Veal Blanquette Recipes

VEAL STEW (BLANQUETTE DE VEAU)

Steps:

• Stew meat and vegetables:
• Cut meat away from veal breastbone, reserving bone, and cut meat into 2-inch pieces.
• Bring veal breast and shoulder, veal bone, and water to a boil over moderate heat in a 7- to 8-quart heavy pot, skimming froth. While water is heating, wrap parsley, thyme, bay leaf, and peppercorns in a small square of cheesecloth and tie into a bundle to make a bouquet. Add bouquet garni and onions to pot and simmer, uncovered, until veal is tender, 1 1/4 to 1 1/2 hours.
• Preheat oven to 300°F.
• Transfer veal with a slotted spoon to a heatproof serving dish and keep warm in oven, covered with foil.
• Discard veal bone, onions, and bouquet garni, then pour stock through a fine sieve into a large bowl. Return stock to cleaned pot, add carrots and leek, and simmer until tender, 10 to 12 minutes. Transfer vegetables to serving dish. Boil stock until reduced to about 2 1/2 cups, about 10 minutes.
• While stock is reducing, heat butter in a 10-inch heavy skillet over moderate heat until foam subsides, then cook mushrooms, stirring, until just tender, 6 to 8 minutes. Transfer to serving dish and season veal and vegetables with salt and pepper. Keep warm in oven.
• Make sauce:
• Melt butter in a 2- to 3-quart heavy saucepan over moderately low heat, then stir in flour. Cook roux, stirring, 3 minutes (do not let brown). Whisk in reduced stock and simmer, uncovered, whisking occasionally, 15 minutes. Whisk together yolks and crème fraîche in a small bowl, then whisk in 1 cup sauce. Whisk yolk mixture into remaining sauce with lemon juice, then cook over moderately low heat (do not let boil), stirring constantly, until it reaches 160°F on an instant-read thermometer and coats back of a wooden spoon.
• Season sauce with salt and pepper and pour over veal and vegetables.

VEAL BLANQUETTE

Steps:

• Cover the veal with cold water to "blanch" it. Drain and rinse the veal.
• Boil about 2 cups of water in a saucepan and then add the pearl onions briefly to scald them. Drain and slip skins from the pearl onions and set them aside.
• In a large saucepot, combine the veal with the stock and simmer covered over medium-low heat until the veal is tender, about 1 1/2 hours. After the veal has been simmering about 30 minutes, add the sachet d'epices. Then uncover the pot to allow the stock to reduce to intensify the flavor.
• Melt 4 tablespoons of the butter in a small pot and gradually add the flour to make a white roux. (Do not allow the roux to brown.) Remove and discard the sachet from the stew. Add the roux to the stew pot and simmer until thickened.
• In another pan, heat the remaining 2 tablespoons of butter and gently cook the pearl onions and mushrooms until they are tender. To this pan, add the lemon juice and salt and pepper, to taste, and set aside.
• The heat under the blanquette (stew) must be such that the stew is just below a boil. In a small pot whisk together the egg yolks and cream (known as a liaison) and temper by heating gently and gradually. (You are only heating it. Do not boil. Do not cook.) Add the liaison to the blanquette. Add the reserved pearl onions and mushrooms. Adjust salt and pepper, to taste, if needed.

VEAL BLANQUETTE (VEAL IN WHITE SAUCE)

Steps:

• Place veal in a casserole, cover with cold water, add lemon juice and bring to a boil (since you boil the meat, I strongly suggest only first quality veal such as milk fed veal).
• Remove foam on top of water.
• When liquid becomes clear, add onion, carrots, garlic, celery, bay leaves and tyme.
• Cook at low temperature for 1 ½ hour, or until the meat is tender.
• Remove meat from water, KEEP (3 ½ cups) of cooking liquids.
• Melt butter in casserole and add flour, cook for 1 minute at low temperature, stirring occasionnaly.
• Add reserved liquids and mix well.
• Add 3 tablespoons of heavy cream, mix well.
• Add salt and pepper to taste. Add tarragon.
• Cook sauce for 8 to 10 minutes at low temperature.
• Put back meat in sauce. Simmer for 5 to 6 minutes at low temperature.
• Remove casserole from heat. Beat egg yolk with 1 tablespoon of cream, add to sauce, mix well.
• Serve with your choice of green vegetables, white rice, egg noodles or whipped potatoes.