Essentials of Classic Italian Cooking - Marcella Hazan [166]
Rolled–Up Breast of Veal with Pancetta
THE BREAST is one of the juiciest and tastiest, as well as one of the least expensive, cuts of veal. The rib bones it is attached to must be removed so that the meat can be rolled, but if you have the butcher do it for you, don’t leave the bones behind because they are an excellent addition to homemade meat broth.
If you’d like to try boning the meat yourself—and it is quite simple—proceed as follows: Lay the breast on a work counter, ribs facing down, and slip the blade of a sharp knife between the meat and the bones, working all the meat loose in a single, flat piece. Remove bits of gristle and loose patches of skin, but do not detach the one layer of skin that adheres to and covers the breast.
For 4 to 6 servings
Breast of veal in a single piece, 4½ to 5 pounds with the bones, yielding approximately 1¾ pounds of meat when boned either by the butcher or as described above
Salt
Black pepper, ground fresh from the mill
¼ pound pancetta, sliced very, very thin
2 or 3 garlic cloves, peeled
A sprig or two of rosemary OR 1 teaspoon dried rosemary leaves
Trussing string
1 tablespoon vegetable oil
2 tablespoons butter
½ cup dry white wine
1. Lay the boned meat flat, skin side facing down, sprinkle with salt and pepper, spread the sliced pancetta over it, add the garlic cloves, spaced well apart, and top with rosemary. Roll the meat up tightly, jelly-roll fashion, and tie it firmly with trussing string.
2. Choose a heavy-bottomed or enameled cast-iron pot, possibly oval-shaped, just large enough for the meat. Put in the oil and butter, turn on the heat to medium high, and when the butter foam begins to subside, put in the meat and brown it deeply all over. Sprinkle with salt and add the wine.
3. Let the wine come to a boil, turn the meat in it, and after a few seconds, turn down the heat so that the wine will bubble at a very slow, intermittent simmer. Set the cover on slightly ajar, and cook for 1½ to 2 hours, until the meat feels very tender when prodded with a fork. Turn the breast from time to time while it is cooking and, if there is no liquid in the pot, add 2 or 3 tablespoons of water as often as is necessary.
4. Transfer the meat to a cutting board. Add 2 tablespoons of water to the juices in the pot, turn up the heat to high, and boil the water away while using a wooden spoon to scrape loose the cooking residues from the bottom and sides. Turn off the heat.
5. Cut the breast into slices a little less than ½ inch thick. If you leave the trussing strings on, it will be easier to cut the breast into compact slices, but make sure you pick out all the bits of string after slicing. Look for and discard the 2 garlic cloves, arrange the slices on a warm serving platter, pour the pot juices over them, and serve at once.
Ahead-of-time note Follow the recommendations for Pan-Roasted Veal with Garlic, Rosemary, and White Wine.
Pan-Roasted Breast of Veal
ALTHOUGH THIS HAD long been one of my favorite meat dishes, it was so simple and straightforward that I took it for granted, and it escaped my notice as a recipe to record. The late James Beard had it with me at Bologna’s Diana restaurant when he came, in the mid-1970s, to observe the course I was then teaching. It was he who was so taken with it that he urged me to set the recipe down.
The whole breast, with the bones in, is pan-roasted on top of the stove in the classic Italian manner, with no liquid but a small amount of cooking fat, a little wine, and its own juices. It is far simpler to do than any of the fancy stuffed things one sometimes does with breast of veal, and it produces an impressive roast with a rich brown color, and astonishingly tender, savory meat.
For 4 servings
3 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil 3 whole garlic cloves, peeled
3½ pounds breast of veal with rib bones in
2 sprigs of fresh rosemary OR 1 teaspoon dried leaves
Salt
Black pepper, ground fresh from the mill
⅔ cup dry white wine
1. Choose a saute pan that can subsequently accommodate the meat lying flat. Put