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Veal Cutlets, Larded
Take some cutlets of an equal thickness from the best end of a neck of veal. Trim these neatly, flatten them with a cutlet-bat, and lard the lean part with thin strips of fat bacon, with which, for a superlative dish, strips of red tongue and black truffle may be intermixed. Put the cutlets into a saucepan, and barely cover them with nicely flavoured stock to which a glassful of light wine has been added. Cover the saucepan closely, and let the cutlets simmer gently until they are quite tender. Drain the gravy from them, and press them between two dishes with a weight upon them till the veal is cold. Strain the gravy, free it from fat, and boil quickly till it is considerably reduced. When the cutlets are to be served, heat them in the oven, dish them in a circle, pour the gravy over them, and place French beans, or mushrooms, turnip, sorrel, or endive puree in the centre. Time to stew the cutlets, according to thickness. Probable cost, 1s. to 1s. 2d. per pound.
A two-stage braise: the cutlets are cooked, pressed cold under a weight, then reheated and glazed with their own reduced liquor. The pressing is the point of the dish, not an economy, and skipping it gives you an ordinary stew.
- The cut"Best end of neck" is the rib end, sold today as a veal rack or rib chops; bone-in loin chops work equally well. Ask for them cut to an even thickness, about 3/4 inch, so they cook at the same rate.
- Cutlet-batA flat, heavy metal or wooden bat used to flatten meat without tearing it. The smooth face of a meat mallet, or the base of a small pan, does the same job; work from the centre outward through plastic wrap.
- LardingStrips of fat bacon are threaded through the lean muscle with a larding needle. Without one, make deep incisions with a thin boning knife and push the strips in with the back of a skewer. Chill the fat first so it stays firm enough to handle.
- Red tongue and truffle"Red tongue" is cured, brine-pink ox tongue, sold cooked and pressed at good delicatessens. The black truffle intended is most likely the winter Perigord sort; a jarred truffle or two is enough, and truffle oil is no substitute for something threaded through meat.
- A glassful of light winePeriod glass measures vary, a wineglassful often being reckoned at about 2 fl oz, so read this as somewhere between 2 and 4 fl oz of a dry white. "Light" here most likely means unfortified, as opposed to sherry or Madeira.
- Stewing timeThe book declines to give one. For 3/4-inch cutlets barely covered in stock, allow 45 to 60 minutes at a bare tremble, never a rolling boil, which tightens veal and makes it stringy. They are done when a skewer meets no resistance.
- PressingDrain, set the cutlets flat on a dish, cover with a second dish and weight it with a few tins. Chill several hours or overnight. The gelatin in the braising liquor sets in the meat and gives clean, firm slices that reheat without falling apart.
- Reducing the gravyChill the strained liquor so the fat lifts off in a cap, then boil hard until it coats a spoon and just short of syrupy. Taste as you go; a well-salted stock can overshoot fast.
- Reheating and servingCover the cutlets and warm them in a 325F oven for 15 to 20 minutes, then pour over the hot glaze. One cutlet per person, six making a good ring on a large platter, with the puree or beans piled in the centre.
- The cost line1s. to 1s. 2d. per pound is pre-decimal sterling, twelve pence to the shilling.
The trick here is not the braise but what follows it: cooking meat in gelatinous stock, then pressing it cold under a weight so it can be sliced, arranged and reheated at leisure. That habit belongs to the professional kitchen of the nineteenth century, where a dish had to travel from larder to table looking composed, and it is tempting to see the same logic behind pressed tongue, galantines and the chaudfroid dishes of the period. Larding, likewise, is a response to the meat itself: veal from milk-fed calves is very lean, and threading bacon fat through the muscle was the standard insurance against dryness. Cassell's New Dictionary of Cookery, an enormous alphabetical compendium aimed at the late-Victorian middle-class household, offers both a plain version and a "superlative" one, with tongue and truffle for those with the means, and it leaves the cooking time to the cook's judgement rather than the clock.