CHAPTER XIV

VEAL Veal is the meat obtained from a young calf killed when six to eight weeks old. Veal from a younger animal is very unwholesome, and is liable to provoke serious gastric disturbances. Veal contains a much smaller percentage of fat than beef or mutton, is less nutritious, and (though from a young creature) more difficult of digestion. Like lamb, it is not improved by long hanging, but should be eaten soon after killing and dressing. It should always be remembered that the flesh of young animals does not keep fresh as long as that of older ones. Veal is divided in same manner as lamb, into fore and hind quarters. The fore-quarter is subdivided into breast, shoulder, and neck; the hind-quarter into loin, leg, and knuckle. Cutlets, fillets (cushion), and fricandeau are cut from the thick part of leg. Good veal may be known by its pinkish-colored flesh and white fat; when the flesh lacks color, it has been taken from a creature which was too young to kill for food, or, if of the right age, was bled before killing. Veal may be obtained throughout the year, but is in season during the spring. Veal should be thoroughly cooked; being deficient in fat and having but little flavor, pork or butter should be added while cooking, and more seasoning is required than for other meats. Veal Cutlets Use slices of veal from leg cut one-half inch thick. Wipe, remove bone and skin, then cut in pieces for serving. The long, irregular-shaped pieces may be rolled, and fastened with small wooden skewers. Sprinkle with salt and pepper; dip in flour, egg, and crumbs; fry slowly, until well browned, in salt pork fat or butter; then remove cutlets to stewpan and pour over one and one-half cups Brown Sauce. Place on back of range and cook slowly forty minutes, or until cutlets are tender. Veal may be cooked first in boiling water until tender, then crumbed and fried. The water in which veal was cooked may be used for sauce. Arrange on hot platter, strain sauce and pour around cutlets, and garnish with parsley. =Brown Sauce.= Brown three tablespoons butter, add three tablespoons flour, and stir until well browned. Add gradually one and one-half cups stock or water, or half stock and half stewed and strained tomatoes. Season with salt, pepper, lemon juice, and Worcestershire Sauce. The trimmings from veal (including skin and bones) may be covered with one and one-half cups cold water, allowed to heat slowly to boiling-point, then cooked, strained, and used for sauce. Veal Chops Bavarian Wipe six loin chops and put in a stewpan with one-half onion, eight slices carrot, two stalks celery, one-half teaspoon peppercorns, four cloves, and two tablespoons butter. Cover with boiling water and cook until tender. Drain, season with salt and pepper, dip in flour, egg, and crumbs, fry in deep fat, and drain on brown paper. Arrange chops on hot serving dish and surround with boiled flat macaroni to which Soubise Sauce (see p. 267) is added. Fricassee of Veal Wipe two pounds sliced veal, cut from loin, and cover with boiling water; add one small onion, two stalks celery, and six slices carrot. Cook slowly until meat is tender. Remove meat, sprinkle with salt and pepper, dredge with flour, and sauté in pork fat. Strain liquor (there should be two cups). Melt four tablespoons butter, add four tablespoons flour and strained liquor. Bring to boiling-point, season with salt and pepper, and pour around meat. Garnish with parsley. Minuten Fleisch 1½ lbs. veal cut in thin slices Salt and pepper ⅔ cup claret wine Flour 1⅓ cups Brown Stock Juice 1 lemon 2 sprigs parsley Pound veal until one-fourth inch thick and cut in pieces for serving. Sprinkle with salt and pepper, put in baking-pan, pour over wine, and let stand thirty minutes. Drain, dip in flour, arrange in two buttered pans, and pour over remaining ingredients and wine which was drained from meat. Cover, and cook slowly until meat is tender. Remove to serving dish and pour over sauce remaining in pan. Loin of Veal à la Jardinière Wipe four pounds loin of veal, sprinkle with salt and pepper, and dredge with flour. Put one-fourth cup butter in deep stewpan; when melted, add veal and brown entire surface of meat, watching carefully and turning often, that it may not burn. Add one cup hot water, cover closely, and cook slowly two hours, or until meat is tender, adding more water as needed, using in all about three cups. Remove meat, thicken stock remaining in pan with flour diluted with enough cold water to pour easily. Surround the meat with two cups each boiled turnips and carrots, cut in half-inch cubes, and potatoes cut in balls. Serve gravy in a tureen. Braised Shoulder of Veal Bone, stuff, and sew in shape five pounds shoulder of veal; then cook same as Braised Beef, adding with vegetables two sprigs thyme and one of marjoram. English Meat Pie Knuckle of veal 1 slice onion 1 slice carrot Bit of bay leaf Sprig of parsley 12 peppercorns Blade of mace 2 teaspoons salt ½ lb. lean raw ham 4 tablespoons flour 4 tablespoons butter 2 doz. bearded oysters Remove meat from bones. Cover bones with cold water, add vegetables and seasonings, and heat slowly to boiling-point. Add meat, boil five minutes, and let simmer until meat is tender; remove meat and reduce stock to two cups. Put ham in frying-pan, cover with lukewarm water, and let stand on back of range one hour. Brown butter, add flour, and when well browned add stock; then add veal and ham each cut into cubes. Let simmer twenty minutes and add oysters. Put in serving dish and cover with top made of puff paste. It is much better to bake the paste separately and cover pie just before sending to table. Roast Veal The leg, cushion (thickest part of leg), and loin, are suitable pieces for roasting. When leg is to be used, it should be boned at market. Wipe meat, sprinkle with salt and pepper, stuff, and sew in shape. Place on rack in dripping-pan, dredge meat and bottom of pan with flour, and place around meat strips of fat salt pork. Bake three or four hours in moderate oven, basting every fifteen minutes with one-third cup butter melted in one-half cup boiling water, until used, then baste with fat in pan. Serve with brown gravy. Fricandeau of Veal Lard a cushion of veal and roast or braise. India Curry Wipe a slice of veal one-half inch thick, weighing one and one-half pounds, and cook in frying-pan without butter, quickly searing one side, then the other. Place on a board and cut in one and one-half inch pieces. Fry two sliced onions in one-half cup butter until brown, remove onions, and add to the butter, meat, and one-half tablespoon curry powder, then cover with boiling water. Cook slowly until meat is tender. Thicken with flour diluted with enough cold water to pour easily; then add one teaspoon vinegar. Serve with a border of steamed rice. Veal Birds Wipe slices of veal from leg, cut as thinly as possible, then remove bone, skin, and fat. Pound until one-fourth inch thick and cut in pieces two and one-half inches long by one and one-half inches wide, each piece making a bird. Chop trimmings of meat, adding for every three birds a piece of fat salt pork cut one inch square and one-fourth inch thick; pork also to be chopped. Add to trimmings and pork one-half their measure of fine cracker crumbs, and season highly with salt, pepper, cayenne, poultry seasoning, lemon juice, and onion juice. Moisten with beaten egg and hot water or stock. Spread each piece with thin layer of mixture and avoid having mixture come close to edge. Roll, and fasten with skewers. Sprinkle with salt and pepper, dredge with flour, and fry in hot butter until a golden brown. Put in stewpan, add cream to half cover meat, cook slowly twenty minutes or until tender. Serve on small pieces of toast, straining cream remaining in pan over birds and toast, and garnish with parsley. A Thin White Sauce in place of cream may be served around birds. Veal Loaf I Separate a knuckle of veal in pieces by sawing through bone. Wipe, put in kettle with one pound lean veal and one onion; cover with boiling water, and cook slowly until veal is tender. Drain, chop meat finely, and season highly with salt and pepper. Garnish bottom of a mould with slices of “hard-boiled” eggs and parsley. Put in layer of meat, layer of thinly sliced “hard-boiled” eggs, sprinkle with finely chopped parsley, and cover with remaining meat. Pour over liquor, which should be reduced to one cupful. Press and chill, turn on a dish, and garnish with parsley. Veal Loaf II Wipe three pounds lean veal, and remove skin and membrane. Chop finely or force through meat chopper, then add one-half pound fat salt pork (also finely chopped), six common crackers (rolled), four tablespoons cream, two tablespoons lemon juice, one tablespoon salt, one-half tablespoon pepper, and a few drops onion juice. Pack in a small bread pan, smooth evenly on top, brush with white of egg, and bake slowly three hours, basting with one-fourth cup pork fat. Prick frequently while baking, that pork fat may be absorbed by meat. Cool, remove from pan, and cut in thin slices for serving. Broiled Veal Kidneys Order veal kidneys with the suet left on. Trim, split, and broil ten minutes. Arrange on pieces of toast and pour over melted butter seasoned with salt, cayenne, and lemon juice. Veal Kidneys à la Canfield Trim kidneys, cook in Brown Stock ten minutes, drain, and cut in slices. Arrange alternate slices of kidney and thinly sliced bacon on skewers with a fresh mushroom cap at either end of each skewer. Broil until bacon is crisp and arrange on pieces of toast. Pour over sauce made from stock in which kidneys were cooked, seasoned with salt, cayenne, and Madeira wine. WAYS OF WARMING OVER VEAL Minced Veal on Toast Prepare as Minced Lamb on Toast, using veal in place of lamb. Blanquette of Veal Reheat two cups cold roast veal, cut in small strips, in one and one-half cups White Sauce I. Serve in a potato border and sprinkle over all finely chopped parsley. Ragoût of Veal Reheat two cups cold roast veal, cut in cubes, in one and one-half cups Brown Sauce seasoned with one teaspoon Worcestershire Sauce, few drops of onion juice, and a few grains of cayenne.