Chef Juliette
Saddle of Mutton
Selle de mouton rôtie teaches that the roast is decided before the oven: trim cleanly, fold the flanks close, tie firmly, then carve rosy slices beside vegetables glossed with real butter.
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Cutlets
Created by Chef Juliette
Based on No. 1311, Cutlets, from Le Guide Culinaire (1907) by Auguste Escoffier
Côtelettes teach the discipline of fierce heat and short cooking: grill them bare for a bronzed edge and rosy centre, or fry the Anglaise-coated version in clarified butter until the crust holds fast.
Main Dishes
French
Weeknight
Quick Meal
Dinner Party
20 min
Active Time
15 min cook•35 min total
Yield4 servings
Côtelettes de mouton et d’agneau (mutton and lamb cutlets) teach the discipline of fierce heat and short cooking. Their fat should bronze, their centre stay rosy, and the meat must leave the fire before patience turns into punishment. Sauté (quick cooking in a little hot fat) is possible, but the source is plain: grilling suits them best; when they are treated à l’anglaise (coated with egg and breadcrumbs), they belong in clarified butter.
The original entry assumed a service grill or salamander already fierce, racks pared by the butcher, and several orders moving at once. No saucier or stockpot belongs here; the cutlet is carried by its own juices. At home, eight rib cutlets feed four, a cast-iron grill pan or close broiler replaces the service grill, and a shallow skillet replaces the broad frying range. Perfectly whitened bones and elaborate platter work are brigade scaffolding and can go; hot dry cooking, a rosy centre, and clarified butter beneath an Anglaise crust are the dish and must stay. One cook, one stove, one evening.
The one true thing is heat before contact. Dry the cutlets, bring the grill or butter fully hot, then lay them down and let the first hard sizzle set the surface. If the sound is timid, lift them out and heat the pan properly; ça se rattrape, but a cold start can only soak the crust and grey the meat.
Côtelettes de mouton et d’agneau have no single provincial claim; their classical home is the Parisian kitchen and the bourgeois dining table, where a rib rack was divided into neat individual portions and cooked to order. Their treatment alongside tournedos shows the canon’s family logic: both are tender, quick-cooking cuts that accept garnishes, though the cutlet entry specifically excludes garnishes served with sauces. À l’anglaise is not a claim of British ownership; in French kitchen vocabulary it names the flour, seasoned egg preparation, and breadcrumbs that form a protective crust in hot fat.
The technique, the tradition, and the story behind every dish.
Discover Culinary ExplorerIngredients
lamb or mutton rib cutlets
Quantity
8, about 1½ lb (680 g) total
cut ¾ inch (2 cm) thick
fine sea salt
Quantity
1 teaspoon (5 ml / 6 g)
freshly ground black pepper
Quantity
½ teaspoon (2.5 ml / 1 g)
plain flour (optional)
Quantity
½ cup (120 ml / 60 g)
Anglaise (for Egg-and-bread-crumbing) (optional)
Quantity
¾ cup (180 ml / 180 g) Anglaise (for Egg-and-bread-crumbing) (No. 174)
fine dry breadcrumbs (optional)
Quantity
1½ cups (360 ml / 150 g)
clarified butter (optional)
Quantity
½ cup (120 ml / 110 g)
| Ingredient | Quantity |
|---|---|
| lamb or mutton rib cutletscut ¾ inch (2 cm) thick | 8, about 1½ lb (680 g) total |
| fine sea salt | 1 teaspoon (5 ml / 6 g) |
| freshly ground black pepper | ½ teaspoon (2.5 ml / 1 g) |
| plain flour (optional) | ½ cup (120 ml / 60 g) |
| Anglaise (for Egg-and-bread-crumbing) (optional) | ¾ cup (180 ml / 180 g) Anglaise (for Egg-and-bread-crumbing) (No. 174) |
| fine dry breadcrumbs (optional) | 1½ cups (360 ml / 150 g) |
| clarified butter (optional) | ½ cup (120 ml / 110 g) |
Equipment Needed
- •12-inch (30 cm) cast-iron grill pan or broiler-safe pan
- •12-inch (30 cm) heavy skillet for the breaded treatment
- •Instant-read thermometer
- •Wire rack set over a rimmed tray
- •Tongs
Instructions
- 1
Prepare the cutlets
Take the cutlets from the cold twenty minutes before cooking. Trim away loose scraps of fat, but leave the firm rim that protects and flavours the meat. Pat every surface thoroughly dry. Season the grilled cutlets evenly with the salt and pepper just before cooking; for the breaded treatment, season lightly because the Anglaise preparation already carries seasoning.
Even thickness matters more than perfectly polished bones. Cutlets of unequal size finish at different moments, which is awkward cooking for no good reward. - 2
Choose the treatment
For the source’s preferred treatment, leave the cutlets bare and continue to the grilling step. For cutlets panés à l’anglaise, use the breading and clarified-butter steps instead. Do not bread cutlets merely for decoration: the crust is a distinct preparation, not an accessory.
- 3
Paner à l’anglaise
For the breaded treatment, spread the flour and breadcrumbs in separate shallow dishes, with the prepared Anglaise (for Egg-and-bread-crumbing) (No. 174) between them. Coat each cutlet lightly in flour and shake off every loose patch, pass it completely through the Anglaise, let the excess fall away, then roll it in the breadcrumbs. Press only enough to secure an even coat. Rest the cutlets on a wire rack for ten minutes so the layers settle into one crust.
- 4
Grill over fierce heat
Heat a cast-iron grill pan over high heat for five minutes, or set a broiler rack about 4 inches (10 cm) below a fully heated element. Lay down the bare cutlets without crowding and leave them untouched for 2 to 3 minutes, until the first side is deeply bronzed and releases cleanly. Turn once, cook the second side for another 2 to 3 minutes, then stand each cutlet briefly on its fatty edge to colour it. Mutton or thicker cutlets may need another minute. Insert a thermometer horizontally into the centre and remove the meat near 140°F (60°C), allowing the rest to carry it to 145°F (63°C). If the cutlets cling, wait another thirty seconds; forcing them tears away the browning you worked for.
- 5
Fry in clarified butter
For the breaded treatment, heat the clarified butter in a heavy skillet to 350°F (175°C), deep enough to cover the pan floor generously. Add no more than four cutlets at once. The coating must answer with an immediate, lively sizzle, which sets the egg and breadcrumbs into a resisting crust. Fry for 2 to 3 minutes per side until evenly golden and the centre approaches 140°F (60°C). If the butter gives only a weak murmur, lift the cutlets onto the rack and bring it properly to temperature before returning them. Ça se rattrape. If the crust darkens before the meat is ready, lower the heat and finish gently for another minute rather than burning the crumbs.
- 6
Rest and serve
Rest the cutlets uncovered on a wire rack for five minutes, never flat on paper and never beneath a tight cover, which softens the Anglaise crust. Confirm that the centre has reached 145°F (63°C) after resting; if it stalls below, return the cutlets to moderate heat for thirty seconds per side. Serve two per person while the grilled fat still gleams or the breaded crust remains crisp. Keep any garnish beside the cutlets and pour no sauce over the crust. À table!
Chef Tips
- •Ask for single rib cutlets of even thickness. Lamb is tender and mild; mutton has a deeper flavour and firmer chew. Both belong here, and careful cooking matters more than a grand price tag.
- •Clarified butter is the correct frying fat for the Anglaise treatment because its milk solids have been removed, allowing the crust to brown before the butter burns. Whole butter scorches too soon, and margarine has no business in the pan.
- •The source treats cutlets like tournedos when choosing garnishes, but excludes those served with sauces. Buttered peas, sautéed mushrooms, or crisp potatoes may sit alongside; keep the cutlet itself dry and proud.
- •A peppery northern Rhône red suits grilled mutton, while tender lamb is splendid with a lighter red Burgundy. Cooking well is not cooking fancy.
Advance Preparation
- •The cutlets may be trimmed and left uncovered on a rack in the refrigerator for up to eight hours. The dry surface will brown more readily; bring them out twenty minutes before cooking.
- •Anglaise (for Egg-and-bread-crumbing) (No. 174) may be prepared up to four hours ahead and kept cold. Bread the cutlets no more than thirty minutes before frying, or the crumbs begin to drink in moisture and lose their clean crust.
- •Cook the cutlets at the last moment. Leftovers keep for two days in the refrigerator, but reheating carries the rosy centre further; cold, thin slices are often the better fate.
Frequently Asked Questions
Nutrition Information
1 serving (about 165g)
Calories
660 calories
Total Fat
49 g
Saturated Fat
22 g
Trans Fat
1 g
Unsaturated Fat
26 g
Cholesterol
205 mg
Sodium
870 mg
Total Carbohydrates
26 g
Dietary Fiber
1 g
Sugars
2 g
Protein
28 g
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