Variations on Veal

Veal has been synonymous with sumptuous supping ever since the Prodigal Son sat down to that feast of Fatted Calf. For veal, of course, is meat from a calf, and a very young calf at that – usually no older than three months. In fact, for cooking purposes, veal and calf mean the same thing.

When a goodly number of French, German and Italian chefs migrated to our shores in the recent past, proudly carrying their choicest veal recipes with them, American enthusiasm for cooking calf began to look up. For it was thanks to these missionaries that America made two great discoveries: (1) veal is versatile; (2) veal tastes great. The savor of, say, veal parmigiana and Wiener Schnitzel are only two examples of how good veal can taste, no matter how widely separated by homeland and method of preparation.

But veal has other remarkable attributes that recommend it to the do-it-him-self gastronome: it can be prepared in the well-known jiffy, and it provides a perfect medium for the experimenter with seasoning.

Should your eye skim down a Continental menu, you're likely to find versatile veal anywhere from the hors d'oeuvres to the desserts. It's served as cutlet, chops, roast and scaloppine, in sautés, sauces, stews and ragouts. The Larousse Gastronomic Encyclopedia alone has more than one hundred and forty-five listings for veal.

As hors d'oeuvres, try an unusual tidbit like Italian tunnied veal. Here a cut of the leg is simmered until tender, chilled, and then marinated in a piquant sauce of tunafish, anchovies, lemon juice and oil to form a combination that brings instant peace to the stomach while the first martini is going down.

Veal will beget the mellowest possible gravies and sauces. When the saucier in a fine restaurant starts to make demiglaze or basic brown sauce – from which dozens of other sauces are derived – he'll use veal bones as the foundation. And the juices of a veal stew will merrily marry with cream, stock, brandy, sherry, red and white wines, vermouth, beer and almost any conceivable vegetable or spice.

Mock turtle soup is another surprising variation of veal – for that rich brown brew sees not hide nor hair of the turtle but is made with veal stock and pieces of calf's head. Meat isn't often served as a dessert, but cold calf's-foot jelly, served with port or sherry and covered with sweet cream, is a grand old charmer.

Veal is an exception to the rule that good food takes time to prepare. Consider the speed with which veal scaloppine or cutlets can be turned out. Grace Moore's reknowned recipe for a chafing dish of veal sautéed with brandy and simmered with cream takes all of seven minutes. And Toscanini's scoring for veal marsala requires no more time. But since veal does warm so readily to the occasion, take care not to overcook it.

Veal can be delicate and subtle, but it also derives encouragement from (instead of being clobbered by) spicing. It may be accompanied by vivid garnishes of tomato and peppers and onions, crunchy crumb coatings, or hefty servings of pasta and cheese.

In selecting veal, look for the lightest possible pink, a sort of faint grayish pink which indicates that the meat is young. Since there are always a few butchers willing to ignore the three-month upper-age limit to gain a few extra pounds of flesh, avoid brick-red veal; this darker hue indicates that the veal has lost its youth. Such meat will lack both the sensitive flavor of young veal and the mature flavor of beef. After a few surveys of the display case, you'll be able to spot the ideal color at a glance.

Although veal is immature meat, it will still require tenderizing, because it has many tough connective tissues in it. Butchers perform this task when they cut the so-called Italian-style veal cutlets. But further tenderizing usually helps. Slap the slices of meat with the side of a cleaver, or use a meat mallet or meat tenderizer.

Now, with an anticipatory appetite as a passport, let's disregard national boundaries and examine a group of Continental veal recipes.

[recipe_title]Veal Scaloppine with Ham[/recipe_title]

1-1/4 lbs. Italian-style veal cutlets, sliced thin

salt, pepper, ground sage

flour

1/4 cup salad oil

8 thin slices prosciutto ham

1/2 cup dry white wine

1/2 cup water

1 teaspoon meat extract

1/8 teaspoon onion salt

3 tablespoons butter

2 tablespoons minced parsley

Cut veal into eight pieces of equal size. Pound meat with a metal meat tenderizer, then sprinkle with salt, pepper and sage. Dip each piece in flour, then pat off excess. Preheat an electric skillet at 300°. Add the oil, and sauté the veal until it is brown on one side only. Remove meat from skillet; on the browned side of each piece place a slice of ham and fasten with diagonally inserted toothpicks. Return veal to skillet and sauté the uncooked side until it is brown. Then turn veal on the ham side, and let it sauté about one minute more. Remove meat from skillet, place it on serving platter or plates and remove toothpicks. Meat should be ham side up. Drain fat from skillet, but let the brown drippings remain. Add the wine, water, meat extract, onion salt, butter and parsley. Let the gravy boil about one minute, then pour it over the meat.

[recipe_title]Veal Scaloppine Marsala[/recipe_title]

Omit ham in the first recipe. Substitute dry marsala wine or dry sherry for white wine. Don't use sweet marsala. Complete cooking as directed.

[recipe_title]Veal Scaloppine with Mushrooms[/recipe_title]

Omit ham in the first recipe. Sauté 1/2 lb. sliced fresh mushrooms in skillet. Spoon mushrooms over veal before covering with gravy.

[recipe_title]Baked Veal Chops[/recipe_title]

4 veal chops, 4 ozs. each

2 large cloves garlic

1/2 cup French dressing

1 teaspoon imported Dijon mustard

1 small onion minced

3 tablespoons butter

1 cup bread crumbs

2 tablespoons grated parmesan cheese salt, pepper

Smash the cloves of garlic and combine with French dressing and mustard, mixing well. Place the veal chops in this mixture and marinate for one hour. While the meat is marinating, sauté the minced onion in the butter until the onion turns light yellow. Add the bread crumbs and cheese to the onion, mixing well. Sauté one or two minutes. Remove from fire and set aside. Preheat an electric skillet at 360°. Remove chops from the marinade. The oil clinging to the chops will suffice, so add no fat to the skillet. Sauté the veal until brown on both sides. Sprinkle chops with salt and pepper and place them in a shallow baking pan or shallow casserole. Spread the bread-crumb mixture on top of each chop, then cover them with aluminum foil. Bake in a slow oven, 325°, for one hour or until very tender. Serve with a prepared sauce such as Escoffier Sauce Diable or Sauce Robert.

[recipe_title]Wiener Schnitzel a la Holstein[/recipe_title]

4 veal cutlets, 4 ozs. each, sliced thin

salt, pepper

flour

2 eggs beaten with 2 tablespoons cold water

bread crumbs

salad oil

1 lemon

1 hard-boiled egg chopped fine

4 anchovies

capers

4 eggs

8-oz. can tomato sauce

1 tablespoon butter

Pound the cutlets with a meat tenderizer, then sprinkle with salt and pepper. Dip in flour, then pat off excess. Dip first in beaten eggs, coating thoroughly, then in bread crumbs. Pat crumbs well into cutlets. Chill cutlets for an hour or so, if possible. The chilling will help the crumb coating adhere to the meat. In an electric skillet heated to 300° pour salad oil to a depth of 1/4 in. Sauté the cutlets until deep golden brown on both sides. Place cutlets on a serving platter or plate, and keep them warm. Cut four thin slices of lemon and place a slice at one end of each cutlet. Squeeze the balance of the lemon juice over the cutlets. Sprinkle the lemon with the chopped hard-boiled egg. On each lemon slice curl an anchovy around several capers. Fry four eggs and place one on each cutlet opposite the lemon. Bring tomato sauce and butter to a boil, then pour around the cutlets. Serve balance of sauce in a sauceboat. (Lemon wedges, instead of slices, are also popular.)

[recipe_title]Veal Cutlets Parmigiana[/recipe_title]

4 veal cutlets, 4 ozs. each, sliced thin

salt, pepper

flour

2 eggs beaten with 2 tablespoons cold water

bread crumbs

salad oil

1/2 lb. mozzarella cheese, bel paese cheese or port du salut cheese

8-oz. can tomato sauce

1/4 teaspoon oregano

grated parmesan cheese

paprika

Prepare the cutlets as in the recipe for Wiener Schnitzel, sautéing them only until light brown on both sides. Then place them in a greased shallow baking pan or oven-proof casserole. Slice the mozzarella cheese; or shred the bel paese or port du salut cheese. (The mozzarella will be stringy after cooking; the bel paese or port du salut will be merely soft.) Place the cheese over the cutlets. In a small saucepan combine the tomato (concluded on page 84)Veal(continued from page 46) sauce and oregano. Bring to a boil, and pour over the cutlets. Sprinkle the cutlets heavily with grated parmesan cheese, then with paprika and salad oil. Bake in a moderate oven. 350°, twenty to twenty-five minutes or until parmesan cheese turns brown.

[recipe_title]Blanquette of Veal[/recipe_title]

(Blanquette of veal is a classic French stew. In the traditional recipe the veal is merely boiled until tender. In other French kitchens, however, and in this recipe, the veal is sautéed before it's simmered. During the sautéing the juices that collect in the pot give the blanquette its rich silken flavor.)

2 lbs. boneless shoulder of veal cut into 1-in. cubes

2 tablespoons butter

2 tablespoons flour

1 quart water

3 envelopes instant chicken bouillon

1/4 teaspoon prepared chopped bouquet garni

salt, white pepper

1 lb. fresh button mushrooms

3 medium-size carrots, cut diagonally into 1/2-in-thick slices

8-oz. can small boiled onions, drained

2 tablespoons minced parsley

2 egg yolks beaten

1 cup light sweet cream

In a deep stew pot or Dutch oven melt the butter over a slow flame. Add the meat. Sauté slowly, stirring frequently, keeping the pot covered, until meat loses red color. Do not brown meat. Stir in the flour. Add water and chicken bouillon. Add the bouquet garni, 1/4 teaspoon salt and 1/8 teaspoon white pepper. Bring liquid to a boil. Reduce flame and simmer until veal is almost tender, about 1 to 1-1/4 hours. Add the mushrooms and carrots. Cook until carrots and meat are tender. Add the onions and parsley. In a small bowl combine egg yolks and cream, beating well. To the egg-yolk mixture add slowly about 1/4 cup hot gravy, stirring well. Slowly pour this egg-yolk – gravy mixture into the pot, stirring constantly. Heat slowly, still stirring constantly, about two or three minutes longer. Do not permit the gravy to boil, or it will curdle. Remove from flame and add salt and pepper to taste. If stew must be reheated, use a double boiler.

[recipe_title]Veal Cakes with white Wine[/recipe_title]

1 1b. boneless shoulder of veal

2 1/2-in.-thick slices stale French bread

1/4 cup dry white wine

1 small onion

1/4 green pepper

1 teaspoon salt

1/8 teaspoon pepper

1/8 teaspoon ground sage

1 beaten egg

flour

3 tablespoons salad oil

10-3/4-oz. can beef-flavor mushroom gravy

8-oz. can tomato sauce

1/4 teaspoon Worcestershire sauce

1 cup water

Soak the bread in the wine until wine is absorbed. Put the veal, bread, onion and green pepper through a meat grinder twice, using the fine blade. Combine the ground meat with the salt, pepper, sage and egg. Mix well. Shape the meat into eight flat cakes. Meat mixture will be soft; handle gently. Dip the cakes in flour. Pour the oil into an electric skillet heated to 360°. Brown the cakes well on both sides. Remove cakes from pan. Drain fat from skillet, but let drippings remain. Return meat cakes to pan. Add the mushroom gravy, tomato sauce, Worcestershire sauce and water. Bring to a boil. Reduce heat to 280°. Simmer twenty minutes. Be sure to make enough. These cakes taste so good you'll want to eat them and have them too.