Ireland? Really?
Jun. 26th, 2012 01:44 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
madbakerThis week's Resolution Recipe, that I cooked for dinner at A&S: A leg of mutton roasted in the style of Ireland.
1 leg of lamb (3-4 pounds) (I used goat, because that's what we had. Her name was Freddy.)
red wine vinegar or red wine
whole cloves
1 cinnamon stick, in shards
sage leaves
fresh marjoram
1/4 cup butter
red wine
2 lemons
red wine vinegar
Tenderize the meat. Soak it in vinegar or wine for 3-4 hours, then remove and pat dry. Stud the leg with cloves and cinnamon shards, then layer with sage and marjoram, tying the herbs around the meat. Roast over [hotness] heat for [time], until the meat is at least 140 degrees in the thickest part. During the roasting, baste the meat with butter and red wine. Remove meat from the fire and let rest for 15 minutes to finish cooking.
Slice the lemons into small rounds, toss with the drippings and vinegar, and serve this mixture as a sauce to accompany the roast meat.
"Sweet" lemons are the common lemon, but are translated as sweet to distinguish them from salted and/or sour lemons used elsewhere in the text.
Sources: de Casteau, Lancelot; James Prescott et al, trans. Ouverture de Cuisine. Self-published, 2003-2012.
What worked: It was pretty good. Francisco was a huge help cooking it - we used aluminum roasting pans rather than a spit and he tended it much of the time. He suggested cutting the lemons up into peeled sliced sections so that little triangles of zing would float in the drippings. Great suggestion, and if I'd had time that day (and any drippings) I'd do that.
What didn't: It could have used more herbs, especially since the leg was not that fatty. The wife suggested wrapping in caul fat, which would have both kept the herbs on (we used butcher's twine) and crisped up in a tasty fashion. More basting, if nothing else to provide some sauce for the end. There wasn't any.
Will I make it again? I'd like to try it again, yes. Perhaps with lamb next time.
Take your leg, and beat it very vigorously without breaking the skin: then put it to soak in some vinegar three or four hours: afterwards pull it out, and dry with a cloth, and stud it with some [whole] cloves, and some small pieces of cinnamon the length of a small finger, and lard it with a bit of sage and marjoram, and put it to roast on a spit, and continually baste well with butter and Spanish wine: being well cooked cut two [sweet] lemons into small slices, and throw on top with the fat which is in the drippings pan, and a bit of vinegar, and serve thus. (Casteau, 1604)
1 leg of lamb (3-4 pounds) (I used goat, because that's what we had. Her name was Freddy.)
red wine vinegar or red wine
whole cloves
1 cinnamon stick, in shards
sage leaves
fresh marjoram
1/4 cup butter
red wine
2 lemons
red wine vinegar
Tenderize the meat. Soak it in vinegar or wine for 3-4 hours, then remove and pat dry. Stud the leg with cloves and cinnamon shards, then layer with sage and marjoram, tying the herbs around the meat. Roast over [hotness] heat for [time], until the meat is at least 140 degrees in the thickest part. During the roasting, baste the meat with butter and red wine. Remove meat from the fire and let rest for 15 minutes to finish cooking.
Slice the lemons into small rounds, toss with the drippings and vinegar, and serve this mixture as a sauce to accompany the roast meat.
"Sweet" lemons are the common lemon, but are translated as sweet to distinguish them from salted and/or sour lemons used elsewhere in the text.
Sources: de Casteau, Lancelot; James Prescott et al, trans. Ouverture de Cuisine. Self-published, 2003-2012.
What worked: It was pretty good. Francisco was a huge help cooking it - we used aluminum roasting pans rather than a spit and he tended it much of the time. He suggested cutting the lemons up into peeled sliced sections so that little triangles of zing would float in the drippings. Great suggestion, and if I'd had time that day (and any drippings) I'd do that.
What didn't: It could have used more herbs, especially since the leg was not that fatty. The wife suggested wrapping in caul fat, which would have both kept the herbs on (we used butcher's twine) and crisped up in a tasty fashion. More basting, if nothing else to provide some sauce for the end. There wasn't any.
Will I make it again? I'd like to try it again, yes. Perhaps with lamb next time.
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Date: 2012-06-27 05:04 am (UTC)let me know and when I go to get my "giant lumps of frozen spinach suitable for double duty as cooler ice AND as an easy medieval side dish" I can get a lump of sheepy goodness too!
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Date: 2012-06-27 03:21 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2012-06-27 04:14 pm (UTC)