To Broyl A Neck Of Mutton

This recipe hails from the early 18th century, attributed to Jane Webb, a woman active between 1725 and 1750. During this period, English cookery was warily emerging from the heavy spicing of previous centuries, moving toward nuanced flavors using fresh herbs, wine, and the increasing availability of new ingredients such as anchovies. The use of mutton and neck in particular reflects not only frugal home economy, but a taste for robust flavors and textures suited to the slower, open-fire cookery of the day. The inclusion of wine (clarrett), aromatic herbs, and anchovies demonstrate both the cosmopolitan influence of continental Europe and the rising British fondness for savory, rich gravies—the forerunner of the ubiquitous British sauce technique.

Back in Jane Webb’s time, the broiling would have been done over an open hearth fire using a heavy, hand-forged iron gridiron, set slightly above red-hot embers for controlled heat. The pounding of meat was accomplished with sturdy cleavers or wooden mallets. Herb chopping was performed with a steel knife or, if available, a curved mezzaluna. A small metal saucepan would have been used for making the sauce, placed on a trivet or low tripod over the coals.