Cold Leg of Mutton

Ingredients

• a cold leg of mutton
• a cucumber

Method

1. 1

   Use the remains of a decently cooked cold leg of mutton.

2. 2

   Serve with a cucumber.

3. 3

   Avoid ordering the cook to hash the mutton, as it often results in an unappetizing dish.

Nutrition per serving

As published

This recipe was extracted from Practical home cookery (1906) by A. G. Payne, page 16. The excerpt below is the record exactly as published.

COLD LEG OF MUTTON. A FEW years ago the leading comic journal of the day had the following graphic little sketch : — A middle- aged gentleman, leaving his house-door in the morning, inquires : “ What is there for dinner to-day, Mary ? ” “ Cold mutton, sir.” ” Then you can tell your mistress that she need not wait dinner for me.” Now, although this sounds exceedingly selfish, yet perhaps the blame is not entirely due to one side only. There can be no doubt that, just as among the lower orders there are hundreds of wives who, from ignorance and stupidity, drive their husbands to the pubhc-house, so among the middle classes there are as many who from the same causes too often drive them to the “ Club.” Now, the increase in the number of these luxurious establishments in the present day is something won- derful. It has already had a marked effect upon the restaurants in the metropolis, some of which now do not dine half what they did formerly ; but it remains to be seen how far the clubs will in time affect the Registrar-General’s marriage-returns. As this latter point is of the greatest importance to that large and charming portion of the population, the young un- married ladies, we trust we may be pardoned if for one moment we pause to ask them a few questions. Did you ever consider how your future husband is 35 36 PRACTICAL HOME COOKERY. accustomed to dine every day, and contrast it with the way in which he will dine when you will have the management of the household ? We will suppose him to be accustomed to the ordinary club dinner, or say the regimental mess. Do you not feel how entirely dependent you will be on your cook ? Should she be clever and honest, you may do very well. Should she, however, be idle and dishonest, what will you do ? Now do not, pray, think that to get a good common- sense cook is by any means an easy affair. If you only inquire of your friends and relations, you will soon find out the difficulty. You have all probably read that exquisite little sketch in “ David Copperfield,” who mildly addresses his “ child-wife ” as follows : — “ You must remember, I am sure, that I was obliged to go out yesterday when dinner was half over, and that the day before I was made quite unwell by being obliged to eat underdone veal in a hurry ; to-day I don’t dine at all ; and I am afraid to say how long we waited for breakfast, and then the water didn’t boil. I don’t mean to reproach you, my dear, but this is not comfortable.” Unfortunately, this is only a slight exaggeration of what goes on every day in many houses throughout the country. What housekeepers should strive at is to get a nice little savoury dinner, and yet at the same time to be economical. We will now take a simple case to illustrate our point, and suppose that the larder contains the remains of a cold leg of mutton, which leg has been decently cooked, and did not the pre- vious day appear as a ghastly sight after a few cuts, like one of those horrible pictures in the penny journals that disgrace some of our shop-windows. We will suppose the time of year to be early summer. A good many young wives under these circumstances would simply order a cucumber

Cook this with the app: pantry check, scaling, and the assistant.