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Neck of Veal
The vertebrae should be disjointed, and the ribs cut on the inside through the bone only, on the thin end. Place it on the platter with the back up and cut across from left to right, where the ribs were divided, separating the small ends of the ribs from the thicker upper portion; then cut between each short rib. Carve from the back down in slanting slices, then slip the knife under close to the ribs and remove the slices. This gives a larger portion than the cutting of the slices straight would give, and yet not so large as if each were helped to a whole rib. Serve a short rib with each slice.
A short page, and most of it is a set of instructions for the butcher rather than the cook. Nothing described here can be done unless the joint arrives prepared in a particular way.
- Ask for it chined and jointedThe vertebrae disjointed, and the ribs cut on the inside through the bone only at the thin end: that is saw work, done before the joint leaves the shop. The word to use is chined. Without it the carver cannot get between the ribs and the slices described cannot be cut.
- Where the neck comes fromIt is at the front of the animal, ahead of the ribs proper: hard-working muscle, full of connective tissue, with short ribs attached at the thin end. A butcher today sells it boned and rolled, or as neck fillet. The bone-in rack this page assumes has to be ordered.
- Slanting slices, for a reasonCarve from the back down in slanting slices, then slip the knife under close to the ribs to free them. The page says plainly why: a slanting cut gives a larger portion than a straight one and a smaller one than a whole rib. Portion size is being controlled by the angle of the blade.
- A bone with every sliceServe a short rib with each slice. The short ribs are separated from the thicker upper portion first and then divided singly, so every plate gets both a slice and something to pick up.
- It needs the long cooking the page omitsThe neck does not become tender quickly. These carving instructions assume meat soft enough to slice without tearing away from the ribs, which on a bone-in neck means slow roasting or braising rather than a hot oven, and a rest before the knife goes near it.
This is a cheap end of the animal being carved formally at the table, and the detail that gives the page away is the arithmetic of the slanting slice. The carver is weighing how much each person gets and setting the angle of the knife to land between two portion sizes, larger than a thin straight slice and smaller than a whole rib. That calculation only matters in a household where the joint is not big enough for open-handedness and the host still has to be seen to be fair. The same book that explains how to divide a fillet of beef explains how to stretch a neck of veal, and it gives the second job the more careful instructions.