Leg and Shoulder – slowly roast (boulangere) in the oven or bone it and stuff it !.
Leg – steaks – thick cut steaks that slowly cook in the oven
Neck, Breast and Shoulder – use in stews (ragoût) and slow cooked dishes like a daube
1) Boulangere – "Bakers Oven" slow roasting method – this is good for the Leg or Shoulder.
Season the meat and pop it into a hot oven (220º C) for 20 minutes. Slice some onion and sweat in a little butter, cut potatoes for roasting and mix with the onions, add a few capers and a couple of peeled cloves of garlic. Take the meat out of the oven and put the potato and onion mix under the meat. Add a pint of stock, cover tightly – turn down to (140ºC) and cook slowly for 3 hours.
2) Carbonnade Nîmoise – Slow cooked leg steak. Heat a little olive oil in a casserole, chop up a few rashers of bacon, place a couple of thick leg steaks on the bacon, season and add some fresh thyme. Add some potatoes and any other vegetable for roasting. Perhaps some onion, artichoke hearts, a few tomatoes, fennel, carrots or aubergine. Cook in a hot oven (220º C) for 20 minutes, then cover with foil and a tight fitting lid and turn the down to 140ºC and cook for 3 to 4 hours.
3) Daube – Cut meat (neck, breast, shoulder) into fair sized chunks, chop up 2 onions and 2 carrots add seasoning. Pour over a bottle of good red wine, a glass of wine vinegar and 2 tablespoons of brandy. Leave to marinade for 4 hours.
Heat a little olive oil in a casserole with some chopped up belly pork or bacon, add 2 onions quartered and cook for a few minutes. Add the meat and vegetables (strained from the marinade), cook until the meat is browned. Add Parsley, thyme, rosemary and a bay leaf, a couple of cloves of garlic and a piece of orange skin. Pour over the marinade. Cover the casserole with foil and a tightly fitting lid and cook at 140ºC for 3 to 4 hours.
TIP – As some cuts of mutton can be quite fatty let the daube cool overnight and then remove the fat that will solidify on the surface. Then reheat ensuring the meat is hot before serving.
4) Stew or ragoût – Cut meat into fair sized chunks, brown in a little butter, season and add a teaspoon of sugar. Stir in 2 tablespoons of flour and cook for a few minutes. Add a crushed clove of garlic, 2 pints of water or stock, 4 or 5 tablespoons of tomato puree and 2 sprigs of parsley and thyme and a bay leaf. Simmer for an hour. Remove the mutton with a slatted spoon to a casserole. Brown a couple of handfuls of small silver skinned onions and add with some chopped potatoes to the casserole. Strain the liquid from the pan the meat was cooked in, into the casserole. Cover with foil and a tight fitting lid and cook for a further ¾ of an hour. This is a basic ragout – you can add other vegetables or pasta or rice.