11.4 Veal

Veal recipes →

Veal comes from calves. It is more delicate in taste than beef, with a finer texture and a paler color, and it has less marbling. Trimmed of visible fat, it is lower in fat and calories than similar beef cuts and leaner than a good many pork and poultry cuts. Its mild flavor goes with many sauces without being overpowered, and it suits nearly every method: dry heat, moist heat or a combination of the two. Quality differs a great deal from one supplier to another, so buy only from reputable companies.

The veal carcass

A veal carcass weighs between 60 pounds (27 kg) and 245 pounds (110 kg). It may be halved along the backbone, but it is more often divided between the 11th and 12th ribs: the front part is the foresaddle and the rear the hindsaddle. It gives five primal cuts. The shoulder, the rib and the loin are cut across the animal, so each holds both sides.

The foresaddle

The shoulder matches the beef chuck but holds four ribs instead of five. Boned, it can be roasted, plain or stuffed. Shoulder chops and steaks can be cut, but they are poorer than loin or rib chops. With so much connective tissue, shoulder meat is best braised or stewed, and it is often ground or cubed for stew.

The foreshank and breast count as one primal. The breast goes into stews such as veal fricassee and blanquette. It can also be stuffed and rolled, or trimmed for grinding. The foreshank is tough but full of flavor. Braise it whole, or slice it across the bone and braise the slices to make osso buco.

The rib, sold as a double rib or hotel rack, is small, tender, popular and costly. It is two racks of seven ribs each. Roast it whole or split, bone it into a rib eye and a short tenderloin, both fine roasts, or, most often, cut it into chops to grill, sauté or braise.

The hindsaddle

The loin holds ribs 12 and 13, with the loin eye on top of the bones and the tenderloin beneath. The tenderloin is the most tender cut of veal. If the loin is cut from the leg before the tenderloin comes out, the tenderloin is split in two: the short tenderloin stays with the loin and the butt end with the leg. It may be cut into medallions, and the loin into chops, bone-in or boneless. Loin cuts are cooked by dry heat: broiled, grilled, roasted or sautéed.

The leg includes the sirloin. It is tender enough to roast whole, but it is usually made into cutlets and scallops (escalopes). The leg is first separated into its main muscles. Each muscle is trimmed of all fat and visible connective tissue, sliced across the grain to the thickness wanted, then pounded gently. Pounding makes the scallops more tender and stops them curling in the pan. The hindshank is meatier than the foreshank and is cooked the same way. Wiener schnitzel and blanquette are two classic veal dishes.

Buying veal in larger pieces

A veal carcass is small enough to handle easily, so a kitchen with the skill, equipment and storage, and a use for every trimming, may buy it in large pieces.

• Foresaddle: the front of the carcass, holding the shoulder, foreshank and breast, and rib.
• Hindsaddle: the rear, holding the loin and leg.
• Back: the trimmed rib and loin in one piece, useful for cutting many chops.
• Side: one half of the carcass, cut lengthwise through the backbone.

Veal organ meats, such as sweetbreads, calves' liver and kidneys, are described with the other variety meats below.