To Make Scotch Collops

This recipe comes from Lady Craven's receipt book, compiled in England between 1702 and 1704—a time when households recorded their own trusted recipes, often written informally and shared among aristocratic circles. The book provides a fascinating window into early 18th-century English culinary culture, where ingredients like oysters and anchovies reflected the cosmopolitan influences of trade and the growing reach of the British empire. Recipes like Scotch Collops showcase both the resourcefulness and opulence of noble kitchens: tenderizing less-choice cuts of meat and enriching sauces with a medley of luxurious flavors. The mixture of land and sea ingredients highlights period tastes and the interplay of sweet, savory, and umami. This was a dish served to impress guests and display the household's refinement and means.

In the early 1700s, this dish would have been prepared with a sturdy wooden chopping board, a heavy iron knife (used both for slicing and for tenderizing), and a wide, shallow frying pan made of wrought iron or copper. Butter would be clarified over the hearth, and the entire process would take place over an open fire or in a wood-fired hearth, with cooks regulating the heat by adjusting the coals. Utensils like slotted spoons or small slices were used to remove the collops from the pan. Ingredients would be chopped with large two-handled knives, and sauces would be simmered in shallow pans for quick reduction. All chopping and mixing was done by hand—no whirring food processors here!