Lamb Chops en Papillote

History

No source documents the origin of this specific preparation. What can be established is narrow.

The recipe appears in La Mejor Cocinera, Recetas de Cocina, issued by the Madrid publishing house of Saturnino Calleja, listed in the CARNES (meats) section as "Chuletas de cordero a la papillote." The same section separately lists "Chuletas a la papillot," a distinct beef preparation — the two are different recipes in the same book and should not be conflated. The edition date is unsettled: this archive records 1905, but the earliest catalogue record located for the work dates it to 1921.

The technique the title names is French in origin: cooking en papillote, food enclosed in a folded paper parcel and cooked inside it, has been popular since the 17th century in France. The parcel is typically made from folded parchment paper, though other materials may be substituted. The heart-shaped cut the recipe specifies is the traditional form — traditionally a large heart-shaped piece of parchment is employed, though a rectangle will suffice. The instruction to grill the papillotes rather than bake them, turning so the paper does not blacken, is a direct-heat handling of the method; no source consulted documents that variant specifically.

The dish's internal construction — chops browned in tocino, then jacketed in a dried herb, parsley and jamón mixture before wrapping — resembles the general French pattern of enclosing a cutlet in a dry forcemeat before papering it, but no source confirms that lineage for this recipe, so it is offered as inference only.

No source was found on who prepared or ate this dish, in what setting, or what it meant to anyone. That record is silent.

Ingredients

• lamb chops
• salt
• tocino (salt pork or bacon fat)
• fresh herbs, finely minced
• parsley, chopped
• jamón (cured ham), cooked and minced

Instructions

1. Cut the lamb chops and flatten them, shaping them well. Season with salt and place in a pan with melted tocino (salt pork). Brown them, turning often, until cooked through. Pour off the fat into another pan.
2. In that reserved fat, sauté the finely minced fresh herbs until they lose their moisture. Set aside.
3. Add the chopped parsley and cooked, minced jamón (cured ham) to the herbs. Let this mixture cool completely.
4. Wrap each chop with two layers of this herb-and-ham dressing. Place each wrapped chop on strong paper cut into the shape of a heart. Fold the paper so it completely encloses the chop. Arrange the papillotes on a grill, heating them and turning often so the paper does not blacken. Serve in the same paper.