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Veal Rolls, Fried
Take the remains of cold roast veal. Cut from it hall a dozen slices of lean meat half an inch thick. Brush these over with egg, cover with a thin slice of fat bacon, egg them again, spread forcemeat upon them, and roll them tightly. Skewer securely, egg and bread-crumb the rolls, and fry them till brightly browned. Serve on a hot dish, and pour mushroom sauce or brown gravy over them. Garnish with sliced lemon and parsley. Time to fry the rolls, ten to fifteen minutes. Probable cost, 8d., exclusive of the cold meat. Sufficient for three or four persons.
A leftovers dish from the days when a roast joint fed a household for three days. The meat is already cooked, so the frying is about crust and heating through, not doneness.
- The hinge: roll tight, seal wellThe egg is glue as much as coating. Press the forcemeat in an even thin layer, roll with the grain running lengthwise so the slice does not spring open, and skewer or tie firmly before the final egg-and-crumb. A loose roll unwinds in the fat and the filling escapes.
- ForcemeatIn cookery of this period it generally means a seasoned stuffing of fine breadcrumbs, chopped suet or butter, herbs, lemon zest and egg to bind, often with minced bacon or veal. A modern sausagemeat or a pork-and-herb stuffing mix does the same job; keep the layer thin or the rolls will not cook evenly.
- Fat baconStreaky bacon or thinly sliced pancetta. The point is a sheet of fat inside the roll to baste reheated veal, which is very lean and dries out; smoked bacon will dominate the flavour more than the original intended.
- Cutting the slicesHalf-inch slices of cold roast will not roll unless flattened. Lay them between sheets of plastic and beat to about a quarter inch, which also widens them enough to wrap around the filling.
- FryingShallow-fry in about half an inch of fat over medium heat, turning to brown all sides, or deep-fry at 350F. Ten to fifteen minutes is right only if the fat is moderate: the raw forcemeat inside needs to reach 165F, so use a thermometer rather than the clock, and lower the heat if the crumb is browning too fast.
- SkewersWooden cocktail sticks or butcher's twine, removed before serving. Metal skewers conduct heat and get very hot, so handle them with care.
- Cost and yield"8d." is eightpence in pre-decimal money, a note on household economy rather than anything you can convert usefully. Six rolls serve three or four as a main course with the sauce and something starchy.
- VealRose or pink veal is sold by butchers but is not a supermarket staple. Cold roast pork loin or turkey breast behaves the same way here, both being lean and mild enough to carry the bacon and forcemeat.
Cassell's belongs to the great age of the English rechauffé — the reworking of yesterday's joint into something that could go to table without apology. A cold roast was assumed in any household that kept a cook, and dictionaries of cookery devoted long runs of entries to what could be done with the remains: hashed, minced, curried, potted, or as here rolled, crumbed and fried. Rolls of this kind descend from the older tradition of beef and veal olives, thin slices wrapped around forcemeat — the origin of the name is uncertain, variously linked to French forms and to the shape — and the technique is the same one that gives Italian involtini and German Rouladen. Veal was the natural candidate because it is pale, lean and bland, and because English cookery of the period treated it as a canvas for bacon, lemon and herb stuffing. The lemon and parsley garnish and the mushroom sauce are period signatures: almost any fried, crumbed cutlet in a late-Victorian book arrives dressed the same way.