How to cook veal
Information for veal in our free cooking ingredients collection.
Veal
Credit the American love of Italian and French food to the increase in veal appreciation. Dishes such as veal scallopini and grilled veal chops introduced the meat to palates that were much more aware of the heavier, heartier taste of beef.
The name veal is derived from the Latin vitellus, which means calf. The meat is garnered from a young calf, usually 1 to 3 months old, that has been fed only milk.
Milk-fed veal comes from calves up to 12 weeks old that have not been weaned from their mother’s milk, but veal of this quality is rare in today’s supermarket. Shoppers are more likely to find veal fed a nutritionally balanced milk or soy-based diet that is fortified with essential nutrients. Color is the most important criterion when choosing a good cut of veal. The flesh should be a creamy white to ivory tone, barely tinged with grayish pink, and the fat should be white and creamy. The pinker the meat, the older the animal was at slaughter, and the meat is tougher and stronger-flavored.
If the meat is a reddish tone but still marked as veal, it may be a calf between 6 and 12 months and should more appropriately be called baby beef. Or, the calf may have been allowed to eat grains or grasses, which also darken the meat.
Animals were once confined to limit their movement; hence, the meat would be more tender and pale. For that reason, the consumption of veal was a source of controversy. In recent years, veal producers have attempted to make their modes of production more humane.
The USDA can grade veal in five different categories, but it usually does not. If the veal has been categorized, it will carry marks of (from highest quality to lowest) prime, choice, good, standard, and utility. The last three grades are rarely sold in retail outlets.
How to cook veal
Although veal is supposed to be leaner and more tender than beef, not all veal is made equally, and not all cuts carry the same level of quality.
If you are interested in preparing veal, your first step should be to locate a supermarket or butcher who carries veal on a regular basis. Because Americans tend to eat veal in restaurants, the retail market is much smaller than beef’s beefy share. You may need to order the cut of veal you want and the amount you need in advance.
The best cuts are from the rib and the loin of the calf. They are the most tender and the most expensive and can be bought as ribs, chops, or scallops.
Veal scallops have many names, scallopini, cutlets, schnitzel. However, all these words describe thinly cut veal slices. The best scallops come from the top round, cut against the muscle fibers. Cutting against the grain ensures the thin scallops will not buckle when they hit the heated pan.
If you are buying scallops, look for a smooth surface, which indicates they have been cut properly. Storage of veal is similar to that of beef.
Serving suggestions
Veal scallops can be used to make veal scallopini. Scallops are dredged in flour and lightly cooked in oil or butter for 1 to 2 minutes. Veal roast can be cooked with either low or high heat, but high heat works better with more expensive cuts of meat. For cuts from the shoulder, breast, or leg, roasting at a lower heat with rubbing of added fat creates a more tender entree.
Tougher cuts of veal from the lower leg and shoulder can be braised for the Italian dish osso buco. The name means “bone with a hole”. The bone is a marrow-filled round in the center of the cut that adds flavor and is considered a velvety treat.
Veal chops and medallions are best prepared by pan frying or grilling. Chops should be at least an inch thick, and medallions should be about 3/4 inch thick. Otherwise, the veal will dry out.
Because veal is such a lean meat, many recipes may call for adding fat of some sort: from a health standpoint, a small amount of olive oil is best. Watch closely, because veal cooks quickly and it is very easy to overcook it.
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