A leg of lamb or mutton should be spitted more or less parallel to the bone. A rolled boneless should may either be spitted on the diagonal or straight through the meat. Both roasts take about the same length of time to cook: medium rare (145° to 150°) in an hour or a little over, well done up to 2 1/2 hours.

Wipe leg of lamb with damp cloth. Sprinkle with salt, pepper, and a little flour. Rub into meat. Slash and insert cut pieces of garlic. Place on spit and baste frequently.

Basting Sauce:

• 3 tablespoons Worcestershire
• 3 tablespoons meat sauce
• 1/2 cup tomato catsup
• 2 tablespoons butter or margarine
• 3 tablespoons shortening
• 1 tablespoon sugar
• 1 tablespoon vinegar
• 2 teaspoons liquid smoke
• 1 medium sized onion, grated
• 1 teaspoon salt
• Few drops Tabasco

Combine ingredients in a small sauce pan and heat to boiling.

And there you have it, leg of lamb, simple as that! This recipe seems to be lacking in detail, don’t you think? The only other detail they had in a chart was that you’d cook this over medium heat which they say is 250° to 300°.

Cut the meat into small pieces, salt & pepper, and dredge with flour.  Melt bacon drippings in heavy skillet and brown the meat; add onions and brown slightly.  Add the turnip, carrots, celery and parsley; simmer for 2 hours.  Add the cubed potatoes and cook more rapidly until potatoes are done. Thicken the liquid with flour if necessary and serve stew with dumplings. Serves 6.

(recipe from “the Sears Roebuck and Co. – The Kenmore Cook Book” – first published in 1939, my edition copyright 1947)