2021 Tour de France - Stage 19: Mourenx to Libourne
Today is the last day in Gascony. I figured I’d save the most Gascon dish for the last moment, much like Mark Cavendish waits until the very last moment to spring his attacks. Will the Manx Missile be able to make history today for the most stage wins in Tour de France history? Now that we’re out of the mountains, we can find out, but there are only 3 more days of racing!
Now, back to the dish. When I say sweetbreads what do you think of? Not sweet breads, but sweetbreads. I never really knew precisely what it was, but I knew it was not sweet and had nothing to do with bread! But, like bread, the way to prepare this item takes time and care. So what are they anyway? Sweetbreads are the thymus gland and pancreas; yep, offal...not awful (it’s homonym), but the other name for innards.
As you may imagine, something that is an organ involves a process to make it palatable. There is soaking (to remove traces of blood), blanching, trimming, then pressing (squeezing the sweetbreads back down to original size after expanding during boiling), followed by a little more trimming, then you have to cook them! I special ordered my sweetbreads from Vincent’s Meat Market in Bronx, NY. They were processed and shipped fresh, on ice packs and in a thermal package, not frozen. They were top-notch. I opened the package (worried about the smell), but it smelled akin to when you open a package of chicken. As I soaked them they took on a different smell, one I was familiar with but had to keep smelling the offal to determine: that joyous summertime sparkler smell from my youth! The rest is history. This dish was rich and delicious and much like a very elevated chicken pot pie with amazing flavor depth. This is something you could make on a very special occasion and to impress your guests.
Ris de Veau à La Landaise adapted from French Regional Food, Joël Robuchon (Makes 6 appetizer portions)
1 lb veal sweetbreads
6 tsp champagne vinegar
10 oz white button mushrooms
5 tbsp butter
Juice from half a lemon
1.5 tbsp flour
1/2 cup dry white wine
1 tbsp heavy cream (if needed)
1 large shallot, minced
1 carrot, peeled and diced fine
1 package of frozen puff-pastry cups
1 tbsp Madeira
1/3 cup crème fraiche
Superfine sugar (if needed)
Olive oil or melted butter
Chives
The evening before you make the dish, soak the sweetbreads in a bowl of water with 2 tsp of vinegar, for a total of three hours. Drain and refill with fresh water and more vinegar every hour. Drain and reserve.
Bring a pot of water to a boil and drop the sweetbreads in. Meanwhile, wash out the soaking bowl and fill with ice water. After the sweetbreads have simmered for 3 minutes, transfer them from the boiling water to the ice water bath. Let them rest for about 5 minutes to stop the cooking. Drain and place on a cutting board and trim away bulbous-fatty pieces, sinew, or gristle, being careful not to penetrate the membrane which holds the sweetbreads together. Just trim off the excess.
Lay a hand towel on a large, flat plate. Place the sweetbreads on the towel and fold over the excess on top of the sweetbreads. Place another plate on top and something heavy on the top plate to weigh it down to press the sweetbreads flat. I used a brick. Place in the fridge and let it compress for about 18 hours.
When ready to make the dish, clean the mushrooms and slice in half if small, but in quarters if large. Melt 4 tsp of butter in a pot over medium-low heat. Add in the lemon juice and stir in the mushrooms. Cover the pot and cook until softened and take on color, shaking the pan periodically, for about 20-30 minutes. Set aside when done.
Meanwhile, preheat the oven to 425. In a saucier, melt 1.5 tbsp of butter, over medium-low heat. Whisk in 1.5 tbsp of flour until dark golden, then pour in the wine and raise the heat to medium, and continue whisking. If the roux is really thick, add in some cream or water to help thin it out. Season with salt and pepper. Cover and set aside.
In a small Dutch oven, or cocotte, melt the remaining butter over medium-low heat. Stir in the shallots and carrots and sauté for about 8 minutes. Meanwhile, remove your sweetbreads from the fridge. Slice them into ½-inch lengths, then into a ½-inch dice. If there are any pieces that won’t separate or are connected by stringy sinew, discard them. Stir the sweetbread pieces into the cooking vegetables and raise the heat to medium. Stir occasionally, until the sweetbreads take on some color, about 10-15 minutes.
Once the rawness has cooked out of the sweetbreads, stir in the mushrooms and their juices, along with the wine-roux. Stir to combine, cover the pot and reduce the heat to low. Cook for 15 minutes, stirring every 5 minutes. Then stir in the madeira and crème fraiche and cook for another 5 minutes. Adjust seasoning as necessary. If the sauce is a little stringent or bitter, add in just a small pinch of sugar.
Meanwhile, place your frozen puff pastry cups into the oven. When they are cooked-up, let them rest on a rack for 5 minutes. Remove the tops, then, using a pastry brush, spread the melted butter or olive oil on the outside of the pastry cups.
To serve, spoon the sweetbread and vegetable mixture into the pastry cups and top with fresh chives.
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Copyright 2021, Brendan McCann, All Rights Reserved.
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