Real Bachelors Eat Veal

posted October 15, 2008
  by Josh Gunn, Bachelor Chow

For the first time in over a decade, I recently had a couple of dates with a non-vegetarian. Now, let me be clear: I love me some vegetarians. Some of my best friends are vegetarians (you know I couldn't resist typing that line). But when you're a gourmet cook for a vegetarian, you can't cook meat. And I like to cook meat.

So I asked my date if I might cook some meat. She said sure. She made a joke about how one can't beat my meat (don't tell Wagner). I then pressed my bachelor luck: "what about veal?" She said no problem. I was elated. I hadn't made saltimbocca, my favorite veal dish, in about six years. And I made it last Saturday, with fresh sage from my garden. And it was absolutely delicious.

Now, unless you live in a trailer down by the river, you probably know that eating veal is controversial. Veal is basically the meat from calves, but one way it is produced is particularly cruel: Calves are socially isolated into stalls and raised with little movement. This discourages muscle growth and makes the meat more tender. Frankly, I agree this is cruel. Cows are social creatures. I know. I grew up in my grandma's house, which was across the street from a farm, and cows used to come say "hi" if I went up to the barbed-wired fence. Veal is also raised in other ways (in hutches, or in small groups), but there's really no way to tell how the veal got to the meat counter unless you talk to the butcher or store manager.

Which is what I did when I procured my veal. Here in Texas, the popular grocery is Whole Foods, an Austin based company. They have a nice meat section, and the company has progressive policies (the health care package they offer employees is incredible). Some years ago Whole Foods stopped carrying lobsters because a commissioned study proved that crustaceans feel pain when boiled alive. I figured if anyone in town carries humane veal, it'd be Whole Foods.

And I was right. I talked to Shawn Al-Bannay, a meat manager at Whole Foods and he said "we have the best veal in town." Well, what did you expect him to say? But he did go on to explain. To his knowledge, Whole Foods was the only national chain that has struck a deal with Strauss Brands Incorporated (http://www.straussveal.com), a company that procures and distributes humane meat.

They currently have a "free raised veal" program, where they import the veal from cow farms in Australia. The calves are raised in an open field, have free access to mumsie's udders, and are not pumped full of hormones or by-product feed. The result: a conscience-clear, veal feast-o-rama for me (oh, and my date)! It's a little pricier, but I don't mind paying a few extra bucks for the peace of mind: Mr. junior cow was not abused, and lived a short but nevertheless happy life.

This week's recipe is super easy to make, but wonderfully delicious. When you break it to your date that you're munching on some baby cow goodness, you might also tell them you procured the free range variety. My date was impressed; yours can be to!


Dr. Bachelor's Clear Conscience Saltimbocca Recipe
http://www.cdkitchen.com/


Serves/Makes: 3
Ready in: 30-60 minutes

* 1 pound free raised veal escalopes
* 1 package prosciutto
* 1 bunch fresh sage leaves
* 3 tablespoons olive oil (or as needed)
* 1 hunk Gruyere cheese, thinly sliced
* 1 medium onion, chopped finely
* 1/2 bottle inexpensive white wine
* 1/2 can chicken stock
* 1 tablespoon corn starch, dissolved in about
* 4 ounces warm water

You want your veal escalopes super thin. If they're not super thin, put them between two sheets of wax paper and beat them with a meat hammer (this is fun). Don't beat them so hard they break-up, though. You want a medium-pressure beating of your meat. Then, cut each escalope in half.

Now, line the half-escalope with prosicutto that you tear to fit (try to keep it in one long piece if you can). For the traditional recipe, you would then line up sage leaves and roll the escalope-halves into balls and pin them with a toothpick. I tend toward bocconcini, which replaced the sage leaves with Gruyere cheese, but since I like sage a lot, I just do both.

Saute your onions in the olive oil in a rather large-ish pan. Then, brown your balls of meat on all sides. Pour in the wine and reduce to a simmer. Cook for about fifteen minutes and remove the balls and let them cool a bit; remove the toothpicks too.

While they are cooling, for an optional sauce you can pour your dissolved corn starch into the pan and thicken-up the wine and onion mixture. What I do is use this sauce as a decorative base on the serving plate. I slice one saltimbocca ball into rings, which look pretty, onto the sauce. Yummy!

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