Selle de Veau à la Piémontaise

Ingredients

Equipment Needed

• •5 to 6-quart heavy cocotte with a tight lid
• •Instant-read thermometer
• •Fine-mesh sieve
• •1 1/2-quart saucepan and whisk
• •Wide saucepan for reducing the jus
• •Broiler-safe oval platter or shallow gratin dish
• •Sharp slicing knife

Instructions

1. 1

   Prepare the saddle

   Heat the oven to 325°F (165°C). Take the tied veal from the cold thirty minutes before cooking, pat every surface dry, and season it with about two-thirds of the salt and pepper. Keep the ties snug so the two loins cook as one even joint. A wet roast colors poorly, and without that color the braising liquor has no foundation.

2. 2

   Build the braising fond

   Melt 2 tablespoons (30 ml / 28 g) of the butter in a heavy cocotte over medium heat. Brown the veal on every side, including both ends, until the surface is a confident hazelnut color, then lift it out. Add the onion, carrot, and celery and cook gently for 6 to 8 minutes, letting them color without scorching. Pour in the wine, scrape every brown trace of fond from the pot, and reduce by half. Add the stock and bouquet garni, then return the veal to the pot.

3. 3

   Braise it gently

   The liquid should come about halfway up the joint. Bring it just to a simmer, cover tightly, and transfer the cocotte to the oven. Braise for 55 to 75 minutes, turning the saddle once, until the thickest part reaches 145°F (63°C). Keep the liquid at a quiet tremble. A hard boil tightens the loin before the braising liquor has time to develop, and this is saddle, not stew meat.

   Begin the separate rice preparation while the veal braises so it can reach the table creamy and freshly finished.
4. 4

   Clarify the jus

   Lift the veal onto a board, cover it loosely, and rest it for at least 15 minutes. Strain the braising liquor through a fine sieve into a wide saucepan without pressing the vegetables, then skim away every visible patch of fat. Reduce gently until about 1 1/4 cups (300 ml) remain and the jus tastes full but still pours freely. If it becomes too strong or salty, stop reducing and loosen it with a little unsalted stock. Keep the finished jus warm for its separate sauceboat.

5. 5

   Make the Béchamel

   Melt the remaining 2 tablespoons (30 ml / 28 g) butter in a small saucepan. Stir in the flour and cook the roux for 2 minutes without letting it color. Add the milk gradually, whisking until each addition is smooth, then simmer gently for about 5 minutes until the Béchamel clings thickly to the whisk. Measure it and adjust with a little milk or further gentle cooking until you have about 1 1/4 cups (300 ml), which keeps the book's proportion of Parmesan and truffle intact. If the sauce is lumpy, do not add the truffle yet. Ça se rattrape: whisk in a spoonful of cold milk and strain the sauce, then return it to the pan.

6. 6

   Add Parmesan and truffle

   Season the Béchamel with the remaining salt and white pepper, then stir in the Parmesan until melted. Remove the pan from the heat and wait until all bubbling stops before folding in the finely grated white truffle. Do not bring the sauce back to a boil. Too much heat drives away the perfume that justifies the whole dish; if the sauce tightens as it stands, loosen it off the heat with a tablespoon of warm milk.

7. 7

   Reconstruct the saddle

   Heat the broiler and place a rack about 6 inches (15 cm) below it. Remove the ties from the rested saddle and separate the two loins if your butcher tied them side by side. Cut each loin crosswise into collops about 1/2 inch (1.25 cm) thick, keeping the slices in order. On a broiler-safe oval platter, rebuild each loin in its original shape with a thin spoonful of truffled Béchamel between every collop. Set the two reconstructed fillets side by side and coat their entire upper surface with the remaining sauce.

8. 8

   Glaze and serve

   Set the platter beneath the broiler for 2 to 4 minutes, just until the Béchamel takes scattered pale-gold color and begins to glisten at the edges. Watch without leaving the oven, because white truffle is an expensive thing to abandon under a broiler. If one edge colors too quickly, rotate the platter or shield that edge with foil. Bring the Rizotto à la Piémontaise (No. 2258) to the table in a separate warmed timbale, and serve the strained braising jus separately in a sauceboat. Lift the collops with their seams intact and let each guest add jus beside, rather than over, the truffled glaze. À table!

Chef Tips

• •Ask the butcher for a small double-loin veal saddle, boned, rolled, and tied. If only center-cut veal loin is available, use a roast of the same weight and reconstruct it as one fillet rather than two; the layering and glazing remain unchanged.
• •Fresh Piedmont white truffle is not a decorative flourish here. It is the dish's central flavor, and truffle oil cannot replace it. If fresh white truffle is unavailable, wait for its season or cook Veau Orloff, the classical layered veal cousin whose structure does not depend on that perfume.
• •Use unsalted, gelatin-rich veal stock with a clean flavor. The braising liquor is served on its own, so a thin boxed broth or an aggressively salted stock has nowhere to hide.
• •Grate the Parmesan finely enough to melt without prolonged heat. Coarse strands encourage you to boil the Béchamel, and boiling costs both smoothness and truffle aroma.
• •A mature Barbaresco follows the Piedmont accents beautifully. A full white Burgundy also has enough breadth for the butter, Parmesan, and veal without overwhelming the truffle.

Advance Preparation

• •The veal may be braised up to one day ahead. Cool it in some of its strained liquor, cover, and refrigerate; warm it gently in the covered cocotte before resting, slicing, and reconstructing.
• •The plain Béchamel may be made up to four hours ahead and held with parchment pressed directly against its surface. Reheat it gently, then add the Parmesan and white truffle only when you are ready to assemble the saddle.
• •The braising jus may be strained, degreased, and reduced earlier in the day. Reheat it over low heat and correct its concentration with unsalted stock if necessary.
• •Prepare the referenced rice close to serving. Its creamy texture does not improve through long holding, so coordinate its final butter and Parmesan with the brief glazing of the veal.

Frequently Asked Questions

Nutrition Information

1 serving (about 580g)