Chef Juliette
Selle de Veau (Relevé)
A half saddle of veal, bacon-barded and braised by short moistening, emerges bronze and succulent, with the concentrated veal glaze that makes this grand relevé worthy of the home table.
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Côte de Veau en Cocotte à la Paysanne
Created by Chef Juliette
Based on No. 1256, Côte de Veau en Cocotte à la Paysanne, from Le Guide Culinaire (1907) by Auguste Escoffier
Côte de Veau en Cocotte à la Paysanne teaches the quiet art of browning first and cooking gently after: veal, salt pork, onions, and potato triangles sharing butter and their own juices in one pot.
Main Dishes
French
Comfort Food
Weeknight
One Pot
30 min
Active Time
50 min cook•1 hr 20 min total
Yield4 servings
Côte de Veau en Cocotte à la Paysanne (veal rib chops with salt pork, small onions, and triangular potatoes cooked in a covered pot) teaches one true thing: colour first, gentleness after. Brown the veal well enough to establish its fond (the browned glaze on the cocotte floor), then lower the temperature and let meat and garnish finish quietly in their own juices. Fierce heat throughout gives you dry veal beside stubborn potatoes.
The original entry assumed a small cocotte fitted to one cutlet and a brigade ready to repeat that portion to order. It calls for neither a saucier, a stockpot never off the fire, nor a salamander. Its scaffolding was the battery of portion pots and the hands watching them. At home, one wide cocotte holds four chops, and brief batch browning replaces four separate pans. The individual service pots can go; the butter browning, exact paysanne cut, gentle covered oven, and service from the cocotte must stay. One cook, one stove, one evening.
The potato cut decides whether the timing works. Make the triangles thin and even before you touch the pan, and they will soften as the thick veal chops reach their proper temperature. That uniform paysanne cut is the step that matters most.
Côte de veau en cocotte belongs to French cuisine bourgeoise, the well-disciplined family table where a good cut of meat and its vegetables cooked together in one covered pot. À la paysanne does not claim a particular province here; it names the plain vegetable garnish and, in this entry, the triangular cut of the potatoes. The household method passed naturally into the classical repertoire, but retained its original generosity: the cooking vessel goes straight to the table, carrying every drop of butter and juice with it.
The technique, the tradition, and the story behind every dish.
Discover Culinary ExplorerIngredients
bone-in veal rib chops
Quantity
4 chops, 1¼ to 1½ inches (3 to 4 cm) thick, about 2½ pounds (1.1 kg) total
unsmoked salted pork breast
Quantity
8 small slices, about ½ cup (120 ml / 120 g), prepared according to Blanchings (No. 273)
drained and patted dry
pearl onions
Quantity
16, about 2 cups (475 ml / 240 g)
peeled
small long waxy potatoes
Quantity
8, about 4 cups (950 ml / 680 g)
peeled and cut paysanne-fashion into ⅛-inch (3 mm) triangles
unsalted butter
Quantity
4 tablespoons (60 ml / 57 g)
divided
fine sea salt
Quantity
¾ teaspoon (3.75 ml / 4 g)
divided
| Ingredient | Quantity |
|---|---|
| bone-in veal rib chops | 4 chops, 1¼ to 1½ inches (3 to 4 cm) thick, about 2½ pounds (1.1 kg) total |
| unsmoked salted pork breastdrained and patted dry | 8 small slices, about ½ cup (120 ml / 120 g), prepared according to Blanchings (No. 273) |
| pearl onionspeeled | 16, about 2 cups (475 ml / 240 g) |
| small long waxy potatoespeeled and cut paysanne-fashion into ⅛-inch (3 mm) triangles | 8, about 4 cups (950 ml / 680 g) |
| unsalted butterdivided | 4 tablespoons (60 ml / 57 g) |
| fine sea saltdivided | ¾ teaspoon (3.75 ml / 4 g) |
Equipment Needed
- •Wide 12-inch (30 cm), 6- to 7-quart (5.7 to 6.6 L) heavy cocotte with a tight lid
- •Instant-read thermometer
- •Sharp chef's knife or mandoline with a hand guard for ⅛-inch (3 mm) slices
Instructions
- 1
Prepare the paysanne cut
Heat the oven to 325°F (165°C). Begin with the salted pork breast already prepared according to Blanchings (No. 273), then drain and dry it thoroughly. Cut the peeled potatoes lengthwise into even ⅛-inch (3 mm) slices, then cut those slices into small triangles. Paysanne-fashion means triangles in this entry, not irregular chunks. Keep them uniform so the potatoes become tender at the same moment as the veal.
- 2
Brown veal and pork
Set a wide cocotte over medium heat and melt 3 tablespoons (45 ml / 43 g) of the butter. Season the chops with half the salt, then lay them in the foaming butter with the salt pork. Brown the veal for 3 to 4 minutes on each side, turning once, until the surface is a confident butter-gold and the cocotte floor carries a brown fond. If the chops cannot lie flat, work in two batches and rest the first pair on the upturned cocotte lid. If the butter darkens rapidly, pull the cocotte off the heat and lower the burner; if it smells acrid, wipe the pot and restart with fresh butter, because burnt milk solids will not mellow in the oven.
The veal is only being coloured here, not cooked through. Dry meat and an uncrowded cocotte make the fond; wet or crowded chops merely simmer. - 3
Add the garnish
Lift the chops briefly onto the cocotte lid. Add the remaining tablespoon (15 ml / 14 g) of butter, the pearl onions, the paysanne potatoes, and the remaining salt. Turn the garnish gently through the butter, pork fat, and fond for 3 minutes, letting a few potato edges take pale colour. Spread the potatoes across the bottom, nestle the onions and salt pork among them, and return the chops on top with any juices from the lid.
- 4
Cook gently en cocotte
Cover the cocotte tightly and place it on the middle oven rack. After 18 minutes, turn the potatoes and onions from the edge toward the centre and spoon the buttery juices over the chops. Cover again and cook for another 5 to 12 minutes, until a knife enters the potatoes without resistance, the onions are tender, and the veal registers 145°F (63°C) at the thickest part away from the bone. If the veal reaches temperature before the garnish is tender, lift the chops onto the warm lid and give the vegetables another 5 minutes covered. Ça se rattrape. Rest the cooked veal for at least 3 minutes.
- 5
Set the buttery glaze
The juices should lightly glaze the potatoes rather than sit as a watery pool. If they are thin, keep the chops on the lid and set the uncovered cocotte over medium heat for 1 to 2 minutes, turning the garnish until the butter, fond, pork fat, and veal juices cohere and gleam. Taste before adding any more salt. There is no stock, wine, flour, cream, or herb here; the concentrated cooking juices are the finish.
- 6
Serve from the cocotte
Return the chops to the cocotte and arrange the salt pork, pearl onions, and paysanne potatoes generously around them. Spoon the glossy juices over everything and carry the preparation directly to the table in its cooking pot, exactly as the dish intends. Cooking well is not cooking fancy. À table!
Chef Tips
- •Choose thick bone-in rib chops, not thin escalopes. The bone protects the meat and a chop at least 1¼ inches (3 cm) thick gives the potatoes time to cook without turning the veal dry.
- •Use unsmoked salt pork rather than smoked bacon. Smoke would dominate this deliberately quiet preparation, while the salted pork contributes fat, seasoning, and small savoury bites.
- •Fingerling or another firm waxy potato is right. A floury baking potato frays and clouds the buttery juices; the paysanne triangles should remain distinct while becoming completely tender.
- •Frozen peeled pearl onions are an honest choice when fresh small onions are poor or tedious to find. Thaw and dry them thoroughly before cooking so they brown instead of flooding the cocotte.
- •Pour a light Gamay or a taut Chardonnay. Either has enough freshness for the butter and veal without trampling the mild sweetness of the onions.
Advance Preparation
- •The salted pork breast can be prepared according to Blanchings (No. 273) up to 1 day ahead. Drain it, dry it well, and keep it covered in the refrigerator.
- •Peel the pearl onions up to 1 day ahead. The potatoes may be cut up to 30 minutes before cooking and held in cold water, but they must be drained and dried thoroughly before meeting the butter.
- •Do not fully cook the dish ahead. Veal rib chops are best served after their first gentle cooking; repeated heating tightens the meat even when the garnish remains delicious.
Frequently Asked Questions
Nutrition Information
1 serving (about 420g)
Calories
825 calories
Total Fat
54 g
Saturated Fat
24 g
Trans Fat
2 g
Unsaturated Fat
26 g
Cholesterol
250 mg
Sodium
950 mg
Total Carbohydrates
35 g
Dietary Fiber
5 g
Sugars
4 g
Protein
50 g
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