No. 1581

Tendon or Gristle of Veal a la Bayeux

Tendon de Veau a la Bayeux

Cut some tendons three inches long by two and a quarter wide; place them in a sautoir with butter and square pieces of unsmoked bacon, small onion, dice-shaped pieces of ham, small pear-shaped carrots, and a bunch of parsley; fry slowly, moisten with stock (No. 194a), season and let cook for two hour and a half, being careful to remove the grease; remoisten frequently till the stock is reduced to the third of a glaze. Dress the tendons, place the garnishings around, pour the sauce over the meat and serve.

← No. 1580 Calves' Tails with Cabbage Veal No. 1582 Tendon or Gristle of Veal a la Biarritz →

For the Modern Kitchen

A braise of veal breast cartilage, cooked long enough to turn translucent and gelatinous, with its own vegetables as garnish. The whole dish depends on the reduction at the end.

What a tendon is hereRanhofer means the flat sheets of cartilage from the breast of veal, sometimes sold as veal chest cartilage or removed when a butcher bones a breast for stuffing. Ask a butcher to save them, or buy a whole breast and cut the cartilage strips out yourself; the meat can go to another dish.
SautoirA straight-sided shallow pan, not a deep stockpot. A 10-12 inch sauté pan or shallow braiser with a lid is right, since the point is a wide surface for the stock to reduce against.
Stock No. 194aOne of the basic stocks given earlier in The Epicurean; a light, unsalted veal or chicken stock is a reasonable stand-in. Avoid anything already seasoned, because the liquid is reduced hard and repeatedly remoistened, and any salt concentrates with it.
Unsmoked baconGreen (unsmoked) streaky bacon or unsmoked pancetta. Ordinary smoked supermarket bacon will dominate the dish, which is meant to taste of veal and glaze. If only smoked is available, blanch it briefly first.
Pear-shaped carrotsSmall carrots trimmed to the tapered, pear-like shape Ranhofer specifies. Cut them uniform so they finish together; the recipe puts them in at the start with everything else, though small ones may soften considerably over two and a half hours.
Two and a half hours, and whyCartilage needs sustained moist heat to convert to gelatin. Undercooked it is rubbery and squeaks; properly done it is translucent and yields to a spoon. Keep the liquid at a bare simmer, either on low heat or in a 300F oven, covered.
Reduction and degreasingSkim thoroughly as it cooks, as the recipe directs; the butter, bacon and ham render a good deal of fat, and fat will not emulsify cleanly into a glaze.
YieldThe recipe gives no quantity. Reckon on 4-6 oz of trimmed cartilage per person as a course, with the bacon, ham and carrots serving as the garnish; the pieces described are roughly the size of a playing card.

A Little History

Charles Ranhofer, chef at Delmonico's, published The Epicurean in 1894 as a complete professional reference, and the veal chapter shows how thoroughly a nineteenth-century kitchen used the animal: calves' tails, ears, brains, head and, here, the cartilage of the breast. Braised tendon was valued precisely for its texture, the gelatinous slipperiness that a long braise produces, a quality still prized in Chinese and Japanese cooking.