Escalopes de Ris de Veau Grand Duc

Ingredients

Equipment Needed

• •Wide 12-inch (30 cm) skillet
• •2-quart (2 L) heavy saucepan and whisk
• •12-inch (30 cm) broiler-safe oval gratin dish
• •Thin, sharp slicing knife
• •Instant-read thermometer

Instructions

1. 1

   Prepare the sweetbreads

   Carry out Blanchings (No. 273) exactly as its separate preparation directs, including the required cooling. Once the sweetbreads are completely cold, drain and dry them thoroughly, then remove loose membrane, gristle, and obvious fat without tearing away good flesh. Chill them for 20 minutes if they feel too soft to cut cleanly, then slice across into 12 to 16 escalopes about ½ inch (1.25 cm) thick. Pat every cut surface dry. Moisture makes them stew, and Grand Duc requires pale butter cooking, not a wet pan.

   Trim with restraint. Sweetbreads are naturally irregular, and removing every crease sacrifices too much of what you bought.
2. 2

   Build the Mornay

   Melt 2 tablespoons (28 g) of the Mornay butter in a heavy saucepan over gentle heat. Stir in the flour and cook for 2 minutes without colouring, until the roux smells faintly of biscuits rather than raw flour. Whisk in the warm milk gradually, keeping each addition smooth before adding the next. Simmer gently for 7 to 10 minutes, whisking often, until the sauce is nappant, thick enough to coat the back of a spoon. Remove it from the heat and stir in the Gruyère, Parmesan, remaining 1 tablespoon (14 g) butter, nutmeg, ¼ teaspoon of the salt, and half the white pepper. If it becomes lumpy, strain it. If it tightens or turns oily, take it off the heat and whisk in the optional milk one spoonful at a time. Ça se rattrape. Cover the surface directly and keep the Mornay warm, reserving about ¼ cup (60 ml) for repairs after glazing.

3. 3

   Cook the asparagus

   Bring a wide saucepan of water to a strong boil and season it with 1 teaspoon of the salt. Cook the asparagus tips à l'anglaise, in abundant boiling salted water, for 2 to 4 minutes, until vivid green and tender with a slight resistance at the centre. Cool them promptly in cold water, then drain and spread them on a clean towel. They must be dry before their butter finish, or the butter slides away instead of cohering around them.

4. 4

   Ready the final elements

   Set the broiler to high with a rack about 5 inches (13 cm) below the heat. Place a broiler-safe oval gratin dish near the stove. Brush the truffle clean if fresh, or dry it well if preserved, then cut it into large, thin slices. Set the Mornay, truffle, asparagus, and gratin dish within reach. From this point, nothing waits.

5. 5

   Cook the escalopes pale

   Season the sweetbread slices with the remaining salt and white pepper. Melt the cooking butter in a wide skillet over medium-low heat until it foams quietly but takes no colour. Add the escalopes in one uncrowded layer, working in two batches if needed, and cook for 2 to 3 minutes per side while spooning foaming butter over them. They should turn opaque and feel gently springy, without forming a brown crust, and reach 160°F (71°C) at the centre. If the butter freckles brown, lift the skillet from the heat, lower the flame, and wipe the pan before continuing with fresh butter from the measured amount. A few tan spots will disappear beneath the Mornay; a hard crust will not.

6. 6

   Form the crown

   Arrange the cooked escalopes in an overlapping crown around the gratin dish, leaving a generous open centre. Place one large truffle slice between every pair of sweetbread slices so a dark edge remains visible. Spoon the warm Mornay generously over the crown, masking the sweetbreads while keeping the central well clean. The sauce should flow slowly and hold where it lands; loosen it with a little warm milk if it stands in stiff ridges.

7. 7

   Glaze and serve

   Melt the asparagus butter in its saucepan, add the dry asparagus tips, and toss over medium heat for 1 to 2 minutes until thoroughly warm and shining. Cover and take them off the heat. Slide the sweetbread crown under the broiler and watch without turning away, glazing for 45 to 90 seconds until the Mornay bubbles and takes only a few pale golden spots. If butter begins pooling at an edge, pull the dish immediately, dab away only the excess, and cloak the spot with the reserved Mornay. Give it no further heat. Heap the buttered asparagus tips in the centre the instant the dish leaves the broiler and carry it straight to the table, gloss and all. À table!

Chef Tips

• •Order veal sweetbreads from a butcher several days before cooking. Buy the full 2 lb (900 g), because membrane and gristle account for a useful portion of the raw weight; four dinner-party servings require that allowance.
• •Fresh black truffle gives the clearest perfume and the finest slices. When it isn't available, a good whole preserved black truffle is the classical pantry's honest answer. Truffle oil cannot provide the required slices or texture, so it does not belong here.
• •Use a gratin dish explicitly marked safe for broiling. Decorative porcelain may crack under direct heat, and discovering that beneath truffle and Mornay is a very expensive lesson.
• •The asparagus stalks are not part of the Grand Duc arrangement, but they are excellent in a puréed soup or vegetable stock. The trimmed tips are what give the centre its compact, generous shape.
• •Pour a white Burgundy with enough breadth for the butter and cheese but good acidity for the sweetbreads. Keep the wine cool rather than icy, so it does not flatten the truffle.

Advance Preparation

• •Complete Blanchings (No. 273) up to one day ahead. Dry the cooled sweetbreads, wrap them closely, and refrigerate; trim and slice them while cold before cooking.
• •The Mornay may be prepared up to four hours ahead. Cover its surface directly, chill it promptly, then reheat over the gentlest heat with a spoonful of milk if it has tightened.
• •Cook the asparagus à l'anglaise up to four hours ahead, cool it, and dry it thoroughly. Refrigerate it covered, then finish it in butter immediately before glazing the crown.

Frequently Asked Questions

Nutrition Information

1 serving (about 335g)