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Veal Cutlets Piques

Veal cutlets coated with bacon, simmered with carrots, onions, and broth, then baked until browned.

From an old cookbook · modernised transcription
From a historical cookbook (Internet Archive) · 7 ingredients
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Why it works: Carrot and onion are a kitchen classic. They rank in the top 6% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 21,601 recipes. Both carry 2-isopropyl-3-methoxypyrazine, which smells earthy, pea. The science ↓

Veal Cutlets Piques

Oven, in the book's wordsA very slow oven

Ingredients

Directions

The book says “a very slow oven”. The 350°F (175°C) in the steps is the modern equivalent, not the book's own figure.

Prepare and braise

  1. Trim the veal cutlets and lard one side with bacon slices.

  2. Arrange the cutlets in a stew pan covered with minced carrots and onions.

  3. Sprinkle with coarse sea salt and melted butter.

  4. Moisten with clear broth, allowing the jelly to fall on the meat.

  5. Repeat the moistening and let it boil down.

Finish and serve

  1. Finish cooking the cutlets in a 350°F (175°C) oven, basting often with their juices for color.

  2. Dress the cutlets with their strained and skimmed juices.

  3. Serve with a side of puree or tomato sauce.

Recipe from a historical cookbook (Internet Archive).

Transcribed from a scanned cookbook and modernised for today's kitchens. Where the book gave no heat or time, or said "a moderate oven", the temperatures and times here may be modern equivalents rather than the book's own figures.

Explore the science

The flavor team

The pairs that carry this dish. Each one is judged two ways: how much their aromas overlap, and how often cooks already put them together.

  1. Carrot + oniontop 6% of all pairs
    Smell alikemoderate
    Cooked together21,601 recipes

    Shared aroma: 2-isopropyl-3-methoxypyrazine (earthy, pea).

  2. Onion + buttertop 15% of all pairs
    Smell alikemoderate
    Cooked together42,912 recipes

    Shared aroma: decanal (soap, orange peel).

  3. Veal + carrottop 15% of all pairs
    Smell alikelow
    Cooked together3,015 recipes

    Shared aroma: 2-nonenal (fatty, green).

  4. Veal + oniontop 17% of all pairs
    Smell alikelow
    Cooked together6,841 recipes

    Shared aroma: 2,4-decadienal (seaweed).

  5. Veal + buttertop 23% of all pairs
    Smell alikemoderate
    Cooked together9,381 recipes

    Shared aroma: 3-hexenal (apple, fruity).

Ranks compare each pair with 20,000 random ingredient pairs on CompKitchen. How we score pairs

What each ingredient does

Veal cutlets
Form the main body of the dish, becoming tender as they cook slowly in liquid.
Bacon
Adds fat and savory flavor that slowly melts into the lean veal as it cooks.
Butter
Adds richness and helps the cutlets brown and develop color on the surface.
Carrots
Form an aromatic base that sweetens and flavors the cooking juices.
Onions
Form an aromatic base that adds savory depth and sweetness to the cooking juices.
Clear broth
Supplies moisture and gelatin that form a jelly, enriching the meat and the final juices.

The step that matters

Letting the broth boil down. Reducing the broth concentrates its flavor and gelatin so it clings to the meat as a glaze. Too little reduction leaves the juices thin, while too much can scorch or make the sauce overly salty.

Swap the carrot

How well each one fits the dish's main ingredients (veal, onion, butter):

  1. Potatofits better
  2. Leekfits better
  3. Chivefits better
  4. Carrotthe original

Fit is the average pairing score against veal, onion, butter. Candidates are from the same food group and used in at least 100 recipes.

“What each ingredient does” and “The step that matters” were written by Claude from this recipe’s own method and reviewed in samples by CompKitchen.

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