Collops

A collop is a slice of meat, according to one definition in the Oxford English Dictionary. 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). 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.

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 day of fasting and abstinence from meat, and part of pre-Lenten activities. A traditional breakfast dish was collops of bacon topped with a fried egg. At Christ's Hospital, which was founded before the reign of Elizabeth the First, the word collops was used on the menu to mean stewed minced beef.

Scotch collops are a traditional Scottish dish. 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. It is referred to as a meal in Robert Louis Stevenson's novel, Kidnapped.

The methods used to create this dish in its various guises have direct parallels with the Middle Eastern treatment of meat in such dishes as koftas.

Lamb collops were included on the breakfast menu for first class passengers of the Titanic.