Collops

Last updated

A collop is a slice of meat, according to one definition in the Oxford English Dictionary . In Elizabethan times, "collops" came to refer specifically to slices of bacon. Shrove Monday, also known as Collop Monday, was traditionally the last day to cook and eat meat before Ash Wednesday, which was a non-meat day in the pre-Lenten season also known as Shrovetide. A traditional breakfast dish was collops of bacon topped with a fried egg. [1]

Contents

Etymology

The derivation is obscure; the OED cites that it may be related to the old Swedish word kollops (equivalent to the modern: kalops), but also suggests a German origin (klops). [2] The Swedish restaurateur Tore Wretman derives the modern Swedish kalops from the English collops, which in turn is said to originate from Swedish word colhoppe (ember-hops, from how the thin sliced strips of dried salted leg of mutton danced on the glowing hot skillet) that was well established in the Swedish language in the 15th century. [3]

History

Scotch collops are a traditional Scottish dish (referred to as a meal in Robert Louis Stevenson's novel Kidnapped—published in 1886; set in the 1750s). It can be created using either thin slices or minced meat of either beef, lamb or venison. This is combined with onion, salt, pepper and suet, then stewed, baked or roasted with optional flavourings according to the meat used. It is traditionally served garnished with thin toast and mashed potato. [4]

A different recipe is found in the 18th-century The Compleat Housewife for thinly-sliced veal "collops" dipped in seasoned batter and dredged in flour, fried in butter, and served with a thick mushroom butter gravy finished with freshly-squeezed orange juice.

According to the early 19th-century cookery book A New System of Domestic Cookery by Maria Rundell, long thin slices of fat bacon are layered over veal collops, then spread with highly seasoned forcemeat, rolled, skewered, covered with egg wash and fried. These are served with brown gravy.

Several recipes for minced-beef collops are found in Eliza Acton's Modern Cookery for Private Families , the most simple made by mincing very tender beef and simmering the "collops" in their own gravy. Collops made with less tender cuts, like rump steak, are served in a stew made with a basic roux of flour and butter with herbs (called "brown thickening") and a flavoring ingredient like ketchup or chilli vinegar. A fancier version of this dish is made with cayenne, mace, mushroom ketchup and port wine, optionally served with gravy and currant jelly. Acton uses the term "collops" not only for recipes made with minced cuts of beef, but also in the meaning of "veal cutlets", small round cuts of veal either fried gently in clarified butter and served with espagnole sauce or, for the "Scotch collops", dipped in egg batter and bread crumbs and fried before saucing.

Another form of collop was found in Northern England and referred to a slice of potato which was battered and deep-fried. This was often served with chips in fish and chip shops as a less expensive alternative to fish and chips.

Lamb collops were included on the breakfast menu for first-class passengers of the Titanic in 1912. [5]

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Chicken-fried steak</span> American breaded cutlet dish

Chicken-fried steak, also known as country-fried steak, is an American breaded cutlet dish consisting of a piece of beefsteak coated with seasoned flour and either deep-fried or pan-fried. It is sometimes associated with the Southern cuisine of the United States. It is breaded and fried with a technique similar to the more common fried chicken, hence "chicken-fried". When deep-fried, it is usually referred to as "chicken-fried steak". Pan-fried versions are typically referred to as "country-fried steak".

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Meatloaf</span> Dish of baked or smoked shaped ground meat

Meatloaf is a dish of ground meat that has been combined with other ingredients and formed into the shape of a loaf, then baked or smoked. The final shape is either hand-formed on a baking tray, or pan-formed by cooking it in a loaf pan. It is usually made with ground beef, although ground lamb, pork, veal, venison, poultry, and seafood are also used, sometimes in combination. Vegetarian adaptations of meatloaf may use imitation meat or pulses.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Hash (food)</span> Culinary dish of chopped meat, potatoes, and fried onions

Hash is a dish consisting of chopped meat, potatoes, and fried onions. The name is derived from French: hacher, meaning 'to chop'. It originated as a way to use up leftovers. In the U.S. by the 1860s, a cheap restaurant was called a "hash house" or "hashery."

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Pyttipanna</span> Scandinavian meat and potatoes dish

Pyttipanna (Swedish), pyttipanne (Norwegian), pyttipannu (Finnish) or biksemad (Danish), is a culinary dish consisting of chopped meat, potatoes and onions fried in a pan, similar to a hash, and popular in Scandinavia. The term is Swedish for "small pieces in pan".

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Schnitzel</span> Breaded, fried flat piece of meat

A schnitzel, colloquially known in Australian English as a schnitty, is a thin slice of meat. The meat is usually thinned by pounding with a meat tenderizer. Most commonly, the meat is breaded before frying. Breaded schnitzel is popular in many countries and is made using veal, pork, chicken, mutton, beef, or turkey. Schnitzel is very similar to the dish escalope in France and Spain, panado in Portugal, tonkatsu in Japan, cotoletta in Italy, kotlet schabowy in Poland, milanesa in Latin America, chuleta valluna in Colombia, chicken chop in Malaysia, and chicken-fried steak and pork tenderloin of the United States.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Frikadelle</span> Flat, pan-fried meatballs

A frikadelle is a rounded, flat-bottomed, pan-fried meatball of minced meat, often likened to the German version of meatballs. The origin of the dish is unknown. The term frikadelle is German but the dish is associated with German, Nordic and Polish cuisines. They are one of the most popular meals in Poland, where they are known as kotlety mielone.

<i>Smørrebrød</i> Open-faced sandwich found in Danish and Norwegian cuisine

Smørrebrød, smørbrød "butter bread" (Norwegian), or smörgås "butter goose" (Swedish), is a traditional open-faced sandwich in the cuisines of Denmark, Norway and Sweden that usually consists of a piece of buttered rye bread, topped with commercial or homemade cold cuts, pieces of meat or fish, cheese or spreads, and garnishes.

Cutlet refers to:

  1. a thin slice of meat from the leg or ribs of mutton, veal, pork, or chicken
  2. a dish made of such slice, often breaded
  3. a croquette or cutlet-shaped patty made of ground meat
  4. a kind of fish cut where the fish is sliced perpendicular to the spine, rather than parallel ; often synonymous with steak
  5. a prawn or shrimp with its head and outer shell removed, leaving only the flesh and tail
  6. a mash of vegetables fried with bread
<span class="mw-page-title-main">Czech cuisine</span> Culinary traditions of the Czech Republic

Czech cuisine has both influenced and been influenced by the cuisines of surrounding countries and nations. Many of the cakes and pastries that are popular in Central Europe originated within the Czech lands. Contemporary Czech cuisine is more meat-based than in previous periods; the current abundance of farmable meat has enriched its presence in regional cuisine. Traditionally, meat has been reserved for once-weekly consumption, typically on weekends.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Rinderroulade</span> Meat dish

Rinderrouladen are a German meat dish, usually consisting of bacon, onions, mustard and pickles wrapped in thinly sliced beef which is then cooked. The dish is considered traditional also in the Upper Silesia region of Poland where it is known as rolada śląska and in the Czech Republic where it is known as španělský ptáček. In Britain, the equivalent dish is widely referred to as beef olives.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Scottish cuisine</span> Culinary traditions of Scotland

Scottish cuisine encompasses the cooking styles, traditions and recipes associated with Scotland. It has distinctive attributes and recipes of its own, but also shares much with other British and wider European cuisine as a result of local, regional, and continental influences—both ancient and modern.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Fricassee</span> Method of cooking meat

Fricassee or fricassée is a stew made with pieces of meat that have been browned in butter then served in a sauce flavored with the cooking stock. Fricassee is usually made with chicken, veal or rabbit, with variations limited only by what ingredients the cook has at hand.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Meatball</span> Dish of ground meat rolled into a ball

A meatball is ground meat (mince) rolled into a ball, sometimes along with other ingredients, such as bread crumbs, minced onion, eggs, butter, and seasoning. Meatballs are cooked by frying, baking, steaming, or braising in sauce. There are many types of meatballs using different types of meats and spices. The term is sometimes extended to meatless versions based on vegetables or fish; the latter are also commonly known as fish balls.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Breaded cutlet</span> Meat in breading or batter

Breaded cutlet or braised cutlet is a dish made from coating a cutlet of meat with breading or batter and either frying or baking it.

References

  1. Brand, John (1849). Observations on popular antiquities of Great Britain. London: Henry G. Bohn. p.  62 . Retrieved 22 February 2015.
  2. Oxford English Dictionary, accessed 8 February 2013
  3. Svensk husmanskost, Tore Wretman 1967; ISBN   91-7642-057-4
  4. "CHAPTER 19 – VEAL – RECIPES | MRS Beeton's Book of Household Management".
  5. "First Class Breakfast Menu R.M.S. "TITANIC" April 11, 1912". Archived from the original on June 20, 2013.