how do you get your veal cutlet tender?
I made some for the first time today for dinner- they had a great taste but were very dry. They were dredged in parmesan cheese, bread crumbs, rosemary mixture (the recipe said you could skip the flour and eggs no problem) and fried in a little oil. I just browned on each side and that was it. Any advice would be greatly appreciated. Thanks!
twinmommy
Feb 11, 2005 08:34PM
Sounds like you overcooked them, which dried out the meat.
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You need to make sure they are pounded thin and cook them for no more than 30 seconds per side in an extremely hot pan, otherwise they will indeed get tough.
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Oh man, I definitely overcooked them then. I didn't pound them as they were already thin. The recipe said no more than five minutes total and that the pan should be hot enough for the oil to be sizzling, so I did about 2 minutes per side over medium high heat. I've liked the other recipes from this cookbook- I wonder why the author would recommend that length of time??? Thanks.
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I use Marcella Hazan's method which is why the quick cooking over high heat. I've experimented a bit with them myself and find that pounding them to about 1/4" thickness, rather than a thinner cutlet, gives you some "wiggle room" on the cooking time. Veal cutlets these days seem especially lean so I think the faster the cooking time, the better.
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One possible reason for the "extended" cooking time... reducing of liability???
This way, you can't complain if the undercooked beef (or veal, or chicken, etc) contains germies that don't cook out.
Just an idea... today's society is a bit more litigious then before... sadly.
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good point. just look at the recipes for pork in some old cookbooks, where it is to be cooked to a higher temperature for safety reasons. With the lower-fat pork today, following these recipes leads to over-dry, tough pork. Even when braised with liquid.
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If they did not specify the thickness of the veal cutlets, it may be that they are using a thicker cut. There is a great deal of variation across butchers in the thickness of veal cutlets. Of course, you can always pound them thinner, but the book ma have been using a thichker and less pounded cut.
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The book specified 1/4 inch thick. The cutlets looked to be about that so I didn't pound them any thinner. I guess I'll just have to experiment w/ cooking times until I get a feel for it, but w/ the price of veal cutlets it's going to be expensive experimentation! Thanks for the feedback.
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