Côtelettes d’Agneau de Lait Maréchale

Ingredients

Equipment Needed

• •30 cm heavy skillet
• •3-liter wide saucepan
• •Three shallow breading dishes
• •Wire rack set over a rimmed baking tray
• •Instant-read thermometer
• •Fine metal skimmer

Instructions

1. 1

   Prepare the service

   Heat the oven to 95°C (200°F) and set a wire rack over a rimmed tray inside it. Pat the lamb cutlets thoroughly dry. If their meat varies greatly in thickness, place them between sheets of baking paper and tap only the thickest parts until each cutlet is an even 1.5 cm; agneau de lait is tender already, so this is evening the cooking, not tenderizing the meat. Set out three shallow dishes for flour, Anglaise, and breadcrumbs, and have the sliced truffle covered nearby.

2. 2

   Blanch the asparagus

   Bring a wide saucepan of water to a full boil and salt it generously with most of the measured salt. Add the asparagus tips and cook for 2 to 4 minutes, depending on thickness, until vivid green and tender enough for a knife to enter with slight resistance. Drain at once, cool briefly under cold water, and dry very well. Hold them on a clean towel; water left on the tips will later dilute the butter instead of letting it cling.

3. 3

   Bread à l’anglaise

   Coat each cutlet lightly in flour and tap away every loose patch. Pass it through the prepared Anglaise (for Egg-and-bread-crumbing) (No. 174), covering the meat and its edges completely, then let the excess drain before laying it in the fine breadcrumbs. Press the crumbs on gently, without building a thick shell. Transfer the cutlets to a rack and refrigerate them uncovered for 15 minutes so the coat settles and dries. If a bare patch appears, touch it with a little Anglaise and press on fresh crumbs. Ça se rattrape.

4. 4

   Heat the clarified butter

   Pour enough clarified butter into the heavy skillet to make a layer about 5 mm deep and heat it to 170°C (340°F). Without a thermometer, drop in a pinch of breadcrumb: it should sizzle hard at once and turn gold gradually, not sit quietly and not blacken in seconds. Warm fat gives a greasy coat; smoking fat burns it. If the butter begins to smoke, take the skillet off the heat and let it settle before you continue.

   Clarified butter matters because its milk solids have been removed, allowing the crust to brown over lively heat without filling the pan with scorched specks.
5. 5

   Fry the cutlets

   Lower four cutlets into the hot butter, placing them away from you, and leave space between them. Fry the first side without nudging for 2 to 3 minutes, until the coat has set into an even deep gold. Turn once and cook the second side for about 2 minutes, until the thickest part reaches 63°C (145°F). Transfer them to the rack in the low oven and repeat with the remaining cutlets, skimming away loose crumbs and restoring the butter level as needed. If the crust browns before the center is ready, lower the heat and finish the cutlet on the rack in a 160°C (325°F) oven. If the coat begins to lift, stop moving it and let that side set before turning; both failures can be rescued.

6. 6

   Coat asparagus in butter

   As the last cutlets finish, melt the unsalted butter in the emptied asparagus saucepan over medium heat. Add the dried tips with a small pinch of the remaining salt and roll them gently through the butter for 2 minutes, until hot, glossy, and gathered by a thin buttery coating. This is what cohered with butter means here: bound and shining, not swimming. If water seeps from the asparagus and the butter looks thin, lift out the tips, boil away the water until the butter foams cleanly, then return them for a final toss.

7. 7

   Crown and serve

   Arrange the eight cutlets in a close circle on a warm oval platter, with the bones radiating outward. Lay one fine truffle slice on the meat of each hot cutlet so its aroma opens with the lamb’s warmth. Heap the buttered asparagus tips generously in the middle and spoon their clinging butter over them. Serve immediately, while the crust is crisp and the truffle is fragrant. À table!

Chef Tips

• •Ask the butcher for the smallest, palest rib cutlets from milk-fed lamb and have them cut to an even thickness. If agneau de lait cannot be found, use small young-lamb rib chops; the flavor will be stronger, but careful frying preserves the dish’s intent.
• •A whole preserved black truffle is the honest pantry answer when fresh truffle is out of season. Drain and dry it before slicing. Truffle oil cannot make the substitution because the fine black slice on every cutlet is part of Maréchale, not merely a perfume.
• •Make the breadcrumbs from a plain white loaf and pass them through a coarse sieve. They should be fine and loose, without the large flakes of panko, so the coating seals closely around the delicate lamb.
• •Use clarified unsalted butter, not ordinary butter and not margarine. Ordinary butter’s milk solids burn before eight cutlets are fried; clarified butter gives the crust its clean gold color and proper flavor. We don’t apologize for butter.
• •Serve a supple red Burgundy or a lightly chilled Saumur-Champigny. Heavy tannin can quarrel with asparagus, while a gentler red still has enough shape for lamb and truffle.

Advance Preparation

• •Clarified butter can be prepared up to a week ahead and kept covered in the refrigerator. Melt it gently before measuring it into the skillet.
• •The Anglaise (for Egg-and-bread-crumbing) (No. 174) may be prepared up to 4 hours ahead and held cold. Bread the cutlets no more than 45 minutes before frying, keeping them uncovered in the refrigerator so the crumbs remain dry.
• •The asparagus tips may be blanched up to 4 hours ahead. Cool, dry, and refrigerate them, then bring them back to heat in the butter just before the platter is assembled.
• •Maréchale should be served directly after frying. Leftover cutlets can be reheated on a rack at 190°C (375°F) for 6 to 8 minutes, but the crust is finest the first evening.

Frequently Asked Questions

Nutrition Information

1 serving (about 240g)