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Roast Loin of Veal
Leave in the kidney, around which put considerable salt. Make a dressing the same as for fowls; unroll the loin, put the stuffing well around the kidney, fold and secure with several coils of white cotton twine wound around in all directions; place in a dripping pan, with the thick side down, and put in a rather hot oven, letting it cool down to moderate; in one-half hour add a little hot water to the pan, and baste often; after half an hour turn over the roast and when done sprinkle lightly with barley flour and baste with melted butter. Before serving carefully remove the twine. A roast of four or five pounds will bake in about two hours. For a gravy, skim off some of the fat if there is too much in the drippings; dredge in barley flour; stir until brown, add hot water if necessary; boil a few minutes, stir in sweet herbs as fancied and put in a gravy boat.
Serve with green peas and lemon jelly.
This is a boned veal loin rolled around its own kidney — what a French kitchen calls a rognonnade. The instructions assume a butcher has left the loin whole with the kidney and its fat attached, which today means asking for it in advance.
- The hinge: cook to temperature, not to the clockTwo hours for a four- to five-pound loin will leave lean veal grey and dry. Roast to an internal temperature of 145F at the thickest part of the meat, and check the center of the stuffing separately — it should reach 165F, since it has been in contact with raw meat and raw kidney.
- Oven temperatures"Rather hot" and "moderate" in books of this period correspond roughly to about 400-450F and about 350F. The recipe does not say how long the initial hot period lasts, only that the oven is allowed to cool down.
- The kidney and its saltA veal kidney needs its core of hard white fat and membrane trimmed away before rolling. The "considerable salt" packed around it is heavier than modern palates want; a teaspoon rubbed over the kidney is plenty, especially as the stuffing is also seasoned.
- "A dressing the same as for fowls"In this period that means a soft bread stuffing — stale crumbs, butter, onion, salt, pepper, sage or summer savory, bound with a little stock or egg. Keep it fairly dry, as the kidney and loin fat will render into it.
- Barley flourUsed here for dredging and for the gravy; the recipe gives no reason for the choice. All-purpose flour will do the same job; about 2 tablespoons suits the gravy.
- TyingButcher's twine is the modern equivalent of "white cotton twine." Tie at one-inch intervals across the roll rather than winding it "in all directions" — it holds better and comes off in one pull.
- Basting and restingThe hot water added to the pan keeps the drippings from scorching; keep about a quarter inch of liquid in the pan throughout. Rest the roast 15 minutes before removing the twine and slicing, or the stuffing will spill.
- Yield and accompanimentsFour to five pounds should serve roughly six to eight. "Lemon jelly" is most likely a lemon-flavored gelatin served beside the meat, but the recipe does not specify; the term is used in period books for both a sweet dish and a jelly served alongside meat.
Roasting a veal loin around its own kidney is an old butcher's economy: the kidney and its surrounding suet sit naturally inside the loin, and boning and rolling the joint bastes the lean meat from within. Veal was commonly treated as a spring and early-summer meat in American cookbooks of this period, which may be why it appears here with green peas. The barley flour is a period detail worth noting, though how common it was in home kitchens for dredging and thickening is not established here.