Meat Of It All: Veal
Евгения Матвеец
The protein on your dinner plate can get redundant. While there are endless recipes for preparing beef, chicken, or pork, a change now and then is definitely a great way to reignite your cooking skills and further educate your palate. Veal is the perfect role player here. Veal is simple to prepare, easily accessible, leaner in fat and cholesterol, more nutritious in protein and vitamin B6, and yet remains luxurious and delicious. With a recipe repertoire compiled mostly of beef, chicken, and pork, learning some new ones with veal will not only be enjoyable for yourself and whoever you share it with, but you also won’t have to worry about breaking your diet.
Veal is widely popular meat across Europe and the rest of the globe. The reason why it remains sort of unfamiliar in America is that it was the poster child for anti-animal cruelty activists in the 1980s. The raising of baby cows for their meat was certainly an easy target to those unfamiliar. Luckily, today, the vast majority of farmed fatted calves are not tethered to a pen but are rather raised on free pastures. Calves raised for veal are also not castrated, their tails not docked nor their horns removed. The use of hormones on calves is actually illegal. Plus, the raising of calves for veal is more environmentally friendly than those raised for beef. Their farming requires less water and grain, therefore lowering the amount of manure and emissions of methane, not to mention the natural fertilization of the pastures supporting them. In a time where the ethical sourcing of your dinner table and its carbon footprint should and can be minded, veal checks all the necessary boxes.
When shopping for veal at your market or butcher shop, cuts should be light pink in appearance with minimal fat marbling and any fat on the cut should have a milky white color. Also, be sure to avoid packaging with excessive amounts of moisture or fluid. As far as cuts go, veal is versatile and can substitute chicken or steak alike. The wafer-thin veal scallopine can be sautéd or breaded and oil fried just the same as chicken breasts and veal cutlets are a great alternative to your perfect reverse seared steak. The on-bone veal chop is great for individual portioning and for an enticing and impressive presentation. There are even veal roasts like the veal loin, the standing roast, and even the shank half leg, all of which are just as flavorful in iron, lean in texture, and bountiful in nutrition. When entertaining, it’s important to prepare your guests' meals with their own diets and values in mind. A beef tenderloin roast is undeniably delicious, but red meat may not be found on everyone’s food pyramid. Plus, how often do you find a beef roast on your table during the holidays or special occasions? There’s no reason why you can’t switch things up and also keep everyone’s mind and appetites happy, guilt-free, and satisfied.
Like any other meat product, veal can be stored in the freezer for months before use. However, veal will only last just one to two days in the refrigerator. If you are not planning on cooking your veal within that time frame, it must be frozen. As always, make sure you remove your cut from storage with enough time to be cooked at room temperature. This will ensure an evenly cooked finished dish.
A recipe to try: Grilled Veal Chops w/ Garlic Herb Crust
This recipe is a perfect introduction to veal. It’s straightforward and delicious. Plus, side dishes can remain up to your preference. This recipe calls for cooking on a grill with cherry wood chips but that can easily be substituted with a ribbed cast iron pan, a kitchen essential. The garlic herb crust can be done quickly the night before cooking or prior to your workday that morning. This will leave just 12 minutes of cooking to remain before it’s time to eat.
