flipSunday Roast Shoulder of Mutton with Garden Vegetables
Sunday Roast Shoulder of Mutton with Garden Vegetables
Why this dish? Sunday dinner, after their father's service at St. Michael's Church, was the most carefully prepared meal of the week at the parsonage: a joint of roasted meat and roots from the family garden.
A shoulder of mutton slow-roasted, scented with garden herbs, surrounded by golden roots in the fat. A straightforward, nourishing meat, punctuated by the brown deglazed juices.
On Sundays, when my father had concluded his sermon and the bells had fallen silent, we sat down to table with the seriousness due to that day. The shoulder of mutton had been roasting since morning, rubbed with a little salt and the herbs that Tabby and I gathered from the garden; all around, the turnips and potatoes confited in the fat. It was not a great house feast, I grant you, but served with reverence it had all the dignity thereof. We ate little, but we ate well — and gratefully.
- •Shoulder of mutton — one joint (centrepiece)
- •Turnips and carrots from the garden — according to household (garnish)
- •Potatoes — as many as needed (garnish)
- •Thyme and rosemary — a few sprigs (fragrance)
- •Salt — as needed (seasoning)
Sunday Roast Shoulder of Mutton with Garden Vegetables
A shoulder of mutton slow-roasted, scented with garden herbs, surrounded by golden roots in the fat. A straightforward, nourishing meat, punctuated by the brown deglazed juices.
Why this dish? Sunday dinner, after their father's service at St. Michael's Church, was the most carefully prepared meal of the week at the parsonage: a joint of roasted meat and roots from the family garden.
On Sundays, when my father had concluded his sermon and the bells had fallen silent, we sat down to table with the seriousness due to that day. The shoulder of mutton had been roasting since morning, rubbed with a little salt and the herbs that Tabby and I gathered from the garden; all around, the turnips and potatoes confited in the fat. It was not a great house feast, I grant you, but served with reverence it had all the dignity thereof. We ate little, but we ate well — and gratefully.
Ingredients (period version)
- Shoulder of mutton — one joint (centrepiece)
- Turnips and carrots from the garden — according to household (garnish)
- Potatoes — as many as needed (garnish)
- Thyme and rosemary — a few sprigs (fragrance)
- Salt — as needed (seasoning)
Ingredients
- Shoulder of lamb or mutton — 1.2 kg (centrepiece)
- Potatoes — 600 g (garnish)
- Carrots and turnips — 400 g (garnish)
- Thyme and rosemary — 4 sprigs (fragrance)
- Butter or lard — 30 g (cooking)
- Salt and pepper — to taste (seasoning)
- Stock or water — 200 ml (jus)
Method
- Preheat the oven to 160°C. Rub the shoulder with salt, pepper, and the stripped herbs.
- Sear the meat in a little butter or lard to brown on all sides.
- Arrange the vegetables cut into large chunks around the meat in a roasting dish, pour the stock into the bottom.
- Roast slowly for 2½ to 3 hours, basting regularly with the juices, until the meat is tender enough to pull.
- Rest the meat, deglaze the dish to obtain a brown jus, and serve with the confit roots.
How it was made : Meat was roasted on a spit before the hearth or in the kitchen oven, and the melted fat was used to confit root vegetables. Nothing was wasted: the deglazed juices became a sauce, and leftover mutton was made into hash or broth on subsequent days.
The contemporary twist : Seven-hour pulled mutton, served on a bed of mashed turnip and potato chips for a reimagined Victorian Sunday.
Charlotte Brontë · Charactorium
