Sauté de Veau à la Marengo

Ingredients

Equipment Needed

• •12-inch (30 cm) high-sided ovenproof sauté pan or braiser with lid
• •Wide medium saucepan
• •8-inch (20 cm) skillet for glazing onions and frying croûtons
• •Fine-mesh sieve
• •Slotted spoon and heatproof container for draining the oil

Instructions

1. 1

   Set the mise en place

   Heat the oven to 300°F (150°C). Pat the veal thoroughly dry, then leave the pieces uncovered while you prepare the onion, garlic, tomatoes, bouquet garni, mushrooms, and parsley. Cut eight small hearts from the bread and hold them aside. Have the wine and thin Sauce Espagnole ready beside the stove, because once the oil is hot the opening sequence moves quickly.

   Keep each veal piece close to 2 ounces (57 g). Equal pieces finish together, while a mixture of scraps and large cubes leaves some dry before the others become tender.
2. 2

   Set the veal

   Pour 3/4 cup of the oil into a wide, high-sided ovenproof sauté pan and heat it over medium-high heat until the surface shimmers and the first clean wisp appears. Brown the veal in two or three batches, leaving space between the pieces and turning them until every side is firm and deeply golden. If liquid begins collecting, lift the pieces out, let the oil recover its heat, and continue with a smaller batch. The meat has started to simmer rather than fry, but it is recoverable. Never crowd the pan and hope harder.

3. 3

   Fry the aromatics

   Return all the browned veal to the pan. Add the chopped onion and crushed garlic, then fry for about 2 minutes, stirring gently, until the onion softens at its edges and the garlic smells rounded rather than raw. Turn off the heat and lift the veal and aromatics to a tray with a slotted spoon. Pour the hot oil carefully into a heatproof container, leaving the brown fond behind. The book's lid-and-tilt drain suited practiced hands and a service pan; lifting the meat first is the honest home equivalent. Do not wipe the pan.

4. 4

   Reduce and moisten

   Return the veal and aromatics to the pan and set it over medium-high heat. Pour in the white wine, scrape every brown trace from the pan floor, and reduce until the liquid is nearly syrupy and no longer smells sharply alcoholic, about 4 minutes. Stir in the thin Sauce Espagnole, the prepared tomatoes or tomato sauce, and the bouquet garni. Bring the sauce just to a boil, stirring along the bottom so the tomato cannot catch.

5. 5

   Braise very gently

   Cover the pan and place it in the oven for 1 hour 30 minutes. Turn the veal once halfway through and check that the sauce moves at a bare tremble, never a hard boil. The meat is ready when a fork enters easily but the pieces still hold their shape. If the veal remains springy, give it another 15 minutes; toughness here usually means it needs more time, not more heat. If the sauce tightens around the edges, stir in 2 tablespoons of hot water and cover the pan firmly again.

6. 6

   Glaze the onions

   While the veal braises, arrange the pearl onions in a small skillet with the butter, sugar, and water. Cover and simmer gently until nearly tender, about 12 minutes. Uncover and roll the onions through the reducing liquid until they become glossy and lightly golden. If the glaze darkens before an onion is tender, add a spoonful of water and continue gently. Hold the glazed onions aside.

7. 7

   Reduce and finish

   Transfer the veal pieces one by one to a clean wide saucepan with the glazed onions and mushrooms. Discard the bouquet garni. Bring the sauce left in the sauté pan to a lively simmer and reduce it until it lightly naps the back of a spoon, then strain it through a fine sieve over the veal and garnish. Add the parsley concass, roughly chopped rather than minced, and simmer everything gently for 15 minutes. If the sauce becomes too tight, loosen it with a spoonful of hot water. Ça se rattrape. If it remains watery, lift out the veal and garnish, reduce the sauce alone for a few minutes, and return them.

8. 8

   Fry the croûtons

   Heat the reserved 1/4 cup oil in a small skillet until shimmering. Fry the bread hearts in a single layer, turning once, until the croûtons are crisp and evenly golden. Drain them on a rack or absorbent paper and salt them very lightly. Fry these near serving time; their purpose is to meet the sauce while their edges still crunch.

9. 9

   Degrease and serve

   Skim every visible pool of fat from the surface of the Marengo, then taste the sauce and add salt only if the finished Espagnole requires it. Spoon the veal, mushrooms, and onions into a warmed deep serving dish, coat them generously with the glossy sauce, and surround the rim with the heart-shaped croûtons. Serve the remaining sauce from the dish, not in decorative streaks. Cooking well is not cooking fancy. À table!

Chef Tips

• •Choose veal shoulder, not cutlets or loin. This long, gentle cooking needs connective tissue, and the shoulder becomes tender without surrendering its shape to the sauce.
• •The thin Sauce Espagnole is a finished component, not something to improvise halfway through the Marengo. Prepare it in advance and keep it fluid enough to pour; the final reduction supplies the body.
• •Use ripe fresh tomatoes only when they taste of something. At any other time, the source's permitted plain tomato sauce is the better classical-pantry answer. Choose one without basil, oregano, cheese, or sugar.
• •The instruction to heat oil until it smokes means fully hot, not a kitchen filled with smoke. Stop at the first clean wisp, keep water away from the pan, and never leave the oil unattended.
• •Frozen peeled pearl onions are entirely respectable here. Thaw and dry them before glazing so the butter clings instead of sliding into their packing water.
• •Serve with a dry white wine of good body or a light, fresh red. Add a plain green salad afterward if you like, but put bread on the table first because this sauce deserves a clean plate.

Advance Preparation

• •Prepare the thin Sauce Espagnole a day or two ahead and keep it chilled. Warm it until fluid before measuring it into the Marengo.
• •The veal and finished sauce can be cooked a day ahead, cooled promptly, covered, and chilled. Remove the firm surface fat, then reheat at a bare simmer until the veal is hot through, loosening the sauce with a spoonful of water if necessary.
• •Peel and glaze the onions earlier in the day, and cut the bread hearts ahead. Fry the croûtons shortly before serving so they remain crisp.

Frequently Asked Questions

Nutrition Information

1 serving (about 535g)