No. 2433

Rump of Beef a la Mode

Piece de Boeuf ou Pointe de Culotte a la Mode

For this dish use a piece of beef prepared as for a la mode a la bourgeoise (No. 1340). When nearly cold put it into an oblong mold four inches deep and four inches wide by eight inches long; lay the mold on ice. Range some balls of braised carrots half an inch in diameter on the bottom of the mold. Place the meat on top, covering with stock; harden and arrange over some carrots; cover with partly set jelly, and when this is cold add the rest of the meat, and when entirely cold cut in half-inch thick slices. Range on a long dish in a straight line and garnish around with chopped jelly.

Another way is to have the meat arranged in the same mold as above, skim all the fat from the beef stock, strain it through a fine sieve and add to it as much strong jelly and a quarter bottleful of white wine; boil and cool. With this jelly cover the slices of beef, allow to get cold, unmold and dress on a long dish, and garnish around with small carrots, cut pear-shaped; cook and let fall to a glaze. Then season, cool and roll in a little cold jelly; surround these with slices of gherkin. Beef a la mode can also be placed in a mold and have another larger one decorated with carrots, turnips and gherkins; protect the decoration with a heavy layer of jelly; unmold the smallest mold and place the contents in the largest or decorated one; fill up with jelly, let get cool, then unmold by dipping it in hot water; garnish around with chopped jelly, and outside of it arrange triangle or oblong jelly croutons.

← No. 2432 Ribs of Beef in Bellevue The Cold Service No. 2434 Tenderloin of Beef a la Bouquetiere →

For the Modern Kitchen

This is an assembly note rather than a standalone recipe: the beef itself is made elsewhere in the book, and what follows is the cold moulding and glazing. Read it as three variations on the same idea, each finishing with aspic.

Start with the braiseNo. 1340, bœuf à la mode à la bourgeoise, is the book's braised beef à la mode: a larded piece of beef cooked long and slow with root vegetables. It is that gelatinous braise and its stock that the jelly here is built on.
"Jelly" means aspicThroughout, jelly is clarified, seasoned meat stock set by the gelatin drawn from the braise, reinforced with added gelatin if it does not hold. "Partly set" is the syrupy stage at which it will hold garnish in place instead of letting it float.
The mouldFour by four by eight inches is roughly a 2-quart terrine or loaf pan. A standard 9x5 loaf pan is close enough; line it with plastic film if you want a clean turn-out.
Chill in the refrigerator, not on iceThe book's ice bath is what a professional kitchen had. Meat, stock and gelatin sitting at room temperature is exactly the wrong combination, so build the layers in the refrigerator and return it there between each one.
"Harden"Each time Ranhofer says harden, he means chill that layer until firm before adding the next. Rushing it merges the strata and the carrots drift.
A quarter bottleful of white wineAmbiguous by modern standards. Period bottles ran roughly 24 to 26 fluid ounces, so figure about 6 fluid ounces; taste the jelly cold, since chilling flattens both wine and salt.
"Let fall to a glaze"Cook the pear-shaped carrots in stock with a little butter and sugar until the liquid reduces to a shining film that coats them. Cool them fully before rolling in cold jelly or the coating will slide off.
Jelly croutonsSet a shallow tray of clear aspic about a quarter-inch deep, cut into triangles or oblongs with a knife dipped in hot water, and lift with an offset spatula. Chopped jelly is simply firm aspic hacked with a wet knife.
ServingA 2-quart mould in half-inch slices gives about twelve to fourteen portions as a cold buffet dish. Unmould by dipping the outside briefly in hot water, and keep the finished platter cold until it goes to the table.

A Little History

Charles Ranhofer ran the kitchens at Delmonico's in New York, and The Epicurean (1894) is the record of that restaurant's repertoire at its height. Bœuf à la mode is a French bourgeois braise, a larded piece of rump cooked slowly with carrots and a calf's foot; the foot matters, since it is generally said to release enough gelatin to help the cooking liquid set as it cools. That property is what made the dish migrate to the cold table, where the same braise reappears sliced in aspic, and it explains why Paris had shops trading as bœuf à la mode establishments through the nineteenth century. The elaborate second mould, decorated with carrot, turnip and gherkin and sealed under clear jelly before the beef is dropped inside it, belongs to the cuisine de garde-manger of the period, when the cold buffet was the section where a house showed off. Section headings like "The Cold Service" gather food built hours ahead to be looked at as much as eaten.