Blanquette de Veau à l'ancienne

By tulawdog

Ingredients

• D’Artagnan veal tenderloin (that you can get HERE), about 2 1/2 lbs., trimmed and cut into cubes and thoroughly rinsed before and after trimming **
• 1 pint pearl onions, peeled
• 2 T butter
• 6 c stock (veal or chicken)
• Bouquet garni: 1 thyme sprig, 1 bay leaf, parsley stems, 6 peppercorns, 2 cloves garlic, sliced and 3 cloves tied in cheesecloth or loose
• 1 celery stalk cut into sticks
• 1 large carrots, peeled & cut into thick sticks
• 1 small leek, sliced in half in 4” pieces
• 1 teaspoon coarse salt
• 4 Tablespoons butter
• 5 Tablespoons flour
• 2 T vermouth
• 2 T Cognac
• 1 container veal demi-glace from D’Artagnan the you can get HERE (or 1 cup of your own)
• 3 egg yolks
• 1/2 c heavy cream
• 2 c sliced mushrooms (I used a combination of crimini and shitake without stems but pure white mushrooms are the classic for this)
• 1 Tablespoon lemon juice
• salt and pepper to taste
• minced fresh parsley
• chopped yellow celery tops (optional)

Preparation

Step 1

Take the veal cuttings, vegetables, bouquet garni and stock and put in a large pot (a wide-mouthed enamel cast iron pan is perfect). Heat it and simmer on medium-low for 1½ hours, skimming and checking as you go.
While you are doing this, take ½ c of the stock from the pan and 2 T butter and simmer the onions covered for 10 minutes. When they are nearly done remove the cover and reduce the liquid till it is syrupy. Remove and reserve the onions and the glaze.
After 1 ½ hours, strain the stock, pressing on the solids and then discard the vegetables and meat bits. Add the demi-glace to the stock. You should have around 4 cups. You can do all of this the day before so that the dish comes together quickly before the meal.
Rinse the veal cubes again and add to the stock*. Cook for about 15 minutes over very low heat… barely a simmer. Check it –– you want it medium rare (you will need to heat it again when you add the egg and cream, that's when you will finish cooking the veal).
When it’s done, remove the meat and strain the broth over a fine mesh. Reserve 3¼ cup of the stock for the velouté. Clean out the pan and place the meat and onions with the glaze in it. Cover (you can do this the day before too, but I think veal is best the day it is cooked –– you can do the rest of the recipe earlier in the day and heat it gently if you would like –– Dr Lostpast reheated left-overs in the microwave successfully too).
Melt 4 T butter slowly, then add the flour and stir it in –– let it cook for a few minutes but do not let it brown. Slowly add the stock, whisking. Add vermouth and cognac. Cook it over medium heat for 10 minutes, stirring regularly. Add the sliced mushrooms tossed in the lemon juice and cook for another 10 minutes or until the mushrooms are soft. This cooking is what helps give the sauce the beautiful texture… don’t rush it.
Remove 1 cup of the sauce without the mushrooms. Whisk the egg yolks and cream together and add the reserved hot velouté.
Add this to the meat and onions and cook over a low heat, stirring gently. Do not let it boil. Keep the sauce below 180º or the egg will curdle (using a wide-mouthed casserole makes this easy). Just for the heck of it I checked the temperature of the veal cubes –– they seemed to be around 145º –– perfect medium.
When everything is heated though taste for seasoning and add salt and pepper if needed, serve with noodles, rice or potatoes. Sprinkle with parsley and celery tops (I love the flavor of celery tops, originally, they were what was used and the bottoms were tossed!).
* There are those who do not like the gray scum that veal can generate. If that bothers you, put the veal in a skillet and cover with water. Bring to a low boil for 2 minutes and then strain and rinse the veal. I did not do this step since I was more into the texture and the cloudy stock didn’t seem important in the velouté.

** Alisha at D'Artagnan said she made this dish with veal cheeks. I read up on them and found that about 4 pounds cleaned of silverskin would give you about the right amount. They would cook for a few hours till tender (it may be 4 or 5 hours on a slow heat). You would skip my additional step.