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Beef Palates, Stewed
377. Simmer them for several hours till they will peel; then cut the palates into slices, or leave them whole, as preferred; and stew them in a rich gravy till as tender as possible. Before serving them up, season with cayenne, salt, and ketchup. If the gravy was drawn clear, add also some butter and flour. If to be served white, boil them in milk, and stew them in a fricassee-sauce, adding cream, butter, flour, and mushroom powder, and a little pounded mace.
Beef palate is the roof of the ox's mouth, sold now only by a good butcher who breaks down whole heads or by halal and Caribbean butchers. Everything depends on peeling: the tough outer skin lifts off cleanly only while the palate is hot, and if it cools you have to reheat it.
- Sourcing and first prepOrder palates ahead; they usually arrive rinsed but not skinned. Soak them in several changes of cold water for a few hours, or overnight, to draw out blood before the first simmer.
- The peeling stageSimmer in water or milk until a fingernail lifts the greyish skin — roughly 2 to 3 hours at a bare simmer, longer for large ones. Peel while hot, working with a cloth to save your fingers; the underlying palate is pale and slightly translucent.
- "Several hours" and the second stewAfter peeling they still need 1 to 2 hours in the gravy to reach the gelatinous tenderness intended. A pressure cooker will do the first stage in about 45 minutes at high pressure, but finish the braise uncovered so the sauce reduces.
- KetchupIn a recipe of this period this means mushroom or walnut ketchup, a thin dark salty condiment, not tomato. Use a tablespoon of mushroom ketchup or, failing that, a teaspoon of Worcestershire sauce with a little soy.
- Mushroom powderDried mushrooms ground fine in a spice mill give the same effect; a teaspoon flavours a pint of sauce. Porcini is likely stronger than the mushrooms originally used, so start small.
- "If the gravy was drawn clear"That is, if you used a clear consommé-style stock rather than a thickened brown gravy. Thicken it at the end with beurre manié — equal butter and flour kneaded cold, whisked in a pinch at a time — rather than a roux at the start.
- Fricassee-sauce for the white versionA velouté made from the cooking milk or a light veal stock, finished with cream, butter, flour and mace. Keep it below a boil once the cream goes in and season the mace lightly; the recipe gives no measure for 'a little pounded mace', so add it by taste.
- YieldTwo palates serve three or four as a made dish. They are rich and gelatinous, so serve small portions with rice, toast or plain boiled potatoes.