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Stuffed Breast of Veal
Make a stuffing of stale bread crumbs, chopped onion, chopped salt pork--or butter, if preferred; season well with salt, pepper, and savory herbs and parsley, moistened sufficiently with hot water. Fill the cavity under the thick part of the breast with as much stuffing as can be forced in, and skewer it well to hold the stuffing in, or sew the edges together with small twine. Roast in a moderately hot oven, twenty minutes to a pound, basting frequently with the water in the pan and melted butter.
A pocket roast of the older sort: the stuffing is a plain bread dressing, and the whole success of the dish rests on the seam holding and the meat being cooked long enough for the connective tissue in the breast to soften.
- Oven temperature"Moderately hot" in books of this period is usually read as somewhere around 375-400F, though the term was never standardised. Twenty minutes to the pound at that heat suits a stuffed breast of 4-6 lb, giving roughly 1 hour 20 minutes to 2 hours.
- Cook to tenderness, not to the clockVeal breast is a heavily worked cut. Bone-in it reaches 160F well before it is pleasant to eat; carry it to about 180-190F internal so the collagen breaks down. The stuffing should register 165F, which it will comfortably by then.
- Buying the cutA whole breast of veal is a special-order item at most counters. Ask the butcher to cut a pocket between the ribs and the outer layer of meat, which is the cavity the recipe describes as lying "under the thick part."
- Salt porkUse unsmoked salt pork or fat back, diced fine and rendered slightly before mixing in; salt pork varies a good deal in saltiness, so hold back on the added salt until you taste the stuffing.
- Savory herbsThe phrase was open-ended; summer savory, thyme, marjoram and sage are the likely candidates. The recipe gives no quantity, but a teaspoon or so of dried herbs total for 4 cups of crumbs is enough.
- Moistening the stuffingHot water only, and sparingly -- the crumbs should just hold together when squeezed. An over-wet stuffing in a sealed pocket steams into paste. Stock or the pan drippings work better than water if you have them.
- Closing the pocketButcher's twine and a trussing needle are easier than skewers, and a stitch every inch keeps the seam from gaping as the meat contracts. Stuff firmly but not to bursting; bread swells.
- BastingStart with about a cup of water in the pan so the drippings do not scorch, and baste every 20 minutes. Cover loosely with foil if the surface colors before the meat is tender.
- YieldA 5 lb stuffed breast serves six to eight. Rest it 15 minutes, then slice down between the ribs so each portion carries meat and stuffing together.