a term used in butchery and meat cookery which has more than one meaning. The first is a neck chop of mutton or lamb. The second is one which applies to veal; a veal cutlet is a flat piece of veal (on or off the bone, depending on whether it incorporates a small piece of bone). Thirdly, a cutlet may be a round or preferably cutlet-shaped patty formed of minced meat or fish (or a substitute, as in ‘nut cutlet’) bound with a thick velouté sauce, like a rissole (of the English variety) or croquette.
The word is derived from the Latin costa (rib) through the French côte (rib) and côtelette (chop). This derivation suits the first meaning. In the other two meanings cutlet is treated as though it were a diminutive of cut (the noun), so meaning a small piece (of meat).
See also the discussion under Costoletta alla milanese in the article on veal, where the Italian terms costoletta and cotoletta are explained.
Alan Davidson was a distinguished author and publisher, and one of the world's best-known writers on fish and fish cookery. In 1975 he retired early from the diplomatic service—after serving in, among other places, Washington, Egypt, Tunisia, and Laos, where he was British Ambassador—to pursue a fruitful second career as a food historian and food writer extraordinaire. Among his popular books are Seafood of South-East Asia, North Atlantic Seafood, and Mediterranean Seafood. In 2003, shortly before his death, he was awarded the Erasmus Prize for his contribution to European culture.
