Peppercorn-Crusted Veal Rib-eye w/Brandied Chanterelle Demi-Glace

Pastured veal rib-eye steaks are dry-marinated with sea salt, garlic and herbs, then lightly coated with freshly-cracked black pepper and seared in a very hot, dry cast iron pan.  The streaks are finished in a 500 degree oven and served with fresh herbs and a rich, brandied demi-glace with chanterelle mushrooms..

French-Style Veal and Mushroom Stew

Quite similar to the French classic Blanquette de veau à l’ancienne popularized in America by Julia Child, this preparation features ethically-raised, pastured veal, brown mushrooms, garlic, onions, demi-glace, Madeira wine, heavy cream and fresh thyme.  Serve over smashed potatoes or egg noodles..

“Veal usually comes from the male dairy calf or Bob calves, mostly of the Holstein breed. The meat is delicate in flavor, firm, fine grained and of a light pink color. A good Ossobucco con Polenta, made of veal shank, and accompanied by a glass of robust Sangiovese wine, can be the perfect meal for a cold winter evening.

Organic and industrial farming methods of raising the calves differ:

In factory farms, calves are raised indoors in small individual pens and fed intensively and exclusively on milk substitutes with plenty of antibiotics added in for good measure. Herbaceous food is excluded from their diets, resulting in iron deficiency which produces the “desirable” almost white meat of most supermarket veal.

Organically raised calves are fed with their mothers’ milk; fresh, whole and still warm from the cow. After the calves are two weeks old they are kept outdoors (weather permitting), untethered and in small groups of 4-8 where they have adequate space for exercise and social contact with other calves.

Calves will want to pasture when outdoors, which is only natural as grass provides iron and vitamins which they need to grow healthy.

The meat of pastured veal will not be as white as ordinary veal, but that’s a small price to pay for supporting farms that raise healthy and happy calves. ”  –LocalHarvest

  • British veal is back on the menu (telegraph.co.uk)
  • Recipe: Veal Shank With Shallots and Chanterelles – Recipe (nytimes.com)

Wiener Schnitzel

The classic Austrian dish, not the American fast food chain.

Free-raised Limousin veal leg pieces are uniformly pounded into to 1/4-inch-thick cutlets, seasoned and breaded in freshly-made bread crumbs before being gently fried in pure beef lard, drained and served hot with freshly-squeezed lemon, parsley and mustard potato salad.  Totally old school, totally delicious..

4 4-oz veal cutlets
sea salt and black pepper
fresh lemon
2 tablespoons heavy cream
3 pastured eggs
4 thick slices fresh bread
1/4 cup fresh parsley
gluten-free multi-purpose flour for dredging
pure beef lard for frying

Trim veal of any remaining fat or sinew, then place between slices of wax paper and pound with a meat mallet until of uniform thickness between 3/8 and 1/2 inch.  Pat dry and season with sea salt and freshly-ground black pepper (add a pinch of granulated garlic if you like) and let stand.

Lightly toast the bread, trim the off crust and add to the bowl of a food processor along with the parsley. Pulse until crumbs are approximately 1/8 inch across. Set aside.

Beat the cream with a wire whisk until thickened, then add the eggs and whisk until thoroughly combined.

Meanwhile, melt pure beef lard in a heavy skillet over medium heat to a depth of about 1/2 inch (the veal should float rather than stick to the bottom of the pan. It actually absorbs less fat that way) and hold at no more than 350 degrees.

Lightly dredge the veal in the flour, patting it between you hands to shake off any excess.

Using one hand, dip the floured veal into the egg wash and hold aloft for a moment to let the excess drain off.  Drop the veal into bread crumbs and coat on all sides without packing the bread on too tight.

Carefully slide the breaded veal into the hot lard and fry until cooked through and golden brown on both sides (about 4-5 minutes total, depending on thickness. Don’t overcook).  Transfer cook veal to a paper plate to drain for a minute, then dress with freshly-squeezed lemon juice and serve hot with a side of mustard potato salad.