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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Fritôt of Sheep’s Trotters
Created by Chef Juliette
Based on No. 1325, Fritôt of Sheep’s Trotters, from Le Guide Culinaire (1907) by Auguste Escoffier
Tender sheep’s trotters under a light, dry golden shell, sharpened with lemon and parsley and served with tomato sauce apart: a lesson in drying, battering, and frying without heaviness.
Appetizers & Snacks
French
Comfort Food
Budget Friendly
Weeknight
40 min
Active Time
15 min cook•55 min total
Yield4 servings
Fritôt de pieds de mouton (battered and fried sheep’s trotters) teaches the difference between frying to cook and frying to finish. The trotters are already tender; your task is to build a dry golden shell around their soft, gelatinous richness. Surface moisture is the enemy. Rush them wet into the batter and even a fine coating will slide away.
The brigade entry assumes its invisible support: cooked trotters waiting cold, Cooked Marinade for Venison (No. 168) already cooled, Batter for Vegetables (No. 232) rested by another pair of hands, a saucier holding the tomato sauce, and a fryer broad enough to take the whole service batch. A stockpot never off the fire and a salamander solve nothing here. At home, buy the trotters fully cooked, use a narrow heavy pot so abundant fat doesn’t require a vat, and fry in two or three small batches. One cook, one stove, one evening.
The brigade’s volume is scaffolding and can go. The brief lemon-and-parsley steep, the rested batter, and properly hot frying fat are the dish, so they stay. Turn the fritôt in its marinade, drain it patiently, and dry every visible bead before battering. That is the step that decides the fritôt.
Fritôt de pieds de mouton belongs most clearly to the Parisian traiteur and bistro table, where inexpensive cooked offal could be held cold and finished quickly to order. In the classical kitchen, fritôt names the treatment rather than the ingredient: a cooked item is briefly seasoned or marinated, dipped in batter, and fried until its coating is dry and golden. Sheep’s feet brought thrift and gelatinous richness to the method, while tomato sauce served apart protected the delicate fried shell.
The technique, the tradition, and the story behind every dish.
Discover Culinary ExplorerIngredients
fully cooked sheep’s trotters
Quantity
4 trotters (about 2 lb / 900 g bone-in before trimming)
chilled, split lengthwise into 8 half-trotters, with loose large bones removed
Cooked Marinade for Venison
Quantity
1 cup (240 ml / 250 g) Cooked Marinade for Venison (No. 168)
prepared and fully cooled
fresh lemon juice
Quantity
3 tablespoons (45 ml / 45 g)
neutral oil
Quantity
½ teaspoon (2.5 ml / 2 g)
flat-leaf parsley
Quantity
2 tablespoons (30 ml / 8 g)
finely chopped
Batter for Vegetables
Quantity
1½ cups (360 ml / 380 g) Batter for Vegetables (No. 232)
prepared and rested
neutral frying oil
Quantity
6 cups (1.4 liters / 1.3 kg)
flat-leaf parsley sprigs
Quantity
1 packed cup (240 ml / 30 g)
washed and dried completely
prepared smooth tomato sauce
Quantity
1 cup (240 ml / 250 g)
warmed and served separately
| Ingredient | Quantity |
|---|---|
| fully cooked sheep’s trotterschilled, split lengthwise into 8 half-trotters, with loose large bones removed | 4 trotters (about 2 lb / 900 g bone-in before trimming) |
| Cooked Marinade for Venisonprepared and fully cooled | 1 cup (240 ml / 250 g) Cooked Marinade for Venison (No. 168) |
| fresh lemon juice | 3 tablespoons (45 ml / 45 g) |
| neutral oil | ½ teaspoon (2.5 ml / 2 g) |
| flat-leaf parsleyfinely chopped | 2 tablespoons (30 ml / 8 g) |
| Batter for Vegetablesprepared and rested | 1½ cups (360 ml / 380 g) Batter for Vegetables (No. 232) |
| neutral frying oil | 6 cups (1.4 liters / 1.3 kg) |
| flat-leaf parsley sprigswashed and dried completely | 1 packed cup (240 ml / 30 g) |
| prepared smooth tomato saucewarmed and served separately | 1 cup (240 ml / 250 g) |
Equipment Needed
- •4-quart (3.8-liter) heavy saucepan or Dutch oven
- •Clip-on deep-fry thermometer
- •Wire skimmer or spider
- •Wire rack set over a rimmed tray
Instructions
- 1
Season the cooked trotters
Arrange the fully cooked, chilled half-trotters in a shallow dish and pour over the prepared, fully cooled Cooked Marinade for Venison (No. 168). Turn them once, cover, and refrigerate for 20 minutes, just long enough to season the surface without softening their set shape. Drain for 5 minutes and pat them carefully dry. If a half breaks, press it back together while cold and chill it briefly; its natural gelatin will help it hold.
- 2
Ready sauce and oil
Warm the tomato sauce to a gentle simmer, then cover it and take it off the heat. Pour the frying oil into a narrow heavy pot, leaving the vessel no more than half full, and heat it to 175°C / 350°F. Set a wire rack over a rimmed tray nearby. Abundant fat matters because it surrounds the fritôt and recovers its heat quickly; the narrow pot gives you that depth without a brigade-sized quantity.
- 3
Give the final marinade
Exactly 15 minutes before frying, toss the half-trotters with the lemon juice, neutral oil, and chopped parsley. Turn them several times so every surface is seasoned. Drain them over the dish for 2 minutes, then blot away visible pools without rubbing off all the parsley. Wet trotters shed their coating, so if you still see beads of liquid, give them another minute before reaching for the batter.
Keep this final marinade brief. Lemon should brighten the rich trotter, not soften its surface or dominate the batter. - 4
Fry the parsley
Make certain the parsley sprigs are completely dry. Lower a small handful into the oil with a wire skimmer, stand back from the first splutter, and fry for 5 to 10 seconds, until crisp but still vividly green. Lift them immediately to the rack and repeat. Return the oil to 180°C / 355°F before frying the trotters.
- 5
Dip in rested batter
Set the rested Batter for Vegetables (No. 232) beside the stove without beating or stirring it again. Hold each half-trotter by one end, dip it completely, and let the excess fall back until only a thin, even veil remains. If the batter slides away in bare patches, the trotter is still wet. Blot it again and redip it; forcing on more batter only makes a heavy shell.
- 6
Fry dry and golden
Lower two or three battered halves into the oil and fry for 3 to 4 minutes, turning once, until the coating is evenly golden, feels dry under the skimmer, and the bubbling has quieted. Let the oil return to 175 to 180°C / 350 to 355°F between batches. If a batch emerges pale and oily, the temperature fell. Ça se rattrape: restore the oil to 180°C / 355°F and refry those pieces for 30 to 45 seconds. If the coating darkens too quickly, lower the heat before the next batch.
- 7
Drain and serve
Lift each batch onto the rack and leave it for 60 to 90 seconds, without stacking, until the shell stays crisp and no longer leaves an oily mark. Arrange the fritôt on an oval platter lined with a clean cotton napkin or absorbent paper, then border it with the very green fried parsley. Bring the warm tomato sauce separately and never pour it over the batter. À table!
Chef Tips
- •Ask a butcher who handles mutton or sheep for feet that are already cleaned and cooked until tender. Raw trotters require a long preliminary cooking that this entry assumes has been completed; do that work the day before rather than pretending it fits between work and supper.
- •A narrow, deep pot is the honest home equivalent of the brigade fryer. It provides enough depth for the fritôt to float while using less oil, but the pot must remain no more than half full so bubbling fat has room to rise safely.
- •Serve the tomato sauce apart. Its acidity is splendid against the rich trotter, but spooning it over the fritôt destroys the dry shell you worked to make. Cooking well is not cooking fancy.
Advance Preparation
- •Cooked Marinade for Venison (No. 168) and Batter for Vegetables (No. 232) are separate finished components. Prepare them according to their own entries, cool the marinade completely, and give the batter its full rest before beginning the fritôt.
- •The cooked, split trotters can be prepared up to 2 days ahead and kept covered in the refrigerator. Apply the lemon-and-parsley marinade only 15 minutes before frying.
- •The tomato sauce may be prepared up to 3 days ahead. Reheat it gently before the oil goes on so one cook isn’t tending two active pans during frying.
Frequently Asked Questions
Nutrition Information
1 serving (about 340g)
Calories
720 calories
Total Fat
53 g
Saturated Fat
9 g
Trans Fat
0 g
Unsaturated Fat
44 g
Cholesterol
105 mg
Sodium
950 mg
Total Carbohydrates
30 g
Dietary Fiber
2 g
Sugars
4 g
Protein
31 g
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