Mastering the Art of French Cooking, Volume 2 (96 page)

Poitrine de Veau, Farcie

Breast of veal boned, stuffed with a well-seasoned filling, braised, and sauced makes a handsome as well as tasty main-course party dish, and one that is far more reasonable in price than most. French and American meat cutting methods differ, and as we find the French version much the most attractive to serve, here is how to buy and prepare it. If you cannot have the butchering done properly for you, and if you enjoy working with meat yourself, you will find the whole breast not at all difficult to handle, and you may even be able to buy it at a far more interesting price than if it were boned and trimmed at the market.

HOW TO BUY A BREAST OF VEAL

In America, a breast of veal (or of lamb) comprises the whole brisket-plate section. From a large, pale, prime carcass of veal, such as you can find in France and in some markets here, this will weigh 7 to 7½ pounds before boning and trimming. The boned brisket weighs 2½ pounds; the breastbone, 1 pound; the plate and skirt (flap of meat falling over ribs), with the ribs and cartilage, 3½ pounds. It is the boned brisket that is stuffed for French recipes; a 2½-pound brisket, stuffed, will be 12 inches long, 7 to 8 inches across, and can easily serve 8 people.

Adapt whatever you find to the general idea of the recipe even if your market does not carry breasts of the desired weight, or follows different cutting methods. You might, for instance, sew or skewer 2 plates together for stuffing, or 2 briskets, if they are smaller than you think they should be. If you have trouble making your wishes known, show your butcher this picture; he might be willing to order one for you, and to prepare it according to your specifications.

Actually, the whole brisket-plate combination is a good buy because not only will you have the brisket to stuff, but you can also save the thick part of the plate for stew, you can grind the rest of the plate along with the skirt for your stuffing, and when you boil up the breastbone and ribs, you will have a fine veal stock for braising the
poitrine farcie.

FRENCH TERMINOLOGY

Brisket is
poitrine,
and the
poitrine
also includes the skirt,
hampe;
ask for a
poitrine de veau désossée, avec poche.
The plate is called
tendron,
and is a favorite French cut for
blanquette de veau,
particularly the thick part containing the breastbone cartilage.

DIRECTIONS FOR THE HOME BUTCHER

NOTE
: In the drawing, the breast has been separated in two—the right-hand piece, minus leg bones, is the brisket; the left-hand piece the plate.

To bone the whole breast, start with the breastbone (right side in drawing), which is attached to the ribs by cartilages: first, place the meat rib-side up, with the breastbone hanging over the edge of the table. Lean hard on the bone to break it from the cartilages at the rib ends, then cut around its ridges and follow its cartilaginous prolongation into the plate, to remove the entire bone from the meat. The next step is to separate the brisket from the plate: slice through the meat between ribs 5 and 6 to make 2 pieces, as in the drawing. Slice off the skirt, a flap of meat on the rib side, attached to the thick part of the plate. Remove the rib bones from both brisket and plate by cutting first around them, then underneath each bone to loosen it from the meat. The thick part of the plate that contained the prolongation of the breastbone (bottom left in drawing) can make an excellent stew for 2 people; cut it off from the rest of the plate, and freeze it for another meal. Trim excess fat off brisket with a long, sharp knife. Then carefully slice a pocket in the brisket (right-hand piece), going in from the large or plate end; the brisket will now be like a pouch, and you will close it by sewing or skewering after you stuff it. Scrape usable meat from membranes covering plate and skirt, and grind it. Chop up the breastbone, and brown bones and scraps half an hour in a 450-degree oven with a sliced carrot and onion; then simmer for 3 to 4 hours in water, herbs, and seasonings to make a simple but delicious veal stock (detailed directions are in Volume I, pages 107–11).

POITRINE DE VEAU, FARCIE

[Breast of Veal Stuffed and Braised—Hot or Cold]

Green stuffings provide attractive serving slices and should be made of chard leaves, if you can find them; spinach, if you cannot. The rest of the stuffing consists of boiled rice, ground veal, a little ham, and a bit of onion. There is no pork here, no garlic, and the delicate taste of the veal does seem to come through beautifully. Accompany the dish with braised onions and carrots or baked tomatoes. A not too heavy red wine would be the one to choose, like a Bordeaux, a young Beaujolais, or a Cabernet Sauvignon; a rosé would also go well. Serve cold breast of veal with sliced tomatoes, the French potato salad,
pommes a l’huile,
Volume I, page 541, and either a rosé or a dry white from the Rhône like Chante Alouette.

For 8 people

1)
Chard or spinach stuffing with rice, veal, and ham—4 cups

¼ cup rendered fresh pork fat, ham fat, or chicken or goose fat

½ cup finely minced onions

A medium (10-inch) frying pan, enameled or no-stick

4 or 5 large, green chard leaves minus white part of stalks (or 1 cup cooked, chopped spinach or ¾ package frozen spinach, thawed and squeezed dry)

The bowl of a heavy-duty mixer, or a large mixing bowl and wooden spoon

Salt

¾ cup boiled rice (¼ cup plain, raw, white rice boiled 12 minutes in 1 quart of salted water, and drained)

1 to 1½ cups lean raw veal finely ground with ½ cup lean mild-cured boiled ham (supermarket ham slice)

½ to ⅔ cup grated Parmesan cheese

1 “large” egg

Large pinch grated nutmeg

¼ tsp pepper

Melt the fat in the frying pan, stir in the onions, cover, and cook slowly, stirring occasionally for 10 minutes, until tender and just beginning to brown
lightly. Set aside. Meanwhile blanch the chard leaves in a large kettle of boiling salted water for 3 to 4 minutes, until wilted; drain, refresh in cold water, squeeze hard to rid leaves of water, and chop moderately fine (¼-inch pieces). Blend chard (or spinach) into onions; stir over moderately high heat for a few moments to evaporate remaining liquid; cover and cook slowly several minutes more, until fairly tender. Season to taste and scrape into bowl. Vigorously beat in the boiled rice, ground meat, cheese, egg, nutmeg, and pepper. Sauté a small spoonful in frying pan until cooked through, taste carefully, and add more seasonings if you feel them necessary.

2)
Stuffing the veal

A boned breast (brisket) of veal, weighing, if possible, around 2½ lbs. (See
directions, description, and alternates
.)

Salt and pepper

A trussing needle or small poultry-lacing skewers

White string

Open the pocket in the meat and sprinkle lightly with salt and pepper. Insert the stuffing, pushing it well down into the meat, but do not overfill. Close opening of meat by sewing with string, or with skewers and string. If by chance you have pierced a hole in the surface of the meat, close it by sewing or skewering.

The ridged side, where the ribs were, is the underside; turn small end of the meat under and sew or skewer it in place, thus giving the veal a rectangular cushion shape about 12 inches long and 8 inches across. If meat seems solid and stuffing securely in place, tying is not necessary; otherwise, with string, make 2 loops around
length and several around circumference, but do not tie too tightly. Dry the meat thoroughly before proceeding to next step.