, run a fine skewer through the points and across the back of the kidneys to keep them flat while broiling, season them with pepper or cayenne, lay them over a clear brisk fire, with the cut sides towards it, turn them in from four to five minutes, and in as many more dish, and serve them quickly, with or without a cold Maître d’Hôtel sauce under them. French cooks season them with pepper and fine salt, and brush a very small quantity of oil or clarified butter over them before they are broiled: we think this an improvement. 8 to 10 minutes. OXFORD RECEIPT FOR MUTTON KIDNEYS. (BREAKFAST DISH, OR ENTRÉE.) Fry gently in a little good butter, a dozen _croûtons_ (slices of bread, of uniform shape and size, trimmed free from crust), cut half an inch thick, about two inches and a half wide, and from three to four in length: lift them out and keep them hot. Split quite asunder six fine fresh kidneys, after having freed them from the skin and fat; season them with fine salt and cayenne, arrange them evenly in a clean frying-pan, and pour some clarified butter over them. Fry them over a somewhat brisk fire, dish each half upon a _croûton_, make a sauce in the pan as for veal cutlets, but use gravy for it instead of water, should it be at hand; add a little wine or catsup, pour it round the _croûtons_, and serve the kidneys instantly. 10 minutes. TO ROAST A FORE QUARTER OF LAMB. This should be laid to a clear brisk fire, and carefully and plentifully basted from the time of its becoming warm until it is ready for table; but though it requires quick roasting, it must never be placed sufficiently near the fire to endanger the fat, which is very liable to _catch_ or burn. When the joint is served, the shoulder should be separated from the ribs with a sharp knife; and a small slice of fresh butter, a little cayenne, and a squeeze of lemon juice should be laid between them; if the cook be an expert carver, this had better be done before the lamb is sent to table. The cold _Maître d’Hôtel_ sauce of