Few better tests of a cook’s capacity exists than the
appearance of lier cutlets. To start witli she must
study the meat from which she cuts them. Small
well-fed mutton should always be chosen for this
purpose, as this is free from the intermixing of fat
and lean, which, if at all exaggerated, renders the
cutlets most uninviting. Having chosen the meat,
remember that for your purpose the best end of the
neck (the loin as a rule is only fit for mutton chops)
is the part required. From this order the butcher
to remove the chine bone, in other words, the top of
the ribs. Now with a sharp, rather heavy knife
(there is a proper cutlet knife for this purpose),
divide the piece, if small, by a straight, decided cut,
exactly half way between the bones ; if the mutton
is large, however, you will have to follow the line of
the bone, only slightly outside it, aod thus obtain a
cutlet-shaped, but boneless slice of meat in between
the two bones, which can be either set aside for other
purposes, or can be placed alternately, when cooked,
with the boned cutlets. Do not attempt to trim
your cutlets before separating them, as each should
be prepared individually. When divided off, lay
14
ENTREES.
each cutlet on a wetted chopping board and beat or
“ bat ” it out with either the side of the cutlet knife
or with a cutlet bat, or, failing these, with the rolling
pin ; only remember whatever you use must first be
wetted with a little water. When properly batted
out, the meat will have become a little spread out,
and even with the edge of the bone. Now trim it
neatly, removing all superfluous fat and skin, leaving
only an even layer or border of the former about
|-in. thick all round as in Fig 1 ; then just where the
lean meat stops make a straight cut right down to
the bone, as at B D, and then clear the bone down
to C from all flesh, skin, &c., scraping it nicely.
When all the cutlets have been trimmed in this way,
the bones being all cut to an equal length and
scraped till clean and shining, remove the little bit
of bone which is almost always left at the thicker
end at F. A butcher does this with one sweep of his
heavy knife, but for the amateur it is better to set
the knife carefully on the right spot, and then
separate off the bone by a sharp blow on the back
of the knife with the rolling-pin. The illustration
just mentioned shows the cutlet trimmed and un-
trimmed. The shaded part from F to F shows the
chine bone which the butcher should remove, whilst
the rest of the shading from F to G is what the
cook must trim off. It is a matter of taste and
expediency whether the meat is trimmed off by the
straight line B D, or by the curved one E under-
neath it. Cutlets thus trimmed may be broiled,
sanies, or egged and crumbed and fried in the frying
basket, as you please. Loin cutlets are occasionally
CUTLETS, EILLETS, &c.
15
chosen, as their flavour is considered by some people
superior to the drier neck cutlets, and, moreover,
the)r are undoubtedly less wasteful, but they need
very careful trimming to make them presentable.
Of late years the fashion has obtained in this case,
of dispensing with the bone altogether. The loin
of mutton answers to the surloin of beef, and, like
the latter, is finished with a T shaped bone, very
easily removed in one piece if the loin has not been
jointed. Now cut the cutlets in each case flush with
L6
✪ Cutlets
Page 7 · 1 recipe record on this page
Presented as published in 1901. Historical recipes may not meet modern food-safety standards. Cook from the modern interpretation, not the original instructions.
AI-modernized reading of the original text
Few better tests of a cook’s capacity exists than the appearance of lier cutlets. To start witli she must study the meat from which she cuts them. Small well-fed mutton should always be chosen for this purpose, as this is free from the intermixing of fat and lean, which, if at all exaggerated, renders the cutlets most uninviting. Having chosen the meat, remember that for your purpose the best end of the neck (the loin as a rule is only fit for mutton chops) is the part required. From this order the butcher to remove the chine bone, in other words, the top of the ribs. Now with a sharp, rather heavy knife (there is a proper cutlet knife for this purpose), divide the piece, if small, by a straight, decided cut, exactly half way between the bones ; if the mutton is large, however, you will have to follow the line of the bone, only slightly outside it, and thus obtain a cutlet-shaped, but boneless slice of meat in between the two bones, which can be either set aside for other purposes, or can be placed alternately, when cooked, with the boned cutlets. Do not attempt to trim your cutlets before separating them, as each should be prepared individually. When divided off, lay
each cutlet on a wetted chopping board and beat or “ bat ” it out with either the side of the cutlet knife or with a cutlet bat, or, failing these, with the rolling pin ; only remember whatever you use must first be wetted with a little water. When properly batted out, the meat will have become a little spread out, and even with the edge of the bone. Now trim it neatly, removing all superfluous fat and skin, leaving only an even layer or border of the former about |-in. thick all round as in Fig. 1 ; then just where the lean meat stops make a straight cut right down to the bone, as at B D, and then clear the bone down to C from all flesh, skin, &c., scraping it nicely. When all the cutlets have been trimmed in this way, the bones being all cut to an equal length and scraped till clean and shining, remove the little bit of bone which is almost always left at the thicker end at F. A butcher does this with one sweep of his heavy knife, but for the amateur it is better to set the knife carefully on the right spot, and then separate off the bone by a sharp blow on the back of the knife with the rolling-pin. The illustration just mentioned shows the cutlet trimmed and untrimmed. The shaded part from F to F shows the chine bone which the butcher should remove, whilst the rest of the shading from F to G is what the cook must trim off. It is a matter of taste and expediency whether the meat is trimmed off by the straight line B D, or by the curved one E underneath it. Cutlets thus trimmed may be broiled, sanies, or egged and crumbed and fried in the frying basket, as you please. Loin cutlets are occasionally
chosen, as their flavour is considered by some people superior to the drier neck cutlets, and, moreover, the)r are undoubtedly less wasteful, but they need very careful trimming to make them presentable. Of late years the fashion has obtained in this case,
of dispensing with the bone altogether. The loin of mutton answers to the surloin of beef, and, like the latter, is finished with a T shaped bone, very easily removed in one piece if the loin has not been jointed. Now cut the cutlets in each case flush with
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Cutlets