Sweetbreads a l'Eugenie

Ranhofer writes in shorthand for a professional brigade, and this entry is almost entirely cross-references. Everything that makes the dish work sits in the recipes it points to, so the notes below fill in what No. 1556 assumes you already know.

• The hinge: prepare the sweetbreads properly firstNo. 1550 is the book's general preparation, and the usual sequence is soaking in several changes of cold water until they run pale, blanching, then cooling under a light weight so they firm into a flat, sliceable shape. Skipping the pressing gives you a soft, ragged sweetbread that will not hold a stud or take a clean glaze.
• "Stud" means larded, not stuffedSmall strips are inserted into the surface with a larding needle: salt pork, truffle, or cooked tongue. Cut them thin and short so they sit flush; anything bulky tears the membrane.
• Braise and glazeBraise gently on a bed of vegetables in a shallow covered pan with well-reduced veal stock, barely simmering; the book gives no temperature or timing. Glazing is the final uncovered stage, basting with the reducing stock until the surface shines.
• "Risot" is risottoIt is Ranhofer's usual spelling. Finish it as instructed: fresh butter and the reduced braising liquid stirred in at the last moment, loose enough to spread when it hits the platter.
• Béchamel cream sauceBéchamel cream sauce -- No. 411 is a b han than a thick coating sauce; serve it in a sauceboat, as directed, so the glaze on the sweetbreads stays visible.
• Braise stock, twice usedThe same reduced liquid glazes the sweetbreads and finishes the rice, so reduce it in one batch and split it. If it goes past a light glaze it turns tacky and salty — pull it while it still pours.
• SourcingVeal sweetbreads usually need ordering from a butcher; the heart or "kernel" sweetbread is the one to ask for, being rounder and easier to press (sources differ as to whether this is the thoracic lobe of the thymus or the pancreas). Use them within a day of purchase.