How to Cut, Prepare and Cook Them - How to Egg and Crumb Cutlets - Frying the Cutlet Chaudfroid of Cutlets - Mutton Cutlets a la Russe

For a dish of cutlets buy a piece of the best end of a neck of mutton or lamb; about two pounds is usually sufficient for a dish of six or seven, but this will depend entirely on the size of the meat.

First remove the spine or chine bone. This is best done with a saw (see Fig. 1).

Already been sawn off

Fig. 1. Removing the spine of chine bone with a saw. The ends of the rib bones have

Next saw off the ends of the rib bones (see a, Fig. 1), leaving the cutlet bones about three inches long.

Next divide the mutton into cutlets. Scrape half an inch of the ends of the cutlet bones free from meat, skin and fat. Slightly flatten each cutlet with a cutlet-bat or heavy kitchen knife dipped in cold water to prevent it from sticking. Next trim off all but a narrow rim of fat from each cutlet, and trim the meat neatly, avoiding unnecessary waste. The trimmings of the meat will serve for some other dish, the bones for the stockpot, and the fat can be clarified for frying purposes, pastry, etc.