Italian Mutton Cutlets is a traditional British recipe, based on Mrs Beeton's recipe of 1861, for a classic dish of neck of mutton cut into cutlets that are coated in a herby mix, fried and finished in a rich sauce with soy sauce, port wine and Harvey's sauce. The full recipe is presented here and I hope you enjoy this classic British version of: Italian Mutton Cutlets.
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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
ITALIAN MUTTON CUTLETS.
723. INGREDIENTS.—About 3 lbs. of the neck of mutton, clarified butter, the yolk of 1 egg, 4 tablespoonfuls of bread crumbs, 1 tablespoonful of minced savoury herbs, 1 tablespoonful of minced parsley, 1 teaspoonful of minced shalot, 1 saltspoonful of finely-chopped lemon-peel; pepper, salt, and pounded mace to taste; flour, 1/2 pint of hot broth or water, 2 teaspoonfuls of Harvey's sauce, 1 teaspoonful of soy, 2 teaspoonfuls of tarragon vinegar, 1 tablespoonful of port wine.
Mode.—Cut the mutton into nicely-shaped cutlets, flatten them, and trim off some of the fat, dip them in clarified butter, and then, into the beaten yolk of an egg. Mix well together bread crumbs, herbs, parsley, shalot, lemon-peel, and seasoning in the above proportion, and cover the cutlets with these ingredients. Melt some butter in a frying-pan, lay in the cutlets, and fry them a nice brown; take them, out, and keep them hot before the fire. Dredge some flour into the pan, and if there is not sufficient butter, add a little more; stir till it looks brown, then pour in the hot broth or water, and the remaining ingredients; give one boil, and pour round the cutlets. If the gravy should not be thick enough, add a little more flour. Mushrooms, when obtainable, are a great improvement to this dish, and when not in season, mushroom-powder may be substituted for them.
Time.—10 minutes;—rather longer, should the cutlets be very thick.
Average cost, 2s. 9d.
Sufficient for 5 or 6 persons.
Seasonable at any time.
Modern Redaction
Ingredients:
1.4kg (about) neck of mutton
120ml clarified butter (about)
1 egg yolk, beaten
4 tbsp breadcrumbs
1 tbsp savoury herbs, minced
1 tbsp parsley, minced
1 tsp shallot, minced
1/4 tsp freshly-grated lemon zest
salt and freshly-ground black pepper, to taste
ground mace, to taste
4 tbsp butter
6 mushrooms, finely sliced
2 tbsp plain flour
300ml hot stock or water
2 tbsp Harvey's sauce
1 tsp soy sauce
2 tsp tarragon vinegar
1 tbsp port wine
Method:
Cut the meat into nicely-shaped cutlets, flatten slightly with a mallet and trim off any excess fat.
Combine the breadcrumbs, savoury herbs, parsley, shallot, lemon zest and seasonings in a shallow dish. Dip each mutton cutlet in the clarified butter and then in the egg yolk before coating each one in the herby breadcrumb mix.
Melt the butter in a frying pan, add the coated cutlets and fry until well browned on both sides. Remove the cutlets from the pan and set aside in the oven to keep warm. Scatter the flour over the butter remaining in the pan and stir to form a smooth roux. Continue cooking, stirring constantly, until the mixture is lightly browned then whisk in the stock (or water until smooth). Add the mushrooms, Harvey's sauce, soy sauce, tarragon vinegar and port wine. Stir to combine then bring the mixture to a boil.
Arrange the cutlets on a serving plate and pour the sauce around them.
