No. 1422

Pilau a la Reglain

Pilau a la Reglain.

Put a quarter of a pound of butter into a saucepan on the fire; when the butter is melted, add a quarter of a pound of blanched salt pork cut into half inch squares, two ounces of chopped medium-sized onions, and a pound of tenderloin of beef cut into inch squares, a garnished bouquet of thyme, bay leaf and a clove of garlic. Moisten with a pint of stock (No. 194a), reduce the liquid entirely, then moisten again with another pint of stock, and let reduce to a glaze. Now add half a pound of rice, cover to double its heighth with stock, then season with some saffron, salt and cayenne pepper. Simmer until it is all done, and the liquid entirely evaporated; dress it on to the middle of a dish, and surround the pilaff with peeled tomatoes, split in halves and slightly squeezed free from their juice, and cooked in half butter and half oil, seasoned with salt and pepper. Sprinkle parsley over all and serve.

← No. 1421 Paupiettes of Tenderloin of Beef with Cooked Beef No. 1423 Tenderloin—Steak of Ten Ounces, Plain, Broil →

For the Modern Kitchen

Ranhofer's pilau is a two-stage dish: the beef and pork are glazed down twice in stock before any rice goes in, and that double reduction is where the flavor comes from. Read the whole method before starting, since the pan is never washed between stages.

The hinge: reduce twice, then stop stirringThe hinge: reduce twice, then leave it alone -- The first pint of stock goes in and cooks away entirely, the second reduces to a sticky glaze on the bottom of the pan. Once the rice and its stock are in, simmer gently until the liquid has gone; Ranhofer gives neither a lid nor a time, but around 18 to 20 minutes is usual for white rice. Stirring at that stage breaks the grains and turns the dish pasty.
Stock No. 194aA cross-reference to one of Ranhofer's basic stocks elsewhere in The Epicurean; a good unsalted beef broth stands in for it. Because two pints are reduced almost to nothing and more stock is added later, use unsalted or very lightly salted stock or the finished pilau will be far too salty.
"Cover to double its height"Add stock to twice the depth of the rice in the pan, which for half a pound of rice works out to about 2 to 2 1/2 cups. Measuring by depth is unreliable in a wide pan, so measure the liquid instead.
Butter and salt porkA quarter pound of butter is half a cup, and with a quarter pound of salt pork rendering alongside it the dish is very rich by current taste. Four tablespoons is plenty. Blanching the pork means dropping the cubes into boiling water for a few minutes and draining them, which pulls out excess salt and cures the raw edge.
Saffron"Some saffron" means a large pinch, 15 to 20 threads, crushed and steeped in a spoonful of the hot stock before it goes in. Turmeric is not a substitute here; it colors but does not taste like saffron.
Garnished bouquetThyme, bay and a peeled garlic clove tied in a leek leaf or in cheesecloth. Fish it out before serving, since the string and herb stems will otherwise end up on the plate.
TenderloinTenderloin cut in inch cubes and then braised through two reductions is a period luxury rather than a practical choice; the muscle has little connective tissue to gain from moist cooking. Chuck cut the same size behaves better over the same time, at the cost of departing from Ranhofer.
The tomatoesHalved, pressed free of juice, then cooked cut side down in equal butter and oil, seasoned with salt and pepper, until they color. They are a separate pan and a separate operation; Ranhofer gives no guidance on how to fit it around the rice.
YieldA pound of beef and half a pound of rice serves about four as a main course, or more as one course of a longer meal.

A Little History

Charles Ranhofer, chef at Delmonico's in New York across some three decades, published The Epicurean in 1894 as an exhaustive record of the restaurant's repertoire, and the beef chapter alone runs to hundreds of numbered preparations. The name pilau reaches French and English kitchens from the Persian pilaw by way of Turkish pilav, and by the late nineteenth century it had settled in Western cookbooks as a general term for rice cooked in seasoned stock rather than in water, often with saffron. Ranhofer's version is thoroughly Frenchified: the bouquet garni, the double reduction to a glaze, the salt pork and the tomato garnish cooked in butter and oil are all classical French technique applied to an imported dish. "A la Reglain" appears to be one of the many personal dedications scattered through the book; the reference has not been securely identified.