Rose Veal Tendron

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It’s veal day today.  Our boxes are locked and loaded for customers.  When we return from the butcher with a carcass freshly packaged that we’ve carefully raised on the farm, the fry pan goes on and we taste.  We tasted the T-Bone first because … well … it’s a perk of tuning our product.  And because T-bone tastes good.  Veal tastes good.

All I captured of the T-Bone was this empty plate.  We ate the meat.  The dog got the bone.

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Next up was the Tendron A Griller.  Tendron is veal poitrine.  Pointrine is belly or chest.  Tendron is called “Tenderoni” in this household.  Mostly, okay all-ly, by me.  Call it my eighties upbringing.  Call my enthusiastic dedication to the hot boy band New Edition.  Whatever it is, the word “Tendron” is written and all I see is “Tenderoni.”  She’s my only love.

I fry it in a moderate pan loaded with lard.
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It looks like a chunk of meat in the package, but when you take it out, you see it is more of a strip.

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After a fry, I pepper it then cooks me some eggs.  Great for breakfast or lunch.  I had some local Saint Mont that rounded everything out.  … I had it for lunch, though in the country, red wine in coffee for breakfast is not unheard of.  I’ve not quite earned my stripes for that.

 

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The usual suspects were right by my side helping me along with the taste test.  Nothing motivates our fluffy sedentary animals like some fresh veal fried in a pan.

 

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And if you find a tenderoni that is right for you, make it official, give her your love.  Once you had a ‘roni you will never give it up.

Veal T-bone

DSC_0760We recently sold out our veal boxes.  Thankfully, we managed to grab a t-bone to assess our quality.  Every time we sell meat, the fry pan goes on and we sample to make sure the work put in for tasty meat is going along smoothly.  Tasting a veal t-bone is a perk of farming grass-fed beef.

DSC_0737In France, it’s called a “cotes/filet a griller.”
DSC_0735In any language, it looks delicious.

DSC_0738I fried in a fat that can take heat.  Grass-fed tallow was ready to go.

DSC_0740After a gros sel, in to the hot pan for a right browning.

DSC_0743Then a flip.  And another flip and another flip.  I don’t eat veal rare, but I suppose you can.

DSC_0742Onions, shallots and garlic are ready to mop up the fond.

DSC_0747As the t-bone is resting, butter goes in for a meltdown.

DSC_0748The OSG absorb the butter as they mail-it-in as sauce.  I think I added a dash of water, but wine or stock would seal the deal.

DSC_0768As we tasted, we had our best friend to the left of us.

DSC_0770Kitty to the right.  Stuck in the middle with veal.  A great lunch.  It came out nice, this.

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Late Lunch: Veal and Swelled Rice

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Lunch, at last, arrives at 4:15pm. This may be the best cracker I ever ate. It’s been a busy day on the farm. I will spare you the details. A small veal hanger steak was on offer. I served with some risotto. I’m not a big rice eater, but when life gives you short pearly rice, make risotto. As you introduce the stock to the rock hard rice, you think and drink and ponder. Risotto is a grumpy Italian farmer’s wife invention. A result so yummy, they are encouraged to glue to the stove, holding a no-chase-chase-the-toddler free card. Meanwhile, tired Italian dads run around getting junior off the hay bales, out of the tractor and away from the bulls and lake.

Lunch finished at 4:30. Inhaled by me all by myself without any thought of where junior might be. No time for any food fluffing. This is my lunch, four hours late, by the dishes I didn’t do.

In the ris:

  • buttah
  • onions
  • celery
  • chook stock
  • Zach saffron
  • Comte
  • Parsley

The veal was amazing. I’m very proud to have been part of raising that flavor. On the veal-to-beef flavor spectrum, it was a seven. Closer in beefy flavor with all the tenderness of veal. I hope we can replicate this.

Veal:

  • salt
  • pep
  • butter
  • fried in lard

When Stir-Fry Falls Short

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Stir-fry was a lovely yum-filled evening but for a veal nub waiting in the wings.
You can see amongst the Robert and the Antifragile, sometimes work mixes with pleasure.

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The boys hit their limit quickly. Otto totally dug the soba deep fried in bacon fat. Go bacon fat! Brent ate his share and let the kids finish what was left.

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But there are more beings interested in our calories.

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… And these chicks

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Veal nub devoured, stir-fry gone, we shower and sleep and wait for brighter days involving more at-our-reach ingredients. Please, people resist the temptation to Eat Out. That is all.

Rose Veal Explored

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I don’t have a lot of experience with veal other than pounding the crap out of crappy veal to make scaloppine. But with our first veal, which is truly rose veal, as it was with it’s mum milking, eating hay and grass ready for slaughter around seven months. We couldn’t wait to fry one of these steaks up. So curious were we. The result? Beef! Flavor! Tender! A complete shock followed by excitement filled our dining room ( which we call “the mess” which also triples as our office and t.v. room okay and “the warm room”). Veal or Rose Veal or Baby Beef is good don’t let people tell you otherwise.

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Blanquette de Veau

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I’m practicing Blanquette de Veau. So far, it’s been amazing. You basically do this:

Make veal stock
Reserving stock, strain the bits and set aside
Reduce stock
Make a roux
Add stock
Add cream and egg yolks
Season
Add the bits back in
Exclaim at what a wonderful year you’ve had and hope that next year will prove even bettter.

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