No. 2265

Cutlets of Squabs a la Lauriston

Cotelettes de Pigeonneaux a la Lauriston

Truss the legs inside of six prepared squabs; split them in two lengthwise, beat down to flatten, season and pare into cutlet shapes. Lay them in a saute-pan with butter, shallots, mushrooms and truffles, all finely chopped, and cut up chives; cook together for half an hour without browning, then drain off the butter and place the cutlets under the pressure of a weight; let the herbs get quite cold, then mix them with some chicken quenelle forcemeat (No. 89), and with this preparation cover each inner side of half a squab; dip them in beaten eggs and roll them in bread-crumbs, smooth well the breading and fry in clarified butter. Dress the birds in a circle, garnish the handle with a frill (No. 10) and fill the inside with a puree of green peas (No. 2742). Serve a half-glaze sauce (No. 413) with Marsala wine separately, adding to it a dash of cayenne pepper.

← No. 2264 Cutlets of Squabs a la Jardiniere Miscellaneous Entrées No. 2266 Cutlets of Squabs a la de Luynes →

For the Modern Kitchen

A Ranhofer entrée built on cross-references: the recipe assumes you have quenelle forcemeat, half-glaze and pea purée already at hand. Read the whole thing before starting, since the birds must be cooked, pressed and chilled before the coating goes on.

SquabsSix squabs give twelve half-birds — enough for six as a course. The halves are flattened with the flat of a cleaver and trimmed so the wing or leg bone stands out as a "handle."
The half hour in butterHalf an hour in a sauté pan without browning is a slow sweat, not a fry — low heat, so the shallots, mushrooms, truffles and chives give up their moisture rather than colour. This is largely what cooks the squab through; the later frying sets the crust.
Pressing and chillingThe weight is the hinge of the recipe. Pressed and thoroughly cold, the halves hold a flat, even shape so the forcemeat layer stays put through the egg-and-crumb; warm birds and warm herb mixture will slide apart in the pan.
Cross-referenced componentsNo. 89 is Ranhofer's chicken quenelle forcemeat, of the usual type (pounded breast with panada and cream), used here as a binder that cooks in the frying. No. 413 is Ranhofer's half-glaze — a reduced brown sauce — and No. 2742 a purée of green peas. Any good demi-glace and a butter-enriched pea purée stand in.
Truffles and substitutionThe truffle here is a seasoning within the chopped mushroom-shallot mixture, not a centrepiece. A small quantity of fresh black truffle, or a little truffle in place of some of the mushroom, does the work; tinned truffle peelings are still sold.
Clarified butterFrying breaded cutlets in whole butter at the depth needed will burn. Clarify it — melt, skim, pour off the clear fat from the milk solids — and keep the pan at a steady medium so the crumbs colour in three or four minutes a side while the forcemeat sets.
FrillsThe paper frill of No. 10 is decorative and modern cooks generally skip it. If the bone is left long and scraped clean it reads as a cutlet handle on its own.
SauceThe half-glaze is flavoured with Marsala and a dash of cayenne; adding the wine off the boil helps it keep its aroma, though the recipe does not say when to add it. Serve it separately as directed; poured over, it softens the crust immediately.

A Little History

Charles Ranhofer published The Epicurean in 1894 after decades as chef at Delmonico's in New York, and this dish shows the house style: a small bird disguised as something else, given a French aristocratic surname and slotted into a numbered system of sauces and garnishes. "Cutlets" of squab, pheasant or chicken — boned and trimmed to the outline of a lamb chop, complete with a bone handle and a paper frill — were a nineteenth-century restaurant conceit that let a kitchen serve poultry with the ceremony of a butcher's cut. The name Lauriston most likely nods to the French title borne by the Law family, descendants of the Scottish financier John Law; Ranhofer, like his contemporaries, attached such names freely and rarely explained them. Squab, meaning a young domestic pigeon taken before it flies, was ordinary market poultry in America then and appears throughout the book; it has since become a specialty item, which is the main reason a dish like this now reads as luxurious rather than routine.