An Excellent Way to Cook a Breast of Mutton is a traditional British recipe, based on Mrs Beeton's recipe of 1861, for a classic stew of breast of mutton pieces with onions and savoury herbs and peas in a sauce thickened with flour. The full recipe is presented here and I hope you enjoy this classic British version of: An Excellent Way to Cook a Breast of Mutton.
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This is a traditional British recipe redacted from the redoubtable Mrs Beeton's 1861 volume Mrs Beeton's Book of Household Management, the classic Victorian cookbook.
Original Recipe
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.
Modern Redaction
Ingredients:
1 breast of mutton (or lamb)
2 tbsp butter
2 onions, sliced
salt and freshly-ground black pepper, to taste
flour
1 bunch of savoury herbs
400g garden peas (fresh or frozen)
Method:
Take the leanest mutton you can find and trim off any excess fat then cut into pieces about 2cm square. Put these pieces in a pan with the butter and fry until well browned all over. Dredge the meat in flour and return to the pan along with the onions and herbs. Pour over enough water to just cover the meat, season to taste, then bring to a simmer, cover the pan and cook gently for about 90 minutes, or until the mutton is tender.
Remove the meat with a slotted spoon and set aside. Strain the gravy and skim off all the fat from its surface. Return the meat and the skimmed gravy to the pan and add the garden peas. Bring to a gentle boil and cook for about 12 minutes, or until the peas are tender.
