Côte de Veau Pojarski

Ingredients

Equipment Needed

• •Digital kitchen scale
• •Sharp boning knife
• •Heavy chef's knife and bench scraper
• •12-inch (30 cm) heavy skillet
• •Two broad heatproof spatulas
• •Instant-read thermometer
• •Rimmed tray with wire rack

Instructions

1. 1

   Trim and weigh

   Chill a rimmed tray and mixing bowl for 15 minutes. Cut every scrap of meat away from each rib bone, then remove the skin, silver membrane, sinew, and gristle from the veal. Scrape the bones clean and reserve them. Weigh the fully trimmed meat now, not before trimming, because that number governs the butter: for 600 g veal, use exactly 300 g butter. Cut the meat into ½-inch (1.25 cm) pieces, spread it on the cold tray, and chill it for 10 minutes.

   Keep the bones paired with the meat, but weigh the trimmed meat together. The clean rib bone is structural and visual; it contributes no weight to the butter calculation.
2. 2

   Chop with cold butter

   Put the cold veal on a chilled board and scatter over the diced butter, salt, and pepper. Chop through everything with a heavy chef's knife, repeatedly gathering and turning the mixture with a bench scraper, until the veal is finely cut, the butter resembles tiny rice grains, and a squeezed handful holds together. Keep texture in it; this is a hand-chopped cutlet, not a smooth forcemeat. If the butter begins to streak or smear across the board, stop immediately, scrape everything into the cold bowl, and refrigerate it for 10 minutes before continuing. Ça se rattrape.

3. 3

   Re-form the cutlets

   Divide the mixture into four equal portions by weight. With cold, dry hands, press each portion firmly against the thick end of a cleaned rib bone, shaping it into the oval outline of the original chop and leaving the rest of the bone exposed as a handle. Keep each cutlet about 1 inch (2.5 cm) thick, seal every crack with a pinch of cold mince, and smooth the edges without compressing the center into rubber. Set the cutlets on the chilled tray and refrigerate them uncovered for 20 minutes. If one slumps, chill it until the butter firms, then shape it again; don't add crumbs or egg.

4. 4

   Set the frying fat

   Heat the oven to 225°F (110°C) and set a wire rack over a tray inside for holding the first batch. Pour half the clarified butter into a broad, heavy skillet and heat it over medium heat to about 325°F (165°C). A fleck of veal should sizzle promptly without scorching. Clarified butter matters here: ordinary butter's milk solids would burn during the long frying before the centers were safely cooked.

5. 5

   Fry the first side

   Slide two cutlets into the clarified butter with a broad spatula, keeping space between them. Fry without moving them for 5 to 6 minutes, adjusting the heat so the butter bubbles steadily while remaining clear and golden. Spoon a little clarified butter over the edges as they cook. The underside is ready when it is evenly bronzed and firm enough to release cleanly; trying to turn it while pale is how the cutlet comes apart.

6. 6

   Turn and finish

   Support the meat with one broad spatula and the bone end with another, then turn the cutlet once, gently and decisively. Fry the second side for 5 to 6 minutes, until equally bronzed and the center reaches 160°F (71°C) when tested through the side away from the bone. If a cutlet begins to split, stop moving it, press the opening together with the two spatulas, and spoon clarified butter over the seam until the proteins set. Ça se rattrape. Transfer the first batch to the warm rack for no more than 10 minutes, replenish the pan with the remaining clarified butter, restore the heat, and cook the second batch the same way.

7. 7

   Rest and serve

   Let the Pojarski rest on the rack for 3 minutes so the butter settles inside rather than flooding the first cut. Arrange the four cutlets on a warm platter, bones pointing outward, and tuck the watercress beside them as the suitable garnish called for by the original entry. Serve immediately, while the unbreaded crust is bronze and the center remains tender. À table!

Chef Tips

• •Ask the butcher for veal rib chops with the bones left intact, but don't have the meat ground. The irregularity of hand chopping helps the cutlet stay tender; a machine-fine mince becomes dense before it reaches the pan.
• •The butter is always half the weight of the trimmed meat. If your four chops yield 540 g veal, use 270 g butter. Keep the ratio, not the estimated package weight; it is the whole architecture of the dish.
• •Clarified butter is not optional frying theater. Melt ordinary unsalted butter gently, let the milk solids settle, skim the surface, and pour off the clear golden fat. Whole butter burns too quickly here. We don't apologize for butter.
• •Two broad spatulas are better than tongs. Tongs pinch the soft cutlet at one narrow point; the spatulas carry its weight from beneath and make the careful turn possible.
• •Serve with a light, bright red such as cru Beaujolais, or a dry white with enough acidity to meet all that butter. The watercress supplies the same useful freshness on the plate without changing the cutlet's spare seasoning.

Advance Preparation

• •Clarified butter can be prepared up to one week ahead and kept covered in the refrigerator. Warm it only until fluid before measuring it into the skillet.
• •The veal may be trimmed and diced up to 6 hours ahead, with the cleaned bones and diced meat kept separately covered and cold. Keep the butter separate until chopping.
• •The formed cutlets may be refrigerated for up to 3 hours before frying. Longer salting firms the chopped veal and costs the interior some delicacy, so this is not the dish to shape the night before.

Frequently Asked Questions

Nutrition Information

1 serving (about 205g)