No. 841

Attereaux of Sweetbreads a la Moderne

Attereaux de Ris de Veau a la Moderne

It requires for the preparation of these attereaux, some cylindrical shaped tin molds, each one being two and a quarter inches deep, the bottom one and a quarter inches, having a perforated hole to pass the skewer through; the top of the mold must measure an inch in diameter. Cut some cold sweetbreads into slices, three-sixteenths of an inch thick, and from these remove, with a round cutter, pieces one inch in diameter. Have also rounds of truffles, and the same of tongue, seven-eighths of an inch across, and an eighth of an inch thick. Mix all these together in a vessel with a few spoonfuls of cooked fine herbs, thickening with a little meat glaze (No. 402); let get cold, then run them on to small silver skewers, alternating the truffles with tongue and sweetbreads; lay the molds on a large piece of buttered bread-crumbs (Fig. 490), set the skewers into the molds, and let them penetrate through the holes into the bread to keep them upright, and fill the empty space in the cases with a Villeroi sauce (No. 560); set them aside on the ice to get perfectly cold; unmold by dipping them into hot water; bread-crumb the attereaux, dip them in beaten eggs and bread-crumbs, and fry them a fine color in hot frying fat; drain on a cloth, and dress on a folded napkin.

← No. 840 Attereaux Piedmontese Hot Side Dishes No. 842 Attereaux of Turkey or Game →

For the Modern Kitchen

An assembly job more than a cooking one: everything on the skewer is already cooked, and the work is in coating, setting and frying. Read the whole thing before starting, because it depends on two preparations Ranhofer numbers elsewhere in the book.

The hinge is the chillThe Villeroi-coated skewers must be refrigerator-cold and firm before they are breaded, or the sauce slumps off in the fat. Give them at least two hours in the coldest part of the fridge, and fry them straight from there.
Villeroi sauce (No. 560)A thick allemande enriched with egg yolk and reduced until it coats heavily and sets solid when cold. Any modern equivalent is a very reduced, well-seasoned veloute with yolks, cooled on a tray. If it does not hold a clean shape at fridge temperature it is not thick enough.
Meat glaze (No. 402)Glace de viande: brown stock reduced to a syrup that sets rubbery when cold. A spoonful of commercial demi-glace concentrate or reduced veal stock does the same job of binding the herb mixture.
The mouldsSmall cylindrical tinned moulds, about 2 1/4 in deep, 1 1/4 in at the bottom and 1 in across the top, with a hole pierced in the base for the skewer. Dariole moulds, timbale cups or short lengths of wide metal tube stood on a tray will substitute; the buttered bread-crumb bed exists only to receive the skewer point and hold it upright.
SweetbreadsThey must already be soaked, blanched, pressed and cooked before slicing; this recipe begins with cold cooked sweetbreads. Veal sweetbreads are usually a special order from a butcher, and one pair yields perhaps a dozen 1-inch rounds. Save the trimmings for a croquette.
Truffles and tongueBlack winter truffle at these quantities is now a luxury few will match; a good truffle paste worked into the herb mixture, with rounds of dark cooked mushroom for contrast, keeps the colour scheme. The tongue is cooked, pressed, cold pickled or brined ox tongue, sold ready-cooked in many delis.
Cooked fine herbsIn Ranhofer's usage, shallot and mushroom sweated in butter with parsley and a little reduction, not raw chopped herbs. Cool it before it touches the sweetbreads.
Frying"Hot frying fat" here is roughly 350-375F. The interior is already cooked, so you are only setting the crust and warming through: two to three minutes, turning once.
Yield and serviceFigure two skewers per person as a hot side dish, or three as a first course. Serve immediately on a folded napkin, as written, with the skewers left in.

A Little History

Attereau is related to the older hâtereau, from hâte, a spit, and the form is an old one: brochettes of cooked meat or offal, masked in a stiff sauce, breaded and fried so the coating carries the shape. Charles Ranhofer, who ran the kitchens at Delmonico's in New York for most of the last third of the nineteenth century, published The Epicurean in 1894, cross-referencing hundreds of component preparations by number so that a brigade could build a dish from its parts. What distinguishes this version is the moulding: rather than simply rolling the skewer in sauce, the cook casts the sauce around it in a tin cylinder so every attereau emerges an identical column. Sweetbreads were a common item on American restaurant menus of the period.