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Veal, Loin of, Stuffed and Roasted
After taking the bones from the meat, lay it flat on the table, and spread it with veal stuffing (see VEAL FORCEMEAT). Mince the kidney of the loin and strew it over, then roll, and tie tightly with wide tape; cover with greased paper, and cook gently till done. Remove the paper, and let the meat brown. Serve on a hot dish, with brown sauce flavoured with lemon juice poured round it. Garnish with little rolls of bacon and small mushrooms or tomatoes. Time, about three hours.
A boned, stuffed and rolled loin — a classic English roast that a butcher can prepare for you in five minutes. The original assumes a roasting jack or a coal range, so the heat and the timing need translating.
- The hinge: cook it gently, then uncoverThe greased paper is there to keep the lean veal from drying and the stuffing from scorching. "Cook gently" translates to a moderate oven, around 325F, with the paper on for the bulk of the time; strip it for the last 20-30 minutes to colour the outside.
- Three hours is for a large jointA full boned loin in a Victorian kitchen might be 8-10 lb. A 4-5 lb rolled loin will be done in about two hours at 325F. Go by internal temperature: 145-150F at the centre of the meat, rested 15 minutes before carving.
- Buying the cutAsk for a loin of veal boned out, kidney and its suet left attached, skin and most of the fat trimmed. Modern veal is generally sold leaner than the nineteenth-century article, so an extra bard of fat or a few rashers laid over the top is worth having.
- Veal forcemeatThe stuffing referred to is the period standard, typically breadcrumbs, chopped suet or butter, lemon zest, parsley, thyme, mace and egg to bind. It should be soft but not wet, or it will squeeze out as you roll.
- The kidneyVeal kidney is mild but firm; trim the core and any hard fat before mincing. If you cannot get it, the roast works perfectly well without — do not substitute a strongly flavoured lamb or beef kidney.
- TyingWide cotton tape spreads the pressure and will not cut into the meat. Butcher's twine at 1-inch intervals does the same job. Roll tightly with the grain running along the roll so the slices hold together.
- Brown sauceA period brown sauce is a roux-based stock sauce; deglazing the roasting pan with stock and a spoonful of flour-and-butter gives the same result. Add the lemon juice off the heat at the end so it stays bright.
- Garnish and yieldBacon rolls are thin rashers rolled and grilled or baked for 10-12 minutes until crisp. A 5 lb rolled loin serves eight generously.
Cassell's belongs to the era when a boned and rolled joint was a mark of a well-run kitchen: boning out a loin turns an awkward roast into a neat cylinder that carves into even rounds, and it is often said to have stretched the meat further, which would have mattered when veal was expensive. Stuffing the cavity with a crumb-and-suet forcemeat, well seasoned with lemon peel and mace, is the standard English treatment of veal from the eighteenth century onward he the the forcemeat supplies both fat and flavour. The kidney was generally put to use: left in place it roasts inside the joint, and minced through the stuffing it seasons the whole. The garnish of bacon rolls and mushrooms, and the brown sauce sharpened with lemon, are among the accompaniments commonly met with in Victorian and Edwardian service, the acidity standing in for the sharpness the meat itself lacks.