Escalopes de Ris de Veau Bérengère

Ingredients

Equipment Needed

• •3-quart (2.8-liter) ovenproof sauté pan with lid
• •Food processor with a bowl small enough for the mousseline quantity
• •Fine-mesh sieve and sturdy flexible scraper
• •Two piping bags with a ⅙-inch (4 mm) plain tip and a ½-inch (12 mm) fluted tip
• •3-inch by 2-inch (7.5 by 5 cm) oval cutter, or a stiff card template and sharp paring knife
• •Instant-read thermometer
• •Small sauceboat and warmed serving bowl for the peas

Instructions

1. 1

   Soak and blanch

   Put the sweetbreads in a bowl of very cold water and soak them for 2 hours, changing the water every 30 minutes, until the water stays nearly clear. Transfer them to a saucepan, cover generously with fresh cold water, and add the vinegar. Bring the water slowly to a bare simmer, never a rolling boil, and blanch for 5 minutes. Lift the sweetbreads immediately into ice water. The soaking clears them; the brief blanch firms the outside so you can remove the membrane without tearing the delicate lobes.

2. 2

   Trim and press

   When the sweetbreads are cold, peel away the thick outer membrane and pull out any obvious tubes, blood spots, and hard pieces of fat with your fingers and a small knife. Preserve the rounded lobes rather than chasing every fine thread. Set them between two parchment-lined trays, weight the upper tray with about 2 lb (900 g), and refrigerate for 45 minutes. Pressing gives the sweetbreads an even thickness and the clean oval slices this dish requires.

3. 3

   Braise the sweetbreads

   Heat the oven to 325°F (165°C). Season the pressed sweetbreads with about ¾ tsp of the measured salt and a little white pepper. Melt 2 tbsp (30 ml / 28 g) of the butter in a snug ovenproof sauté pan, add the carrot, diced onion, and celery, and cook gently for 6 minutes without deep browning. Set the sweetbreads on the vegetables, turn them once in the butter, add the bouquet garni and veal stock, and bring the liquid just to a simmer. Cover with a round of parchment and the lid, then braise for 25 to 30 minutes, until the lobes feel firm yet springy and reach 160°F (71°C) at the center. Lift them onto a tray and let them settle for 10 minutes. Strain the braising liquor into a small saucepan and reserve it.

4. 4

   Make the Soubise

   While the sweetbreads braise, melt 2 tbsp (30 ml / 28 g) of the butter in a small heavy saucepan. Add the sliced onions and about ½ tsp salt, cover them with a parchment round, and cook over the gentlest heat for 15 minutes. They must soften without taking color, because this Soubise should be fine and very white. Stir in the rice and pale chicken stock, cover, and simmer gently for 20 to 25 minutes, until both rice and onions collapse under a spoon. Purée until smooth, press through a fine sieve, then return it to the pan with the cream. Cook gently until it holds a clean groove when stirred. If it becomes too stiff to pipe, loosen it with a spoonful of stock; if it slumps, reduce it for another minute. Ça se rattrape. Cover its surface directly and keep it warm.

5. 5

   Build the mousseline

   Chill the food-processor bowl and blade for 10 minutes. Process the cold chicken with ½ tsp salt and a pinch of white pepper until it forms a smooth, sticky paste. Add the cold egg white and process just until absorbed. With the machine pulsing, add all but 1 tbsp (15 ml / 15 g) of the cold cream in three additions, stopping as soon as the mousseline is smooth and satiny. Press it through a fine sieve, then fold in the finely chopped salted tongue. Poach a teaspoonful in barely simmering water until cooked through and taste it. If it is rubbery, fold in the reserved cream. If the mixture looks greasy, stop immediately. Ça se rattrape: spread it thinly on a cold metal tray, chill for 15 minutes, then process it only long enough to come smooth again. Keep the finished mousseline over ice.

6. 6

   Cut matching ovals

   Cut each braised sweetbread crosswise into four medium slices, about ½ inch (1.25 cm) thick, giving eight slices in all. Use a 3-inch by 2-inch (7.5 by 5 cm) oval cutter, or a stiff card template and a sharp knife, to trim each slice evenly. Use that same shape to cut eight bread ovals. The matched cutter was brigade convenience; one reusable template gives the home cook the same clean result.

7. 7

   Pipe and poach

   Arrange the sweetbread ovals on a parchment-lined tray. Fit a piping bag with a plain ⅙-inch (4 mm) tip, fill it with the cold tongue mousseline, and pipe a generous, even border around the edge of every slice, leaving the center open for the Soubise. Hold the tip close to the surface and squeeze steadily so the forcemeat adheres. If a border slumps before baking, scrape it back into the bag and chill it for 15 minutes. Bake at 325°F (165°C) for 8 to 11 minutes, until the mousseline looks matte, springs lightly under a fingertip, and reaches 165°F (74°C). Do not brown it.

8. 8

   Fry the Croûtons

   Melt 4 tbsp (60 ml / 57 g) of the butter in a broad skillet over medium heat. Fry the bread ovals in batches until they are evenly golden and crisp on both sides, adding no more heat than the butter can bear. If the butter darkens before the bread crisps, lower the heat and wipe out any burnt milk solids before continuing. Drain the Croûtons briefly on a rack so their undersides remain crisp.

9. 9

   Finish liquor and peas

   Let the strained braising liquor stand for a minute, then skim every visible bead of fat from the surface. Reduce it at a lively simmer to about ¾ cup (180 ml / 180 g), until glossy and full-flavored but still pourable. If it turns too salty, add a spoonful of water or unsalted stock; if it remains thin, reduce it further. For the peas, combine them with the remaining 2 tbsp (30 ml / 28 g) butter, the measured water, ½ tsp salt, and a pinch of white pepper. Cover and cook just until bright and tender, about 3 minutes for frozen petits pois or 5 to 8 minutes for fresh peas. Transfer them to a warmed bowl and keep them separate.

10. 10

    Crown and serve

    Fit a second piping bag with a ½-inch (12 mm) fluted tip and fill it with the warm Soubise. Pipe a full rosette into the open center of each escalope, then place one black truffle ball in the middle. Set every finished slice on its matching butter-fried Croûton and arrange them on a warm platter. Pour the completely degreased braising liquor into a sauceboat and bring it to the table beside the separate bowl of peas. Sauce each serving only after it reaches the plate so the Croûton keeps its crisp edge. À table!

Chef Tips

• •Order heart sweetbreads from a butcher. They are plumper, more uniform, and easier to divide into the eight handsome slices Bérengère requires; the longer throat sweetbreads are better saved for fricassées.
• •Salted tongue means tongue that has been cured and fully cooked. A butcher or good delicatessen may sell it by the slice. Chill it hard and chop it almost to grains of rice so the piping tip never clogs.
• •The source's glossary words carry real instructions. Mousselines are fine forcemeats handled in individual portions, while Croûtons are shaped pieces of bread fried in butter. Here one makes the border and the other carries the finished escalope.
• •A preserved whole black truffle is the classical pantry's honest answer when fresh truffle is unavailable. Drain it well and cut eight small rounded pieces with a paring knife. Truffle oil cannot replace the black center, the quiet aroma, or the bite.
• •Frozen petits pois are better than large, starchy fresh peas out of season. Cook them directly from frozen and stop while they are bright green and tender. The source serves them apart, and so should you.
• •Pour a mature white Burgundy or a dry white from the Loire. Both have enough body for sweetbreads and cream without burying the truffle.

Advance Preparation

• •The sweetbreads may be soaked, blanched, trimmed, pressed, and braised one day ahead. Chill them whole in a little strained braising liquor, then slice and trim them while cold. Reserve the remaining liquor separately for reducing.
• •The Soubise may be made one day ahead. Press parchment or reusable wrap directly against its surface, chill it, and reheat over gentle heat with a spoonful of cream or stock until it pipes cleanly.
• •The mousseline may be prepared up to 4 hours ahead and held in the coldest part of the refrigerator over a bowl of ice. Keep it below 40°F (4°C), then fill the piping bag immediately before assembly.
• •The Croûtons can be fried 2 hours ahead and kept uncovered on a rack. Recrisp them for 4 minutes in a 300°F (150°C) oven while the mousseline borders poach. Cook the peas only at service.

Frequently Asked Questions

Nutrition Information

1 serving (about 500g)