Veal – The Cuts and The Cooking is a simple breakdown of a much under rated meat in my opinion. The meat is so full of flavour and how you cook it greatly effects the texture and experience. There are so many famous dishes that are surprisingly simple to produce that include veal. Osso Buco for example is a dish most people will have heard of. A succulent veal shank that is slow cooked for 8 – 10 hours for a melt in your mouth tenderness.
Serve as part of the main dish, veal is capable of holding spices without losing its identity. Veal doesn’t just include the flesh, it includes the kidneys and sweetbreads which when cooked correctly are delicious and packed with flavour. They are also relatively cheap and good for the budget and they are not that popular. The reason being that most people are not sure how to cook them.
Veal – The Cuts and The Cooking also includes the best way to cook each cut. Whether it be braising to frying, we have listed the easiest and tastiest method to bring the full flavour out.
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Veal – Which cuts and how to cook
Ingredients
- 1 cut veal
Instructions
Veal – What you need to know
- Chops – Veal Chops are form either the groin or rib area. For the maximum flavour these should be grilled/broiled or roasted.
- Veal Cutlets – these are thin slices from the leg. They are usually about ¼ inch in thickness and are best fried either naturally or with a breaded coating.
- Veal Shank – is from the area between the knee and shoulder of the hind quarter. The most famous recipe using veal shank is Osso Buco.
- Ground/mince Veal – is usually the trimmings which is incredibly lean. Its usually used with ground/minced beef or pork for the flavour and fat element.
- Veal Sweetbreads – these are from the pancreas and thymus gland and should be soaked well before cooking to remove impurities.
Popular Recipes
- There are number of recipes which use various cuts of veal.
- The obvious one is already mentioned being Osso Buco. A stunning dish of slow cooked veal shank in a red wine sauce.
- Scallopini which is an Italian dish of breaded then fried veal cutlets.
- Veal Milanese which is similar to Scallopini.
- Veal Marsala is a wonderful dish where veal cutlets are cooked in an amazing Marsala sauce.
- Veal Parmesan is also known as Veal Parmigiana with parmesan and a tomato sauce.
How to Cook Veal
Grilling
- This is one of the most popular methods to cook veal. Primarily as its so easy to do and for maximum flavour soak the veal in a marinade for several hours prior to grilling. It also give you the chance to use leftover marinade to baste.
Roasting
- Season the veal with salt, pepper and herbs and place into a baking tray. Add a drizzle of olive oil, bacon, butter or even duck fat to keep veal racks lovely and moist.
Pan Fry
- Pan frying veal is a simple method but for maximum flavour and texture, lightly dust the meat with seasoned flour. Seasoned is usually salt and pepper but paprika, chilli powder and cayenne also add new dimensions. Add a small amount of oil or butter so it doesn’t burn and fry/sauté until both sides are golden brown. Pan frying is in my opinion the best method to cook sweetbreads. Firstly, soak them in either water or milk and then blanch them before pan frying them in oil or butter with lovely and golden. Serve immediately.
Braising
- When you have a tough cut of veal, braising in the perfect method to cook and tenderise. Braise the veal cut in a frying pan and then place into a large pan or slow cooker together with vegetables and stock or wine. Leave to slowly cook until the meat is fall apart tender.
Pan Frying
- This is ideal for veal cutlets as the cooking time is limited else they will dry out. Lightly coat in seasoned flour. Add a good knob of butter and oil to a hot pan and add the cutlets. After 2 minutes turn over and fry until a lovely golden crust has formed. I use the phrase pan frying but also known as sauteing.
