Baked Mutton Chops and Potatoes

Original Recipe

Wash and peel some good potatoes and cut them into slices the thickness of a penny-piece. The quantity of potatoes must, of course, be decided according to the number of persons to whom they have to be served; but it is a safe plan to allow two, or even three, potatoes for each person. After the potatoes are sliced, wash them in two or three waters to thoroughly cleanse them, then arrange them neatly (in layers) in a brown stone dish proper for baking purposes. Sprinkle a little salt and pepper between each layer, and add a sufficient quantity of cold water to prevent their burning. Place the dish in a very hot oven--oil the top shelf--so as to brown the potatoes in a few minutes. Have ready some nice loin chops (say one--for each person); trim off most of the fat; make them into a neat round shape by putting a small skewer through each. When the potatoes are nicely browned, remove the dish from the oven, and place the chops on the top. Add a little more salt and pepper, and water if required, and return the dish to a cooler part of the oven, where it may be allowed to remain until sufficiently cooked, which will be in about three-quarters of an hour. When the upper sides of the chops are a nice crisp brown, turn them over so as to brown the other side also. If, in the cooking, the potatoes appear to be getting too dry, a little more water may be gently poured in at one corner of the dish, only care must be taken to see that the water is hot this time--not cold as at first. The dish in which the chops and potatoes are baked must be as neat looking as possible, as it has to be sent to the table; turning the potatoes out would, of course, spoil their appearance. Those who have never tasted this dish have no idea how delightful it is. While the chops are baking the gravy drips from them among the potatoes, rendering the whole most delicious.