Haricot Mutton (Nz)

Haricot mutton is a proper New Zealand farmhouse stew that’s been feeding families since colonial days. Despite the French-sounding name (haricot means “to cut up"), there are no beans in this dish. It’s mutton neck and breast cut into mouthful-sized pieces, dredged in flour, browned in dripping, then simmered low and slow with root vegetables and stock.

The method is classic braising at its simplest. Brown the flour-coated meat first to build a crust and start the roux base. Then fry the sliced vegetables in the same fat to pick up all those browned bits. Everything goes back in the pan with stock, a spoonful of tomato sauce (that’s ketchup in Kiwi speak), and simmers for an hour and a half until the mutton is fork-tender.

Mutton neck and breast are cheap, tough cuts full of connective tissue. That’s exactly what you want for stewing. The collagen breaks down during the long simmer and turns the broth thick and silky.

Chef Tips

• Trim the fat before cooking. Mutton fat has a strong, tallowy flavor that can overwhelm the stew. Leave just enough for richness but remove the thick outer layer.
• Dredge in flour right before frying. The flour coating browns quickly in the hot dripping and later thickens the stew liquid naturally. Don’t flour too early or the coating gets gummy.
• Low and steady simmer, not a boil. Hard boiling toughens the mutton instead of tenderizing it. You want lazy bubbles, not a rolling boil.

Variations

• Lamb substitute: If mutton isn’t available, use lamb shoulder. It cooks faster (about 1 hour) and has a milder flavor.
• Add potatoes: Throw in cubed potatoes during the last 30 minutes for a heartier, one-pot meal.