Minced Veal with Béchamel Sauce is a traditional British recipe, based on Mrs Beeton's recipe of 1861, for a classic dish of the remains of a fillet of veal that's diced, cooked in Béchamel sauce and served garnished with forcemeat balls and fried sippets of bread. The full recipe is presented here and I hope you enjoy this classic British version of: Minced Veal with Béchamel Sauce.
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This is a traditional British recipe redacted from the redoubtable Mrs Beeton's 1861 volume Mrs Beeton's Book of Household Management, the classic Victorian cookbook.
Original Recipe
MINCED VEAL, with Béchamel Sauce (Cold Meat Cookery).
(Very Good.)
889. INGREDIENTS.—The remains of a fillet of veal, 1 pint of Béchamel sauce No. 367, 1/2 teaspoonful of minced lemon-peel, forcemeat balls.
Mode.—Cut—but do not chop—a few slices of cold roast veal as finely as possible, sufficient to make rather more than 1 lb., weighed after being minced. Make the above proportion of Béchamel, by recipe No. 367; add the lemon-peel, put in the veal, and let the whole gradually warm through. When it is at the point of simmering, dish it, and garnish with forcemeat balls and fried sippets of bread.
Time.—To simmer 1 minute.
Average cost, exclusive of the cold meat, 1s. 4d.
Sufficient for 5 or 6 persons.
Seasonable from March to October.
Modern Redaction
Ingredients:
remains of a roast fillet of veal
600ml Béchamel sauce
1/2 tsp finely-grated lemon zest
forcemeat balls
Method:
Trim off the meat from the fillet. Slice the veal as thinly as possible (ideally you should have 500g) then cut into strips and cut the strips into very small dice. Prepare the Béchamel sauce, according to the recipe.
Combine the sauce, lemon zest and veal and allow to heat through until the meat is warm. When the mixture is just barely simmering, turn into a dish. Garnish with forcemeat balls and fried sippets of bread. Serve immediately.
