Brains with Black or Hazelnut Butter

Ranhofer assumes you have already read the earlier brains entries, so the whole first half of the work is missing from this page. The dish itself is nothing more than poached brains under a browned butter and vinegar dressing, and the butter is where it succeeds or fails.

• The hinge: how far to take the butterBeurre noisette is butter cooked to hazelnut brown, about 2-3 minutes past the foaming stage, and it smells nutty. Beurre noir is taken further, to dark brown, but not to black in any literal sense; once the milk solids carbonize the whole thing turns acrid and cannot be rescued. Pull the pan off the heat while it is a shade lighter than you want, since it keeps darkening.
• "Prepared and cooked the same as for the poulette"That cross-reference means the standard treatment: soak the brains in several changes of cold water for an hour or two to draw out blood, peel away the surrounding membrane and clots, then poach in a court-bouillon of water, a little vinegar, salt and aromatics. Keep it at a bare tremble, never a boil, or the lobes break up and go grainy.
• Poaching timeAbout 15 to 20 minutes for a pair of veal brains, until firm to the fingertip but still yielding. They can then be cooled in the liquid and reheated; served straight from the poach they are more fragile.
• The vinegar deglazeA dash means a tablespoon or so of wine vinegar into the hot pan off the heat. It will spit. Its job is to cut the fat, so add it at the last moment and pour immediately; vinegar left to cook in browned butter loses its edge.
• StrainingThe direction to strain both butter and vinegar through a fine sieve is not fussiness. It removes the burnt milk solids and any scorched fragments, leaving a clear, glossy sauce rather than a speckled one. A fine chinois or a paper filter does it.
• Quantities and yieldThe original gives none. Reckon one veal brain (roughly 250-300 g) for two people as a first course, with 60-80 g butter and a tablespoon of vinegar per brain.
• SourcingCattle brain is regulated in most countries as specified risk material because of BSE; in the United States it is prohibited in food from animals 30 months and older, and in the EU restrictions are tighter still. Buy only from a butcher who can tell you the animal's age and slaughter provenance, or use lamb brains, which face fewer restrictions.
• Serving dish"A very hot dish" is doing real work here: browned butter congeals fast, and the plates matter as much as the sauce. Warm them thoroughly and serve at once, with nothing more than bread.