Fricandeau
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
The Fricandeau (plural, fricandeaux) is a traditional French dish, dating back to the sixteenth century. Slices of veal are studded with bacon and slowly braised. Each slice is served whole, and the result is intended to be so tender than it can be cut with a spoon. In the past other meats have been used, but veal is now usual.
The Dictionnaire de l'Académie Française dates the term fricandeau back to the sixteenth century, and says that it derives from fricasser, to make a fricassee.[1] Earlier editions mention beef or rabbit as possible meats, but the current edition mentions only veal.[1] Alexandre Dumas makes reference to fricandeau in his Grand Dictionnaire de cuisine (1873), presenting "Old-fashioned fricandeau – an old recipe that is better than the current way of doing things".[2] Both Dickens and Thackeray were familiar with the dish,[3] as were Abraham Lincoln and Benjamin Disraeli.[4] The dish was taken up in Austria,[5] the Netherlands,[6] Poland,[7] and Switzerland,[8] Eliza Acton gave a recipe for it in her Modern Cookery for Private Families (1845).[9]
The first recorded mention of the word in English was in 1706,[10] and it was still well enough known in Britain for H. W. Fowler to have an entry for it in his Modern English Usage (1926),[11] although it was dropped when Sir Ernest Gowers revised the book in 1965.[12] Auguste Escoffier gave a recipe for fricandeau in his Le Guide culinaire (1903) and Madame Saint-Ange (1927) published a considerably fuller one.[13][14]
Contents
Fricandeaux are slices of veal taken from the noix de veau – broadly the same as the silverside in English butchery or the bottom round in American – cut in the direction of the grain of the meat. Their thickness, according to Escoffier, must not exceed 4 centimetres (1.5 inches). The surface of the meat is beaten to break up the fibres and a larding needle is then used to stud the veal with fatty bacon lardons. The meat is lightly sealed – not browned – in a frying pan with butter.[13] It is then gently braised on the hob in white wine or veal stock or both, together with onions and carrots. When the liquids have reduced to a syrupy consistency the cooking continues in the oven.[14]
The dish was traditionally so tender that it was cut with a spoon rather than a knife.[13] It was at one time usually accompanied by sorrel (oseille), but according to Madame Saint-Ange the herb was believed to cause gout. In her 1927 book she wrote that le fricandeau à l'oseille was:
Dumas took the view that most cooks used too much stock, so that the meat lacked flavour.[2] The gourmet and food writer Curnonsky recommended using cognac instead of white wine.[15]