Ris de Veau sous la Cendre

Ingredients

Equipment Needed

• •3-quart (2.8 L) nonreactive saucepan
• •Two small rimmed trays and a 2 lb (900 g) weight
• •10-inch (25 cm) ovenproof sauté pan
• •Fine-mesh sieve
• •Small saucepan for the Madeira half-glaze
• •Rolling pin and pastry brush
• •Two heavy baking sheets
• •Parchment paper
• •Instant-read thermometer
• •Small funnel, paper cone, or narrow-spouted jug

Instructions

1. 1

   Soak and blanch

   Put the sweetbreads in a nonreactive bowl with 8 cups (1.9 L) of the cold water and refrigerate for 1 hour, changing the water halfway through. Transfer them to a saucepan, cover with the remaining cold water, and add the vinegar. Bring up slowly until the water just begins to simmer, hold it there for 3 minutes, then drain and refresh the sweetbreads in very cold water. This dégorgement, the soaking that draws out blood, gives you clean flavor and a pale finished meat.

2. 2

   Trim and press

   While the sweetbreads are cool but still supple, peel away the thick outer membrane, visible tubes, and loose fat without digging into the lobes. Lay them between clean towels on a small tray, cover with a second tray, and weight it with about 2 lb (900 g). Refrigerate for 45 minutes. Pressing gives each sweetbread an even, compact shape that will sit neatly on its tongue slice. If a lobe separates, fit the pieces together beneath the weight; the pastry will hold them later. Ça se rattrape.

   Trim firmly but conservatively. The thick membrane must go, but chasing every fine thread leaves you with fragments instead of four handsome portions.
3. 3

   Stud and braise

   Heat the oven to 325°F (165°C). Reserve the four neat tongue slices. Cut the remaining tongue and one third of the truffle into narrow batons. Make six small channels along each pressed sweetbread with the tip of a skewer, then insert alternating batons of tongue and truffle so they sit within the flesh rather than protruding. Season the sweetbreads lightly with ½ teaspoon of the salt and half the pepper, remembering that the tongue carries salt of its own. Melt 2 tablespoons (30 ml / 28 g) of the butter in a 10-inch (25 cm) ovenproof sauté pan. Add the onion, carrot, and celery and cook gently for 5 minutes without browning. Set the sweetbreads over the vegetables, add the bouquet garni, and pour in 1½ cups (360 ml) of the veal stock, which should reach about halfway up the lobes. Cover with a parchment cartouche and braise in the oven for 15 to 18 minutes, turning once. Three-parts braised means firmed and nearly cooked, still slightly resilient at the center because the pastry bake will finish them.

4. 4

   Cool and reduce

   Lift the sweetbreads onto a rack, then strain the braising liquor through a fine sieve and discard the vegetables and bouquet garni. Cool the sweetbreads for 20 minutes, then refrigerate them until completely cold and dry to the touch, about 20 minutes more. Meanwhile, boil the Madeira in a small saucepan until reduced to ¼ cup (60 ml). Add 1¼ cups (300 ml) of the strained braising liquor, supplementing it with the reserved veal stock if necessary, and reduce briskly to about ¾ cup (180 ml). It should coat a spoon with a light, glossy film. If it becomes sticky, loosen it with stock; if it runs like broth, keep reducing. Ça se rattrape. Set this Madeira half-glaze aside without adding the remaining butter yet.

5. 5

   Roll the paste

   Raise the oven to 425°F (220°C) and preheat a heavy baking sheet on the middle rack. Dust the work surface lightly with the flour and roll the chilled Fine, Short or Flawn Paste (For Fruit Tarts) (No. 2358) to an even ⅛ inch (3 mm). Cut four base ovals about ½ inch (1.25 cm) larger than the tongue slices and four larger ovals capable of covering the assembled sweetbreads. Keep the pieces cold as you work. If scraps must be rerolled, gather them without kneading and chill them for 10 minutes first; overworked short paste bakes tough.

6. 6

   Build the parcels

   Blot the chilled sweetbreads and tongue slices thoroughly. Set one tongue slice on each pastry base, trim the tongue to the sweetbread's footprint if needed, and cover it with overlapping slices of the remaining truffle. Place a studded sweetbread on top. Beat the egg with the teaspoon of cold water and brush a narrow line around each pastry base. Drape a larger pastry oval over each assembly, ease it around the sweetbread without stretching, and press it firmly to the base while pushing out trapped air. Trim the edges evenly and flute them with your fingertips or the back of a small knife. If the paste cracks, cover the split with a thin cold scrap brushed underneath with egg. No sauce goes inside yet; moisture before baking would undo the crust.

7. 7

   Chill gild and vent

   Arrange the parcels on a parchment-lined room-temperature baking sheet and refrigerate for 20 minutes. Gild them by brushing the pastry lightly and evenly with the remaining beaten egg, keeping it away from the cut edges where it could glue the layers together. Make a ½-inch (1.25 cm) incision in the top of each parcel to allow the escape of steam. The opening is functional, not decoration, so make certain it passes cleanly through the paste without cutting deeply into the sweetbread.

8. 8

   Bake until burnished

   Set the parcel tray directly on the preheated baking sheet and bake for 25 to 30 minutes, rotating once. The paste should be deep butter gold, crisp underneath, and visibly dry around the vent. An instant-read thermometer inserted through the opening should register at least 160°F (71°C) in the center of the sweetbread. If the pastry darkens before the center is ready, lay parchment loosely over the tops while leaving the vents uncovered. Do not lower the heat sharply; strong oven heat is what sets the short paste before the filling can dampen it.

9. 9

   Fill with half-glaze

   Bring the Madeira half-glaze back to a simmer, then take it off the heat and whisk in the remaining 1 tablespoon (15 ml / 14 g) of cold butter. If the butter beads on the surface, whisk in a teaspoon of cold stock away from the heat; ça se rattrape. Using a small funnel, paper cone, or narrow-spouted jug, pour about 2 tablespoons (30 ml) of sauce through each top incision. Let the parcels stand for 2 minutes so the sauce settles around the sweetbread, then serve with the remaining half-glaze at the table. The book's folded napkin was service scaffolding that kept pastry from skidding on a platter; four warmed plates give a home table the same dry footing. À table!

Chef Tips

• •Ask for heart sweetbreads, the plump thymus lobes from the chest, rather than the smaller throat pieces. Order them ahead and ask the butcher to leave them whole; technique first, but an intact lobe makes the pressing and wrapping much kinder.
• •Cooked salted tongue from a good butcher is the honest home equivalent to curing and simmering a whole tongue for four slices. Ask for slices about ⅜ inch (8 mm) thick. Smoked tongue changes the dish, so choose plainly salted or corned tongue.
• •Use a fresh black truffle in season or whole preserved black truffles from a reliable tin. Truffle oil cannot supply the slices and batons the source requires, and its perfume overwhelms the sweetbread rather than seasoning it.
• •Choose veal stock that sets softly when refrigerated. Its natural gelatin is what allows the braising liquor and Madeira to reduce into a half-glaze without flour. Thin boxed stock can be reduced, but it will give concentration without the same body.
• •Keep the Fine, Short or Flawn Paste (For Fruit Tarts) (No. 2358) cold and do not replace it with puff pastry. The short, butter-rich enclosure is part of the specified dish, including its faint sweetness; puff pastry would turn the parcel into another preparation.
• •A mature red Burgundy with gentle tannin suits the truffle, tongue, and Madeira without bullying the sweetbread. Pour modest glasses. The parcel is rich enough to hold everyone's attention.

Advance Preparation

• •The sweetbreads may be soaked, blanched, pressed, studded, and three-parts braised up to 24 hours ahead. Cool them promptly and refrigerate them covered, with the strained braising liquor stored separately.
• •The Madeira half-glaze may be reduced a day ahead and chilled. Reheat it gently and whisk in the final butter only after the parcels leave the oven.
• •Prepare the Fine, Short or Flawn Paste (For Fruit Tarts) (No. 2358) according to its own entry up to 2 days ahead and keep it tightly wrapped in the refrigerator.
• •The parcels may be assembled and refrigerated for up to 4 hours. Gild and vent them immediately before baking, and never pour in the half-glaze until the crust is fully baked.

Frequently Asked Questions

Nutrition Information

1 serving (about 400g)