Veal Loaf II
Wipe three pounds lean veal, and remove skin and membrane. Chop finely or force through meat chopper, then add one-half pound fat salt pork (also finely chopped), six common crackers (rolled), four tablespoons cream, two tablespoons lemon juice, one tablespoon salt, one-half tablespoon pepper, and a few drops onion juice. Pack in a small bread-pan, smooth evenly on top, brush with white of egg, and bake slowly three hours, basting with one-fourth cup pork fat. Prick frequently while baking, that pork fat may be absorbed by meat. Cool, remove from pan, and cut in thin slices for serving.
A cold-sliced veal loaf of the sort that anchored Edwardian luncheon and picnic menus. The technique is sound, but the seasoning and the baking time both need a modern eye.
- Bake slowly means 300-325FBake slowly -- the recipe gives no temperature; "slow" in this period is usually taken as somewhere around 300-325F. Three hours at that heat will overcook a 3 1/2 lb loaf badly. Bake at 325F and pull it when the center reads 160F, which will likely be 1 1/2 to 2 hours. Long baking suited the uneven ovens of the day.
- The salt is far too muchThe salt is on the high side -- one tablespoon of salt plus a half pound of fat salt pork will read as salty to most modern palates. Cut it back, taste a small fried patty of the mixture before packing the pan, and adjust from there. Half a tablespoon of pepper is also a lot; a teaspoon is closer to modern palates.
- Common crackersThese were the hard, dry New England crackers sold loose from barrels, plain rather than salty. Six rolled fine give roughly a cup to a cup and a half of crumbs. Unsalted saltines or plain dry breadcrumbs substitute, and reinforce the case for cutting the added salt.
- Onion juiceGrate an onion and use the liquid that collects, or press grated onion through a sieve. A few drops is a whisper; a tablespoon of finely grated onion is a more useful modern amount.
- Grinding the vealAsk for coarsely ground veal shoulder, or grind trimmed shoulder yourself once through the coarse plate. Salt pork is easier to handle if you freeze it 20 minutes before chopping, and it should go through with the veal so the fat distributes evenly.
- Egg white and bastingThe brushed white of egg sets into a thin glaze that keeps the surface from drying. Pricking and basting with pork fat was a way to keep a lean loaf moist over a long bake; with a shorter bake at 325F you can skip most of the basting.
- Cooling is part of the recipeThe loaf must chill thoroughly before slicing or it will crumble. Cool at room temperature an hour, then refrigerate overnight, weighted with a second pan if you want tight slices.
- YieldAbout 3 1/2 lb of loaf, or 10 to 12 servings as a cold cut. It keeps three to four days refrigerated.
Veal loaf belonged to a class of pressed, cold, thin-sliced meat dishes that Fannie Farmer's readers needed constantly: luncheon plates, picnic baskets, chafing-dish suppers and the Sunday-night cold table, all served without reheating. Veal was widely available in turn-of-the-century American cities, and being lean and mild it took well to the two things this recipe adds -- salt pork for fat and lemon juice for brightness. The presence of a second version in the book (this is Veal Loaf II) reflects how the Boston Cooking-School Cook Book worked: Farmer catalogued variations rather than settling on one, treating a recipe as a formula to be adjusted. The generous salt is characteristic of a period when cold meats were expected to keep for days in an icebox rather than a refrigerator.