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Stuffed Mutton Breast


lord_seagrave
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Chaps,

 

Times are lean at Seagrave Towers and the chef (i.e. yours truly) has been instructed to economise. So out goes the tenderest joint of spring lamb for Easter Sunday, and in come the leftovers from Mr. Libretto's most, er, economical of animals.

 

Consequently I need some tips for stuffing and cooking mutton breast.

 

I'm thinking a herby, lemony, dryish stuffing and letting the flavour of the meat speak for itself, but:-

 

1) what sort of quantity of stuffing will I need (er, how thickly to stuff it in comparision to the thickness of the beast);

2) what sort of ratios of breadcrumbs and flavourings will I need;

3) how long should I cook it for, and what ratio of crispiness to meltiness am I looking to achieve?

 

As far as accompaniments go, I was thinking of roasting it on a rack over some spuds and sliced vegetables.

 

All info gratefully received as per usual. :no:

 

LS

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Not sure of the timings etc. as I tend to go on temperature with a probe, however I would go with a basic stuffing of barley lemon and thyme about 10mm thick before rolling and tying the joint.

Cook the barley in stock until just starting to get tender, add juice of a lemon and 1/2 the rind(UN-waxed) and as much thyme as you like and a wee bit of garlic. "Seal" in a hot pan or griddle first before roasting.

Hopefully the barley will take on the flavours of the mutton and the mutton will absorb the lemony thyme flavours.

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Have you considered pot roasting it - last time I had some roast mutton, I slow roasted it but it dried out. Pot roasting with the lid on and some liquid - stock, white wine, both, might help keep it moist.

 

Apologies if I am teaching you to suck eggs.

 

cheers, Jon.

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No, no, actually JR I had considered this also. I had great success with beef brisket (effectively the same cut), which I salted in the vegetable drawer of the fridge for a week first and then braised it in a bit of stock in the oven (thank you Fergus Henderson :shoot: )

 

But what I really want to do with this is to stuff, roll and roast it. I just need to try and get a feel for timings and ratios, which it is always difficult to appreciate from written recipes. Many thanks for your advice HD.

 

The butcher suggested I make my stuffing on Saturday morning and take it along to him to do the stuffing/rolling/tying part, which I am naturally very happy to do! However, I want to have some sort of plan formulated in anticipation, not least because I shall have to get my ingredients sorted out before hand.

 

LS

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Fair point. That man Henderson - now we're talking. I worked just around the corner from Smithfield market last year, so went to St John a few times - bone marrow on toast.....mmmmmmm :shoot:

 

Can't help too much on the recipe front - I tend to be the chuck it in and hope for the best sort of cook.

 

All I would say is Rosemary has got to be pretty high on the list, along with garlic and would be tempted to also add something sweet - maybe prunes, apricots and possibly some pine or pistachio nuts.

 

Let us know how you get on.

 

cheers, Jon.

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Quick update on this.

 

HD's stuffing was a revalation. I simmered 100g pearl barley for about 30 minutes in 2 pints of water with a couple of celery sticks, a carrot, six black peppercorns and a bay leaf. Once drained and cooled, this yielded just over 200g of cooked barley.

 

The final stuffing mix was the cooked barley, 100g wholemeal breadcrumbs, half a bunch of finely chopped flat-leafed parsley, the juice and grated zest of an organic lemon (unwaxed), some finely choped rosemary and thyme, and plenty of salt and black pepper.

 

If my dinner guests were less particular, perhaps something fruity would not have gone amiss - some dried apricots or sultanas or something.

 

True to his word, Mr. Libretto did indeed bone, stuff and roll the breast. Since mutton was not available, we made do :good: with some excellent English spring lamb.

 

Roasted at 160C for a couple of hours, it was as crisp and melty as we could have hoped. With the various vegetables sat underneath for the final 45 minutes. Delish. :yes:

 

No photgraphy this time, I'm afraid...

 

LS

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  • 2 weeks later...
If my dinner guests were less particular, perhaps something fruity would not have gone amiss - some dried apricots or sultanas or something.

 

That`s a natural way to go with lamb/mutton, however not everyone is keen on N.African style spicing, but I would have tried it that way with couscous/barley fruits and cinnamon, parsley/corriander.

Unfortunately Mrs.Hd, can`t stand lamb as she worked as a cleaner in a kebab shop for a while and hasn`t been able to abide the smell since, nor the questionable hygeine and cooking standards she saw there either and over that I shall draw a veil.

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i learnt a cooking tip when in crete ,oven cook the mutton over sliced tommatoes about 1/2 an hour in hot oven then cover with foil and cook for a few hours at medium heat,top the oven tray with water if it looks like it is drying out.I have done this many time in the aga 4 oven starting top right then bottom left for 6 plus hours.I also work 100% with a whole roe haunch (or Leg) little bit of seasoning. Try it is a winner. Otherwise put it in a dutch oven and then place it into an aga or normal oven this also works as the cast iron cooks at an even temprature all round and retains moisture. Good luck

 

regards all Wild-fire

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perhaps something fruity would not have gone amiss - some dried apricots or sultanas or something.

 

but I would have tried it that way with couscous/barley fruits and cinnamon, parsley/corriander.

 

 

I often make a lamb tagine using rolled shoulder that I cut the meat from so the breast would work here too I feel, but the reason I mention it is that i'll bet you could make a real good moroccan stuffing using the cous cous, shallot, garlic & ginger paste, ground corriander, cinnamon, tomato puree and a little honey or some chopped apricots.

 

If you made twice the mix but kept half back without the cous cous and added a little beaten egg, pinch of salt and plenty of bread crumbs, you could spread that evenly over the rolled joint before slow roasting maybe.

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