Veal Balls

This is a forcemeat-ball formula rather than a dish in its own right: four ounces of meat and fat total, meant to garnish a veal or poultry dish. Scale it up if you want it to feed anyone.

• Yield and purposeAs written it makes only a small quantity, enough to garnish a fricassee or to float in soup rather than to stand as a dish. Multiply the quantities if you want to serve them as a course.
• Beef suetFresh beef suet from a butcher, chopped or grated fine, is what the recipe means; packaged shredded suet works and is easier to handle. It is there for fat and binding, so do not substitute lean meat for it.
• "Beat them all well together"The veal and suet need to be minced very fine, then pounded or pulsed into a paste. This is the hinge: a coarse mix will crumble apart in the pan, while a properly worked paste holds a ball without flour or breadcrumb.
• The two egg yolksThe recipe calls for one raw and one hard-boiled yolk. The raw yolk binds; the crumbled boiled yolk appears to be there for body and to lighten the paste. Cook the balls through in the frying.
• Spicing "to the taste"For four ounces of mixture, start at a pinch each of ground mace and grated nutmeg, half a teaspoon of finely grated lemon zest, and a scant quarter-teaspoon of salt. Mace and nutmeg were the standard pair for veal forcemeat and will dominate quickly if overdone.
• FryingShallow-fry in butter or clarified butter over moderate heat, turning, for about four to five minutes for small balls. Brown them gently; high heat renders the suet out and leaves them dry.
• Serving in gravyNo gravy recipe is given; the balls were presumably intended for the sauce of whatever dish they garnished. Add them to the finished gravy at the last moment rather than simmering them in it, which softens the crust.