Blanquette de Veau
White veal stew: meat poached gently in stock with carrots and aromatics, the cooking liquid then thickened with cream, butter and egg yolks into a velvety pale sauce. Old-school French home cooking; gentle, restorative, the antithesis of a brown braise.
Overview
Veal shoulder or breast simmers in white stock with onion, carrot and bouquet garni until tender. The strained stock is reduced and bound with a cream-yolk liaison; mushrooms and pearl onions cooked separately go in at the end. Served with rice or buttered noodles.
Ingredients
Veal
- 1 kg veal shoulder (or breast, cut into 4 cm cubes)
- 1 ½ litres white veal (or chicken stock, cold)
- 1 onion (whole, studded with 4 cloves)
- 1 carrot (split lengthways)
- 1 leek (white part)
- 1 Bouquet Garni (thyme, parsley, bay)
- ½ teaspoon white peppercorns
- Salt
Garnish
- 200 g pearl onions (or small shallots)
- 250 g button mushrooms
- 30 g unsalted butter
- 1 tablespoon caster sugar
Sauce
- 50 g unsalted butter
- 50 g plain flour
- 200 ml double cream
- 2 egg yolks (large)
- 1 tablespoon lemon juice
- A grating of nutmeg
- salt
- pepper
Method
Stage 1 - Poach the veal
- Place the veal in a large pan; cover with the cold stock.
- Bring slowly to the boil. Skim the scum that rises (this is the "white" of blanquette).
- Add the onion, carrot, leek, bouquet garni and peppercorns. Season lightly.
- Simmer very gently for 1 ¼-1 ½ hours, or until the veal is fork-tender. Don't let it boil hard or the meat firms up.
Stage 2 - Garnish
- While the veal cooks, blanch the pearl onions for 2 minutes; peel.
- Melt 30 g butter in a frying pan. Add the onions, sugar and a splash of water. Cook gently 10-12 minutes until glazed.
- Add the mushrooms; cook another 5 minutes. Set aside.
Stage 3 - Make the sauce
- Lift the veal out and cover; discard the vegetables and bouquet garni. Strain the stock and reduce to about 800 ml over high heat.
- Melt the 50 g of butter in a clean pan. Whisk in the flour and cook for 1 minute.
- Pour in the reduced stock gradually, whisking until smooth.
- Simmer 5 minutes; the sauce should coat the back of a spoon.
Stage 4 - Liaison
- Whisk the egg yolks with the cream in a bowl.
- Ladle a couple of tablespoons of hot sauce into the cream-yolk mixture, whisking (this tempers the eggs).
- Pour the tempered mixture back into the sauce, whisking. Don't boil after this point or the eggs scramble.
- Add the lemon juice, nutmeg, salt and white pepper.
Stage 5 - Combine and serve
- Return the veal, pearl onions and mushrooms to the sauce. Warm through gently.
- Serve over plain rice or buttered tagliatelle.
Notes
- Skim well, often: The "white" comes from a clean stock. Don't skip the skimming.
- Don't boil after the liaison: Egg yolks scramble at 80°C. Keep the heat very low after they go in.
- White stock matters: A standard brown chicken stock will tint the sauce beige. Use a pale homemade stock or a low-colour shop one.
Storage
- Keeps 2 days refrigerated. Reheat very gently, never boiling.
- Doesn't freeze well; the cream-yolk sauce splits.
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