Braised Fillet of Mutton with French Beans is a traditional British recipe, based on Mrs Beeton's recipe of 1861, for a classic dish of a mutton fillet (from the chump end of loin) braised in baking parchment that's glazed and served on a bed of French beans with gravy. The full recipe is presented here and I hope you enjoy this classic British version of: Braised Fillet of Mutton with French Beans.
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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
BRAISED FILLET OF MUTTON, with French Beans.
707. INGREDIENTS.—The chump end of a loin of mutton, buttered paper, French beans, a little glaze, 1 pint of gravy.
Mode.—Roll up the mutton in a piece of buttered paper, roast it for 2 hours, and do not allow it to acquire the least colour. Have ready some French beans, boiled, and drained on a sieve; remove the paper from the mutton, glaze it; just heat up the beans in the gravy, and lay them on the dish with the meat over them. The remainder of the gravy may be strained, and sent to table in a tureen.
Trim any excess fat from the leg of mutton then butterfly the leg open and remove the bone. Make the veal forcemeat according to the recipe and mix in the shallots. Use the stuffing to fill the opened leg of mutton then roll the leg close. Secure with butcher's twine and sew the openings at either end closed so the stuffing cannot escape.
Place in a roasting tin then transfer to an oven pre-heated to 220°C and roast for 30 minutes. At this point reduce the oven temperature to 160°C and continue roasting for 24 minutes per kg (for medium cooked mutton).
When done, remove the leg from the roasting tin, cover with foil and set aside to rest for 15 minutes. In the meantime, pour about the fat from the roasting tin into a saucepan. Stir in 2 tbsp plain flour and cook for 3 minutes, stirring constantly. Now whisk in 400ml cold water until smooth. Bring to a simmer, season to taste (and colour with gravy browning if desired).
Slice the mutton and serve accompanied by the gravy.
