Noix de Veau en Surprise à la Toulousaine

Ingredients

Equipment Needed

• •5 to 6 quart (4.7 to 5.7 L) heavy oval casserole with lid
• •Two 2-quart (1.9 L) saucepans
• •Small food processor
• •Fine-mesh sieve
• •Instant-read thermometer
• •Sharp slicing knife and small paring knife
• •Kitchen twine
• •Warm oval serving platter

Instructions

1. 1

   Start the sweetbreads

   Put the sweetbreads in a bowl, cover generously with additional cold water, and refrigerate for 1 1/2 hours, changing the water twice. Begin the veal while they soak. When the sweetbreads look pale, cover them with fresh cold water in a saucepan, bring just to a simmer, and blanch for 3 minutes. Transfer them to cold water, peel away the outer membrane and any coarse tubes, then press between two trays with a 2 lb (900 g) weight for 20 minutes. Pressing gives you neat collops rather than ragged pieces.

2. 2

   Braise the noix

   Heat the oven to 325°F (165°C). Dry the tied veal, then season it with 2 teaspoons of the salt and 1/2 teaspoon of the white pepper. Melt 2 tablespoons of the butter in a heavy casserole over medium heat and color the veal evenly to a quiet butter-gold, not a dark crust. Lift it out, add the onion, carrot, and celery, and cook for 5 minutes without browning. Pour in the wine, scrape up the fond, and reduce by half. Return the veal with 2 1/2 cups of the stock and the bouquet garni; the liquid should reach roughly halfway up the meat. Cover with a round of parchment and the lid, then braise for 1 hour 45 minutes to 2 hours 15 minutes, turning once. It is ready when a skewer enters with gentle resistance and the center reaches at least 165°F (74°C), while the piece still holds its oval shape. Transfer it to a board and rest it for 20 minutes. If it begins to feel fragile, stop the cooking immediately and let it firm as it rests; ça se rattrape.

3. 3

   Braise sweetbreads pale

   Melt 1 tablespoon of the butter in a small saucepan over low heat. Add the pressed sweetbreads and turn them in the butter without allowing them to color. Add 1 cup of the stock, cover with parchment, and hold at the barest simmer for 15 to 20 minutes, until they feel firm and reach 160°F (71°C). Lift them out and cut them into 1/2-inch (1.25 cm) collops. Strain and reserve their cooking liquid for the sauce.

4. 4

   Cook mushrooms white

   Put the mushrooms in a wide saucepan with 1 cup of the measured water, 1 tablespoon of the butter, 1 tablespoon of the lemon juice, and a pinch of salt. Cover and simmer briskly for 5 to 7 minutes, just until tender and still white. Drain them at once and reserve every drop of liquid. Boil that liquid uncovered until only 1/3 cup (80 ml) remains; this concentrated cuisson is the mushroom essence that gives the sauce its proper flavor.

5. 5

   Poach chicken quenelles

   Chill the food processor bowl and blade for 10 minutes. Process the cold chicken with the egg white, 1/2 teaspoon of salt, a pinch of white pepper, and the nutmeg until completely smooth. With the motor running, add 1/3 cup of the cold cream in a thin stream, stopping as soon as the forcemeat looks glossy and cohesive. Bring the remaining 4 cups of measured water to 175°F to 180°F (80°C to 82°C) and season it lightly. Poach a teaspoon of forcemeat as a test: if it feels rubbery, fold another teaspoon of cream into the mixture; if it frays in the water, chill the forcemeat for 15 minutes before continuing. Shape 10 small oval quenelles between two wet teaspoons and poach without boiling for 5 to 7 minutes, until firm and 165°F (74°C) at the center. Drain on a cloth.

6. 6

   Make sauce Allemande

   Strain the veal braising liquor, pressing the vegetables gently, then skim off the fat. Combine it with the sweetbread cooking liquid and reduce, or add the remaining stock, until you have 2 1/2 cups (600 ml). Melt the remaining 3 tablespoons of butter in a saucepan, stir in the flour, and cook this roux for 2 minutes without coloration. Whisk in the hot cooking liquid gradually, then simmer gently for 15 minutes, skimming as needed. Add the mushroom essence. The sauce should nappe, coating the back of a spoon in a smooth ivory layer. Whisk the egg yolks with 1/2 cup of the cream, temper them with two ladlefuls of hot sauce, then return the mixture to the pan. Stir over low heat until it reaches 170°F to 175°F (77°C to 79°C), but never let it boil. Finish with the remaining tablespoon of lemon juice, then taste for salt and white pepper. If the liaison turns grainy, remove it from the heat immediately, whisk in 1 to 2 tablespoons of cold cream, and pass it through a fine sieve. Ça se rattrape.

7. 7

   Cut the veal case

   Remove the strings from the rested veal. Cut a horizontal lid about 3/4 inch (2 cm) thick from the top and set it aside in the same orientation. With a small knife and spoon, hollow the noix carefully, leaving a wall and base about 3/4 inch (2 cm) thick. Cut the withdrawn meat into neat 1/4-inch (6 mm) slices and keep them warm under foil. If a wall tears, line the weak place from inside with one of the veal slices and a spoonful of sauce. It will disappear beneath the filling, and the case will hold.

8. 8

   Coher the garnish

   Reserve about 3/4 cup (180 ml) of sauce Allemande for the platter. Put the remaining sauce over the lowest heat and add the quenelles, sweetbread collops, white mushrooms, cocks’ combs, and truffle slices. Turn everything with a spoon until evenly coated and hot, keeping the sauce below a simmer so the liaison remains smooth. Cohered means bound together, not drowned; if the garnish looks loose, lift the solids into the case with a slotted spoon and add only enough sauce to fill the spaces.

9. 9

   Fill and serve

   Set the hollowed veal on a warm oval platter. Spoon in the Toulousaine garnish, letting it mound slightly, then return the veal lid to its original position. Arrange the slices removed from the center around the case and coat them lightly with the reserved sauce Allemande. Carry the platter straight to the table and lift the lid only as you begin serving. Cooking well is not cooking fancy, even when supper arrives wearing a lid. À table!

Chef Tips

• •Ask the butcher for a compact piece of veal top round, called noix, rather than a thin rolled roast. Its regular oval shape is what lets you leave an even wall after braising. Technique first: a modest but carefully tied piece serves better than an expensive one cut to the wrong shape.
• •Use pale veal stock if you have it, or an unsalted chicken stock with good body. Dark beef stock overwhelms the veal and turns sauce Allemande brown, which changes both the flavor and the intended appearance.
• •The source permits lamb sweetbreads in place of veal sweetbreads at the same weight. Prepared jarred or canned cocks’ combs are the honest home equivalent to the brigade’s long blanching, peeling, and poaching. If none can be sourced, add an equal weight of extra sweetbread and call the garnish simplified rather than pretending the substitution is invisible.
• •A small preserved black truffle is preferable to a tired fresh one. Drain and slice it, but do not replace the mushroom essence with its preserving liquid; mushrooms are the named flavoring of the sauce.
• •Serve with a dry white Gaillac or another full but restrained dry white. The dish already contains veal, offal, cream, and truffle, so the wine should refresh rather than compete.

Advance Preparation

• •The sweetbreads can be soaked, blanched, trimmed, and pressed one day ahead. Keep them covered and refrigerated, then complete their pale braise before assembly.
• •The mushrooms, mushroom essence, and poached quenelles can be prepared one day ahead and chilled separately. Rewarm them only in the finished sauce Allemande.
• •The veal may be braised earlier the same day and kept whole in its strained cooking liquid. Rewarm it gently before hollowing; do not cut the case in advance, because exposed veal dries and loses its shape.
• •The roux-bound sauce base can be made several hours ahead, but add the yolk-and-cream liaison close to serving. Once the liaison is in, hold the sauce below 140°F (60°C) only briefly and never let it boil.

Frequently Asked Questions

Nutrition Information

1 serving (about 550g)