by Julia Child
(*) AHEAD-OF-TIME NOTE: If you are not serving for half an hour or so, finish the sauce except for butter enrichment; return meat and sauce to casserole. Set cover askew and keep anywhere that you can maintain a temperature of 120 degrees. An occasional basting of the meat will keep it moist; if sauce thickens during wait, thin with stock before serving.
Other stuffings
Breast of veal takes kindly to many stuffings. Another combination with chard includes the sausage meat, ham, and bread crumbs used for paupiette of beef, and there is the mushroom duxelles and spinach stuffing for shoulder of lamb Viroflay. Either the mushroom and kidney stuffing for boned leg of lamb, or the kidney and rice stuffing in Volume I, page 337, would be delicious and unusual, as would be the boudin blanc and mushrooms mixture in the chicken section. Or any of these stuffing possibilities.
VEAU EN FEUILLETONS
[Sliced and Stuffed Roast of Veal]
Veal wants stuffing, as the British would say, and here is a typically French grande cuisine farce fine of pork, veal, truffles, foie gras, and Cognac. This is sliced veal marinated in wine and truffles, then tied together in the form of a roast with the stuffing between each slice. Braised with stock and aromatic vegetables, it produces a most heavenly sauce combining all of the luxurious flavors. Very definitely a dish for a select group of friends, it calls for your finest in château-bottled Bordeaux-Médocs, and the best vegetables. You might surround the meat platter with a fluted border of mashed potatoes duchesse and pass separately something like braised spinach, chopped broccoli simmered in cream, braised endives or lettuce, or fresh, buttered peas.
THE VEAL
If you can get it, the top round from a large, pale, prime leg would give you solid scallops with no muscle separations. Otherwise settle either for cuts from the full round that you can separate and regroup, or the thin scallopini available in some markets. These latter you could regroup or spread separately with stuffing. Play it by look and feel, aiming for a re-formed roast about 10 inches long and 5 inches in diameter.
For 10 to 12 people
1) Marinating the veal in Cognac and truffles
2 to 2½ lbs. veal scallops preferably from the top round, making 10 to 12 slices 6 by 4 inches in diameter and 3⁄16 inch thick (or scallopini, 2 or 3 per person)
Waxed paper and a mallet or rolling pin
A dish large enough to hold scallops in several layers
½ cup Cognac
1 or 2 canned truffles, minced, and their juice
Plastic wrap
Trim all filaments, fat, and extraneous matter from scallops. Place them one by one between sheets of waxed paper and pound not too heavily, to break down filaments slightly, and to spread the meat out a little. (This will not be necessary with scallopini.) Arrange the scallops in layers interspersed with sprinklings of Cognac and minced truffles. Pour remaining Cognac and the truffle juices over meat, cover with plastic wrap, and set aside while preparing stuffing.
2) Ground pork stuffing with ham, truffles, and foie gras—3½ cups
¼ cup finely minced shallots or scallions
1½ Tb butter
A small frying pan
Bowl of heavy-duty mixer, or a large mixing bowl
Sauté the shallots or scallions slowly in the butter for 2 to 3 minutes until tender but not browned. Scrape into bowl.
The following, finely ground together:
12 ounces (1½ cups) lean pork
4 ounces (½ cup) fresh pork fat
4 ounces (½ cup) lean veal
4 ounces (½ cup) mildcured ham, such as a store-bought, ready-to-cook ham slice
1 tsp salt
⅛ tsp white pepper
Big pinch ground allspice
½ tsp tarragon leaves, finely chopped or powdered
legg
The juices from the marinated scallops, and the truffles
Add all of the rest of the ingredients listed, and beat vigorously by machine or with a wooden spoon to blend thoroughly. Just before starting Step 3, drain marinade liquid into stuffing, scrape truffles off veal, and beat vigorously into stuffing. To check seasoning, sauté a spoonful until cooked through, taste, and add more salt, pepper, or herbs if needed. (The foie gras comes in Step 3.)
3) Assembling the veal
Either a piece of caul fat 16 to 18 inches square;
Or well-washed cheesecloth, melted butter, and a pastry brush
Salt and pepper
4 to 6 ounces canned foie gras en bloc (imported goose liver; read the label)
White string
(If your veal slices are smaller or thinner than the ideal, group them together, adapting meat to the method outlined here.) Spread the caul fat or cheesecloth on a board or tray. Season each scallop of veal lightly with salt and pepper, and build the slices into a closely packed loaf shape, with stuffing and a slice of foie gras between each scallop.
If you are using caul fat, fold it securely around the meat; if using cheesecloth, first paint it with melted butter, roll it tightly around circumference, then twist each end tight and tie close against meat with string. Tie a loop of string around length of meat, and wind string back and forth around circumference to keep all in place. You should have a fat sausage shape about 10 inches long.
(*) AHEAD-OF-TIME NOTE: Recipe may be prepared a day in advance to this point; wrap airtight and refrigerate.
4) Browning and braising the veal—about 2 hours
A heavy, covered, flame-proof casserole just large enough to hold meat comfortably, such as a 10- by 12-inch oval 5 inches deep
Rendered goose fat, pork fat, or cooking oil
2 cups chopped veal knuckle and marrow bones
1 medium carrot, roughly chopped
1 medium onion, roughly chopped
1½ to 2 cups excellent veal stock, beef stock, or a mixture of chicken broth and beef bouillon
½ tsp thyme
1 imported bay leaf
Useful: a meat thermometer
Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Dry the meat in paper towels. Set casserole over moderately high heat with the fat or oil, and when very hot but not smoking, brown the meat on all sides. (It will brown through cheesecloth perfectly well.) Remove to a side dish and brown the bones and vegetables. Push them to sides and return meat to casserole; pour in enough stock or bouillon to come halfway up. Strew the herbs around the meat. Bring liquid to the simmer, cover casserole, and set in lower-middle level of preheated oven.
Check casserole in about 20 minutes, and when contents are quietly simmering, reduce oven heat to 325 degrees. Turn the meat twice during cooking and braise about 2 hours in all, or to a meat thermometer reading of 165 to 170 degrees. When done, remove veal to a side dish and let rest 20 minutes in turned-off oven, door ajar; meat must settle before serving so pieces will hold in place.
5) Sauce and serving
A sieve set over a saucepan
2 tsp cornstarch blended with ¼ cup dry Madeira (Sercial), dry port, or Cognac
A wire whip
Salt and pepper to taste
2 to 3 Tb soft butter
A warm serving bowl
A hot platter
Watercress, parsley sprigs, or whatever vegetable garnish you may have chosen
Strain braising liquid into saucepan. Skim off as much surface fat as you can, and bring liquid to the simmer, skimming off additional fat. Boil down rapidly, if necessary, to about 2 cups; carefully correct seasoning. Remove from heat, blend in the cornstarch mixture, and simmer 2 minutes. Sauce should be lightly thickened.
Disturbing meat as little as possible, untie it. If you have used caul fat, it will have mostly disintegrated during cooking; remove any bits that have not. If you have used cheesecloth, carefully cut it off with shears. Using two spatulas, lift meat onto hot platter. (If by chance the slices come apart, push them together.) Spoon a little sauce over meat to glaze it, and decorate platter with whatever you have chosen. Reheat sauce, remove from heat, and beat in the enrichment bu
tter a half tablespoon at a time, and pour into hot sauce bowl. Serve immediately. For serving, spread scallops slightly apart with spoon and fork, to display the meat. Be sure each slice comes off with its share of stuffing, and surround with a spoonful of sauce.
(*) AHEAD-OF-TIME NOTE: You may complete the sauce except for the final butter enrichment, and arrange the meat on its platter, cover it, and keep warm for a good half hour at 120 degrees.
VARIATIONS
Feuilletons de Veau en Croûte
[Stuffed Roast of Veal Baked in a Pastry Crust]
The presentation of a roast baked in brown, decorated pastry is always dramatic. For the stuffed veal, follow the preceding Master Recipe exactly through Steps 1, 2, and 3, and braise the meat in Step 4 for about 1½ hours, or to a thermometer reading of 150 degrees. Remove the meat, and let it rest 30 minutes. Then untie it, remove covering, and drape the roast either in puff pastry as described for the gigot en croûte, or in chilled brioche dough as for the tenderloin of beef. Decorate the dough, glaze it with egg, and return to a 425-degree oven for 25 to 30 minutes, to cook and brown the crust, and to finish cooking the meat. Serve with the same sauce described in Step 5 of the preceding recipe.
Noisettes de Veau, Périgourdine
[Individual Stuffed Loin Scallops with Foie Gras and Truffles]
Less dramatic but exquisite in taste are noisettes of veal, meaning the boneless loin or rib-eye section of a veal chop, surrounded with the stuffing, braised in wine, and served with a brown, truffled sauce. You can do this dish, however, only if you have caul fat to hold the stuffing in place; it disintegrates during cooking. You might serve the noisettes on a platter garnished with very carefully sautéed potatoes, glazed onions, glazed carrots, sautéed mushrooms, and a decoration of fresh parsley sprigs. Another suggestion would be pommes Anna, or the gratin Crécy of scalloped potatoes and carrots in cream, Volume I, page 525, and the chopped, sautéed broccoli. A very fine red Bordeaux-Médoc would again be indicated.
For 6 people
1) Preparing the noisettes for cooking
12 noisettes of veal (boneless large eye of meat in loin or rib chops, ½ inch thick and 2½ inches in diameter if possible; 3 per person if smaller)
½ the marinade ingredients in Step 1, Master Recipe
About ⅓ cup clarified butter (melted butter, skimmed; clear liquid butter spooned off milky residue)
A medium (10-inch) frying pan, no-stick recommended
Trim all fat, filaments, and gristle from noisettes. Salt and pepper lightly, and marinate in a covered bowl with the Cognac, truffles, and shallots for at least half an hour, or overnight. Scrape marinade off meat, and beat it into the stuffing (next step) along with the marinade liquid. Dry noisettes thoroughly on paper towels. Film pan with ⅛ inch of the clarified butter, heat to bubbling hot, and sauté a few scallops at a time for a minute or so on each side, just to stiffen the meat slightly. Remove to a side dish, reserving butter in pan.
A piece of caul fat about 24 inches square
½ the stuffing ingredients in Step 2, Master Recipe
3 ounces canned foie gras en bloc
Divide stuffing and foie gras into 12 (or 18) portions. Spread a piece of caul fat (about 8 inches square) on a board or tray. Center a half portion of stuffing upon it, and a half portion of foie gras upon that. Place a noisette of veal over the stuffing, top with its remaining share of foie gras, and spread with its final share of stuffing. Fold caul fat around it, to enclose meat and stuffing. Continue with the rest of the noisettes in the same way.
(*) AHEAD-OF-TIME NOTE: May be done a day in advance to this point; cover and refrigerate.
2) Cooking and serving
The frying pan and the clarified butter
The noisettes of veal wrapped in caul fat
A covered flameproof baking dish large enough to hold scallops in one slightly overlapping layer
A brunoise (¼ cup each very finely diced—1⁄16 inch—carrots, onions, and celery)
¼ cup dry Madeira (Sercial) wine
½ cup veal stock, beef stock, or bouillon
A hot platter, and whatever decorative garnish you have chosen
A small canned truffle, minced, and its juices
2 to 3 Tb soft butter
Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Add more butter to pan, if necessary, to film it by ⅛ inch. Heat to bubbling hot, and brown the meat again lightly on each side for a minute or so. Arrange in baking dish. Stir brunoise vegetables into pan, lower heat, and cook rather slowly for 5 to 6 minutes, until tender and barely browned. Pour in the Madeira, scraping up coagulated sauté juices with a wooden spoon. With a rubber spatula, scrape wine and vegetables over noisettes. Add the stock or bouillon, bring to the simmer, cover, and braise in middle level of preheated oven for 25 minutes.
Remove any bits of caul fat that have not disintegrated, and arrange noisettes on hot platter, cover, and keep warm. Skim surface fat off cooking juices, and boil down rapidly until almost syrupy and reduced to around ½ cup. Add minced truffle and its juices; simmer 2 minutes. Remove from heat, and swirl in the enrichment butter by half tablespoonfuls. Spoon sauce and brunoise vegetables over noisettes. Serve immediately.
(*) AHEAD-OF-TIME NOTE: If you cannot serve immediately, finish sauce except for butter enrichment. Return meat to baking dish, baste with sauce, cover partially, and keep warm on a hot-tray or in a 120-degree warming oven.
SUCKLING PIG
Cochon de Lait
Roast suckling pig is wonderfully dramatic to serve, delicious to eat, and is hardly more difficult to cook than a turkey. Your only absolute requirement is an oven large enough to hold the roasting pan that will be large enough for the pig; the pig will be around 20 inches long from end of rump to tip of snout, but it can be arranged either in the traditional straight crouch, illustrated farther on, or in a comfortable curl; a pan 12 by 18 inches and 2 inches deep would be the minimum size. You must also have something upon which to serve the pig, like a jumbo platter, a large tray, a carving board, or a piece of plywood covered with foil. You will want leaves, flowers, fruits, and vegetables for decoration; suggestions are in Step 7 of the recipe. Your final decision will be whether or not to stuff the pig. If you choose not to stuff, you should spread a flavoring of cooked chopped celery and onions, herbs (thyme, bay, sage), salt, and pepper in the cavity. Stuffing, however, not only flavors the meat, but also allows you to serve more people; use anything suitable for turkey or goose, such as sausages and apples, bread crumbs and onions, one of the appropriate suggestions listed, or the unusual farce Trébizonde suggested in the recipe here.
HOW TO ORDER A SUCKLING PIG
Be sure to order suckling pig well in advance, because this is not an everyday item. Specify the genuine milk-fed suckling pig, weighing 10 to 12 pounds and no more; heavier animals are too fatty and the skin is tough. After 14 pounds a pig is no longer suckling and would probably not fit into your oven anyway. It may be that when the pig is available, you are not, but you can have it wrapped airtight and frozen, where it will keep perfectly for several weeks at zero degrees or less. (Fresh pork is perishable; plan to roast the pig within a day or two of purchasing or defrosting it.) Ask that it be thoroughly cleaned inside and out, and that the eyeballs be removed because they burst during cooking. If the heart, liver, and kidneys come along with the pig, save them for your stuffing or use in the Provençal sausages, caillettes.
PREPARING THE PIG FOR ROASTING
To prepare the pig for roasting, soak for several hours in cold water with ¼ cup of vinegar and 2 tablespoons of salt for each 4 quarts of water. If your pig is frozen, it will defrost at the same time. Scrub inside the ears, nostrils, and mouth with a vegetable brush to be sure all is clean; scrub the feet also. Go over the pig to remove any hairs that might have been missed. Dry the pig thoroughly inside and out, and it is ready to stuff and roast.
COCHON DE LAIT, FARCI À LA TRÉBIZONDE
[Roast Suckling Pig Stuffed with Rice, Sausages,
Apricots, and Raisins]
With this exotic mixture stuffed into your suckling pig you need just a green vegetable accompaniment, like buttered brussels sprouts or broccoli. A smooth and not too heavy red wine would be your best choice, such as a Bordeaux from the Graves or Médoc districts.
For 12 to 14 people
1) Preparing the pig for stuffing—3 to 4 hours
A 10- to 12-pound suckling pig
Prepare the pig for roasting, soak it and dry it as described above.
2) The rice, sausage, and apricot stuffing—farce Trébizonde—10 to 12 cups
NOTE: Many of the steps in this stuffing may be carried on at once; we have separated each process, and leave the time sequences up to you.
1 lb. pure pork sausages (preferably homemade)
A medium (10-inch) frying pan with cover
¼ cup water
A 5- to 6-quart mixing bowl
A slotted spoon
Prick skin of sausages with a pin, arrange in pan with water, cover, and simmer 5 minutes. Uncover, drain off water, and sauté sausages slowly for several minutes, until lightly browned. Remove, leaving fat in pan. Cut sausages into ½-inch lengths, and place in mixing bowl.