Selle de Veau Froide

Ingredients

Equipment Needed

• •5 to 6-quart oval cocotte or Dutch oven
• •Instant-read thermometer
• •Fine-mesh sieve
• •Four 4-ounce molds or ramekins
• •Shallow 8-inch metal dish for setting jelly
• •Long sharp slicing knife

Instructions

1. 1

   Shape and season

   Tie the veal at 1½-inch intervals if the butcher has not already done it, keeping the roast evenly cylindrical so every slice will be the same size. Pat it thoroughly dry, then season all over with 1½ teaspoons of the salt and the white pepper. Leave it at cool room temperature for 30 minutes while you prepare the braising vegetables. A wet, refrigerator-cold roast browns poorly, and the fond on the pot floor must carry the eventual sauce.

   A boned saddle gives the proper broad slices. If only center-cut veal loin is available, use it without apology, but ask for a piece with an even fat covering and have it tied.
2. 2

   Brown the veal

   Heat the butter in a snug, heavy cocotte over medium-high heat until its foam subsides. Add the veal and brown every surface patiently, turning only when each side has taken a deep hazelnut color, about 10 to 12 minutes altogether. Lift the roast out. If the butter threatens to blacken before the meat is properly browned, pull the pot from the heat for 30 seconds and lower the flame; burnt specks make a bitter jelly, while dark brown ones make the sauce.

3. 3

   Build the braise

   Add the onion, braising carrot, and celery to the same pot. Cook over medium heat for 6 to 8 minutes, stirring and scraping, until the vegetables soften and pick up the fond. Add the garlic for the final minute. Pour in the wine and scrape the pot floor clean, then boil until the wine has reduced by about two-thirds and smells rounded rather than raw. Add the stock, bouquet garni, and remaining ½ teaspoon salt. Return the veal to the pot; the liquid should come roughly halfway up its sides.

4. 4

   Braise at a tremble

   Bring the liquid only to a bare simmer, cover the cocotte, and place it in a 325°F (165°C) oven. Braise for 60 to 90 minutes, turning the veal once, until an instant-read thermometer reaches 145°F (63°C) at the center. The liquor should tremble, never gallop. If you find it boiling hard, lower the oven by 25°F (15°C) and uncover the pot for a minute before continuing. Ça se rattrape, but don't leave lean veal fighting a boil.

5. 5

   Chill and degrease

   Lift the veal onto a rack set over a tray and rest it for 20 minutes, then refrigerate it uncovered until the surface is cold. Cover and continue chilling for at least 5 hours. Strain the braising liquor through a fine sieve into a shallow bowl without pressing the vegetables, but do not clarify it. Chill until the fat hardens on top, then lift away every trace. This is nonnegotiable because warm fat tastes generous and cold fat tastes waxy. If boiling has broken the fat into small droplets, chill the liquor completely, lift off the firm layer, then draw the corner of a clean paper towel lightly across the surface. Ça se rattrape.

6. 6

   Reduce the liquor

   Return the degreased liquor to a clean saucepan and simmer until exactly 2 cups (480 ml / 480 g) remain. Taste as it reduces. It should be savory enough to serve as a sauce but not aggressively salty, since the cold will sharpen its concentration. If it becomes salty too soon, stop reducing and add a little unsalted stock or water to return it to 2 cups. Gelatin supplies the final set, so there is no prize for reducing the sauce into brine.

7. 7

   Cook the Macédoine

   Bring a saucepan of water to a boil and add the blanching salt. Cook the diced carrot and turnip until tender but still distinct, about 3 to 4 minutes, then lift them into ice water. Blanch the green beans for about 2 minutes and the peas for 1 minute, chilling each in turn. Drain every vegetable thoroughly and spread them on a clean towel to dry. Water clinging to the Macédoine weakens the jelly and makes the colors bleed.

8. 8

   Set the garnishes

   Sprinkle the 2 teaspoons gelatin over 2 tablespoons cold water and leave it for 5 minutes to swell. Stir it into 1¼ cups (300 ml / 300 g) of the hot reduced liquor until perfectly clear. Pack the Macédoine loosely into four 4-ounce molds and pour in just enough jelly to fill the spaces and cohere the vegetables. Pour the remainder into a shallow metal dish in a layer about ¼ inch thick for the jelly dice. If the gelatin forms threads instead of dissolving, set the bowl over hot water and stir gently until clear. Do not boil it.

9. 9

   Set the sauce

   Sprinkle the remaining ¾ teaspoon gelatin over 1 tablespoon cold water and leave it for 5 minutes. Stir it into the remaining ¾ cup (180 ml / 180 g) hot braising liquor, then pour the sauce into a small sauceboat or covered bowl. Chill the sauce, the vegetable molds, and the shallow tray until fully set, at least 4 hours. The sauce should form a tender, spoonable jelly rather than a rubbery block.

10. 10

    Arrange the sideboard

    Remove the string from the cold veal and cut it across the grain into clean ¼-inch slices. Overlap the slices generously on a chilled oval platter. Dip each Macédoine mold in warm water for 3 seconds, invert it beside the veal, and repeat briefly if it resists rather than attacking it with a knife. Cut the firm jelly into fine, regular ¼-inch dice and scatter them around the meat. Let the sauceboat stand for 10 minutes so its jelly softens to a tremble, then serve it beside the platter. Keep the dish cold until the table is ready. À table!

Chef Tips

• •Order the veal ahead. Ask for a boned saddle rolled into an even roast of about 2¼ pounds. A center-cut loin is the honest home substitute, not an invisible one: it gives smaller slices and needs close attention to temperature because it is leaner.
• •Use veal stock if you can find a good unsalted one. Light chicken stock works, but the finished jelly will taste less distinctly of veal, so brown the roast and vegetables with particular care. Technique first, always.
• •Weigh the gelatin. Its job is to support the reduced liquor, not turn it into confectionery. The firm portion must cut into neat dice; the sauce portion should yield softly to a spoon.
• •Cold veal welcomes a dry white Burgundy or a light Beaujolais served cool. For outdoor dining, keep the platter over a larger tray of ice and return leftovers to the cold within two hours.

Advance Preparation

• •Prepare the entire dish the day before serving. The veal slices more cleanly after a full night in the cold, and the braising liquor needs time to set properly.
• •The Macédoine molds, jelly dice, and sauce can be refrigerated separately for up to 2 days. Keep each covered once set so the jelly does not dry at the surface.
• •Arrange the platter up to 2 hours before serving, cover it without pressing the jelly, and refrigerate. Unmold the vegetables and add the dice shortly before the platter goes outside.

Frequently Asked Questions

Nutrition Information

1 serving (about 320g)