Fricandeau (Relevé)

Ingredients

Equipment Needed

• •Larding needle, or a slim metal skewer
• •Flat meat pounder or small heavy saucepan
• •5 to 6 quart (4.7 to 5.7 litre) wide cocotte or Dutch oven
• •Fine-mesh strainer
• •Wide saucepan and pastry brush
• •Two broad spatulas for transferring the tender meat

Instructions

1. 1

   Shape and soften veal

   Trim away silverskin and ragged edges without cutting the slice below 1¼ inches (3 cm) thick. Lay the veal between two sheets of parchment and strike the broad cut face evenly with the flat side of a meat pounder or a small heavy saucepan. The purpose is to break and relax the long fibres, not to turn the meat into an escalope; stop when the slab feels more supple and its thickness is even.

   Ask the butcher for a lateral slice cut with the grain. A steak cut across the grain may braise pleasantly, but it does not reproduce the structure of this fricandeau.
2. 2

   Thread the lardons

   Keep the bacon strips cold while you work. Starting on the broad cut face, draw them through the meat in close parallel rows running with the grain, using a larding needle. Without one, push a slim metal skewer just beneath the surface to open each channel, withdraw it, then guide in a firm chilled strip with the blunt end of the skewer. Space the channels about ¾ inch (2 cm) apart and leave only tiny ends visible. If a strip folds or tears, leave the harmless piece inside, rechill the remaining lardons, and begin the next channel beside it. Ça se rattrape. Deep knife slashes are not an equivalent because they let the fat escape instead of carrying it through the fibres.

   If the bacon softens under your fingers, return it to the cold for ten minutes. Firm lardons travel through clean channels; warm ones smear and tear the veal.
3. 3

   Build the braising fond

   Heat the oven to 300°F (150°C). Season the veal with 1 teaspoon (5 ml / 6 g) of the salt and all the pepper, using less salt if the bacon is strongly cured. Melt 2 tablespoons (30 ml / 28 g) of the butter in a wide heavy cocotte over medium heat. Brown the unlarded underside and the edges until golden, keeping the larded face away from the pan, then lift the veal out. Add the onion and carrot and cook until their edges colour and the pot floor holds a golden fond. Pour in about ½ cup (120 ml / 120 g) of the warm stock and scrape that fond completely into the liquid.

4. 4

   Braise at a tremble

   Spread the vegetables into a bed and settle the veal over them, larded face upward. Add the bouquet garni and enough remaining stock to reach halfway up the meat. If using chicken stock that stays liquid when cold, first bloom the gelatin in 2 tablespoons (30 ml / 30 g) of cool stock for five minutes, then dissolve it in the remaining warm stock. Dot the larded surface with the final 1 tablespoon (15 ml / 14 g) butter, cover it closely with a parchment round, and put on the lid. Braise in the oven for 2½ to 3 hours, basting every thirty minutes. The liquid should barely tremble. If it boils, lower the oven by 25°F (15°C); if the level falls below one-third of the meat, add a little warm stock.

5. 5

   Test for the spoon

   After 2½ hours, press the edge of a sturdy serving spoon into an inconspicuous side of the veal. It should enter easily and separate the fibres without sawing. If the meat still springs back or grips the spoon, cover it and continue in twenty-minute intervals. More heat is not the answer; time at a bare tremble is. When ready, lift the fragile fricandeau onto a rimmed roasting pan with two broad spatulas and cover it loosely.

6. 6

   Reduce the braising liquor

   Strain the braising liquor into a wide saucepan without pressing the spent vegetables, then skim away surface fat. Boil it briskly but steadily until about ¾ cup (180 ml / 180 g) remains and it coats the back of a spoon in a clear, savory glaze. Taste only now and add the remaining salt if needed. If the glaze becomes sticky before it coats evenly, loosen it with a spoonful of unsalted stock; if it remains watery, keep reducing. This reduction is the sauce and the lacquer, so no flour belongs in it.

7. 7

   Glaze and serve

   Raise the oven to 475°F (245°C). Brush the larded face with a thin film of reduced liquor and return it to the oven for two minutes. Brush again and repeat three or four times, allowing each coat to set before the next, until the surface is deep bronze and gleaming. Never pour on one thick coat because it slides away and scorches at the edges. If the glaze catches, remove the meat at once, lower the heat, wipe away the bitter spot, and loosen the remaining glaze with a little stock. Rest the fricandeau for ten minutes, transfer it carefully to a warm platter, and spoon the remaining liquor around it. Portion from the side with a serving spoon, never a knife. À table!

Chef Tips

• •Order the cut ahead. Ask for veal cushion, noix de veau, or top round in one broad lateral slice cut with the grain, no thicker than 1½ inches (4 cm). The butcher may also lard it for you, which is faithful to the method and saves delicate work at home.
• •Use unsmoked fatty slab bacon, not heavily smoked breakfast bacon. Smoke would dominate the veal and make the reduced liquor harsh; the bacon is here to carry fat gently through the long fibres.
• •Good veal stock gives the finest glaze. If only boxed chicken stock is available, choose an unsalted or low-sodium one and add the gelatin. It replaces the natural body of the stockpot, not its flavour.
• •A broad cocotte matters more than a deep one. The meat should lie flat with room for basting, and the stock should reach halfway up rather than drowning the larded face.
• •Serve the fricandeau with pommes purée or buttered spinach, something quiet that will take the extra braising liquor. A mature cru Beaujolais or restrained red Burgundy has enough freshness for the veal and enough depth for the glaze.

Advance Preparation

• •The veal can be beaten and larded up to twelve hours ahead. Wrap it closely and keep it cold, then season only shortly before browning.
• •For the finest make-ahead service, complete the braise one day ahead but stop before reducing and glazing. Chill the whole veal in its strained liquor, covered, then remove the set fat. Reheat it gently in the liquor, reduce the liquid separately, and apply the glaze immediately before serving.
• •Leftover fricandeau keeps for three days under refrigeration. Reheat portions slowly with a spoonful of reserved liquor so the lean veal does not dry.

Frequently Asked Questions

Nutrition Information

1 serving (about 300g)