Mastering the Art of French Cooking, Volume 2 (99 page)

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 butter 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.