Sheep's Feet or Trotters is a traditional British recipe, based on Mrs Beeton's recipe of 1861, for a classic stew of a suet, onion, carrot, bayleaf and thyme stock thickened with flour in which the sheep feet are cooked before being finished in a milk sauce flavoured with pepper, nutmeg and lemon juice that's thickened with an egg yolk liaison. The full recipe is presented here and I hope you enjoy this classic British version of: Sheep's Feet or Trotters.
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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
SHEEP'S FEET or TROTTERS (Soyer's Recipe).
741. INGREDIENTS.—12 feet, 1/4 lb. of beef or mutton suet, 2 onions, 1 carrot, 2 bay-leaves, 2 sprigs of thyme, 1 oz. of salt, 1/4 oz. of pepper, 2 tablespoonfuls of flour, 2-1/2 quarts of water, 1/4 lb. of fresh butter, 1 teaspoonful of salt, 1 teaspoonful of flour, 3/4 teaspoonful of pepper, a little grated nutmeg, the juice of 1 lemon, 1 gill of milk, the yolks of 2 eggs.
Mode.—Have the feet cleaned, and the long bone extracted from them. Put the suet into a stewpan, with the onions and carrot sliced, the bay-leaves, thyme, salt, and pepper, and let these simmer for 5 minutes. Add 2 tablespoonfuls of flour and the water, and keep stirring till it boils; then put in the feet. Let these simmer for 3 hours, or until perfectly tender, and take them and lay them on a sieve. Mix together, on a plate, with the back of a spoon, butter, salt, flour (1 teaspoonful), pepper, nutmeg, and lemon-juice as above, and put the feet, with a gill of milk, into a stewpan. When very hot, add the butter, &c., and stir continually till melted. Now mix the yolks of 2 eggs with 5 tablespoonfuls of milk; stir this to the other ingredients, keep moving the pan over the fire continually for a minute or two, but do not allow it to boil after the eggs are added. Serve in a very hot dish, and garnish with croûtons, or sippets of toasted bread.
Time.—3 hours. Average cost, 1s. 6d.
Sufficient for 4 persons.
Seasonable at any time.
Modern Redaction
Ingredients:
12 sheep's feet
115g beef or mutton suet
2 onions, sliced
1 carrot, sliced
2 bayleaves
2 sprigs of thyme
30g sea salt
7.5g freshly-ground black pepper
2 tbsp plain flour
10l water
115g butter
1 tsp salt
1 tsp plain flour
3/4 tsp freshly-ground black pepper
freshly-grated nutmeg, to taste
juice of 1 lemon
70ml milk
2 egg yolks
5 tbsp milk
Method:
Clean the feet thoroughly, remove the hooves and then take out the long bone. Melt the suet in a large pan then add the onions, carrot, bayleaves, thyme, salt and black pepper. Bring to a simmer and cook for 5 minutes then scatter the flour over the top, stir to combine and whisk in the water.
Keep stirring the mixture until it comes to a boil then add the feet. Reduce to a simmer, cover and cook for about 3 hours, or until the feet are completely tender. Take off the heat and turn into a sieve.
Mix together the butter, salt, plain flour, pepper, nutmeg and lemon juice on a plate. Transfer the cooked feet to a pan and add the milk. Bring to a simmer then add the butter mix and stir until melted.
Now whisk together the milk and egg yolks then take a little of the pan liquid and whisk into the egg mix to temper. Add the milk to a pan and stir to combine. Keep cooking for about 2 minutes, stirring and shaking the pan constantly (do not allow to boil).
Turn into a warmed dish, garnish with croûtons or sippets of bread and serve.
