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Veal, Neck of, Braised
Take about four pounds of the best end of a neck of veal. Cut off the long bones, and saw off the chine-bone. Put in the bottom of a braising-pan a sliced carrot, an onion stuck with two cloves, a bunch of parsley, a sprig of thyme, a bay-leaf, and a few sticks of celery, with two or three slices of lean bacon or ham. Add the bones and trimmings of the veal with the scrag end of the neck if it is not wanted for other purposes. Pour in a little stock or water, as much as will almost, but not quite, cover the veal. Set the pan over a slow fire, and let its contents simmer very gently till the veal is tender. Strain the liquor, and boil half of it quickly till it begins to thicken. With this glaze the meat until it has a bright glossy appearance. Thicken the remainder with a small piece of brown thickening, or with flour and butter kneaded together and stirred quickly over the fire until the paste is brown. Boil the sauce till smooth, skim well, stir the juice of an orange or lemon into it, and serve with the meat. Cooked vegetables, such as peas, onions, carrots, potatoes, spinach, sorrel, endive, and asparagus, may be served with the veal, and part of these may be used to garnish the dish. If liked, rice boiled for curry and with curry sauce poured over it may be sent to table as an accompaniment. Time, from an hour and three-quarters to two hours to stew the veal. Probable cost, 11d. or 1s. per pound. Sufficient for five or six persons.
A straightforward braise whose real work happens after the meat comes out: the cooking liquor is split, half reduced to a glaze and half thickened into sauce. Get that division right and the rest is patient simmering.
- The cut"Best end of neck" is the rib end, sold today as a veal rack or rib roast; the scrag is the bony neck proper. Ask the butcher to remove the chine bone and shorten the rib bones, and keep the trimmings — they carry most of the gelatine that makes the glaze set.
- Braising panAny heavy pot with a tight lid that the meat fits snugly, or a covered roasting pan. Snug matters: a wide pan needs more liquid and gives a weaker liquor.
- "A slow fire"A bare simmer, roughly 180-195F, with the surface just trembling. A rolling boil will squeeze the veal dry and cloud the sauce.
- Liquid levelStopping just short of covering the meat is deliberate. Turn the joint once at the halfway point.
- Brown thickeningAn old kitchen standby: flour cooked in butter until nut-brown, kept on hand in a jar. Roughly equal weights of butter and flour, cooked until it smells toasted.
- The glazeReduce half the strained, degreased liquor until it is syrupy and coats a spoon, then brush it on in several thin coats, letting each dry. This is the step that gives the shine.
- DonenessTime given is 1¾ to 2 hours, but judge by feel — the meat should give easily to a skewer.
- Finishing acidThe orange or lemon juice goes in last, after the sauce has been boiled smooth and skimmed.
- Yield and costServes five or six. The "11d. or 1s. per pound" is Victorian retail pricing and is only useful now as a period reference point.
Braising in this style — meat set on a bed of aromatics and bacon, barely covered with stock, then glazed with its own reduced liquor — came into English cookery books from French professional practice. The instruction to keep a pot of "brown thickening" ready reflects a kitchen in which a standing roux was worth preparing in advance. The optional curried rice sent to table alongside reflects how far curry powder had settled into the British repertoire, treated as an accompaniment no more foreign than spinach or sorrel.