This should be quite fresh. Put it into well-salted boiling water, which do not let stop boiling until the meat is thoroughly done. The rule is to boil it a quarter of an hour for each pound of meat. Caper-sauce should be served with this dish, either in a sauce-boat or poured over the mutton; garnish with parsley.
Trim them well, scraping the bones; roll them in a little melted butter or oil, season, and broil them; or they are nice egged, bread-crumbed, and fried. They are especially nice when broiled, served around a bed of mashed boiled potatoes: the cutlets help to season the potatoes, which in turn well suit the meat. Tomato-sauce is also a favorite companion to the cutlets. They may, however, be served with almost any kind of vegetables, such as pease or string-beans, in the centre of the dish, and the cutlets arranged in a circle around.
RAGOUTS (_made of Pieces of Mutton, Veal, Beef, or Rabbits_).
Cut the upper parts, or the neck, from a fore-quarter of mutton (or take inferior cuts from any part) into pieces for a ragout; heat a heaping table-spoonful of drippings, or lard, in a saucepan, and when hot _sauté_ in it the pieces of mutton (say two pounds) until they are almost done; take them out, put in a table-spoonful of flour, brown it, add at first a little cold or lukewarm water, mix it well, then add a quart of boiling water; now add also salt, Cayenne pepper, two cloves, the pieces of _sautéd_ meat, three or four onions (not large), and six or seven peeled potatoes. Some prefer to boil the potatoes a few minutes in other water first, as the water in which potatoes are boiled is considered unwholesome; cover the stew-pan well. When the vegetables are cooked, take them and the meat out, skim off every particle of fat from the gravy, taste to see if it is properly seasoned, pour it over the ragout, and serve.
These ragouts can be made with the neck, or any pieces of veal, in the same manner, or with pieces of beef, in which case carrots might be substituted for the potatoes. A ragout of rabbits is most excellent made in the same way, adding a glassful of red wine when it is almost done.
In buying a fore quarter of mutton, there are enough trimmings for a good ragout, with a shapely roast besides.