Ironically, I wish there were more restaurants cooking with mutton, but the exigencies of the market mean that lamb is so much more readily available. It also cooks far more quickly, and it’s a quicker turn-around for the farmer. So we have to endure so many raw lamb cutlets. But there are certain dishes where lamb really does not do the recipe justice. In the same way, a battery hen is not a cockerel in texture and near dissolves in a proper coq au vin.
Another false option that we consumers are led into with little choice or knowledge are veal dishes. Countless Italian restaurants have veal items, and you know what – it’s usually beef, at best “baby” beef, not veal. At worst, it’s pork or even chicken passed off as veal. Veal is immature beef that has not yet fed on grass. That is how the category is defined. Problem is, no-one is really raising veal, it’s better business to grow the animal a little bigger, let it graze a little, and then you get more “veal” from it. (More on veal here.)
At a recent tasting of the real thing at Overture, Jenny and John, farmers who transposed themselves here from the UK and now farm outside Robertson, introduced a group of us to their true veal. As ever, there is a palpable difference in texture and flavour between the authentic item and the knock-off. It was most apparent in the liver – this veal liver was delicate and lacking overt “liverishness”.
As British dairy farmers, they also realised that we in SA are being sold rubbish as “clotted cream” – so they’re thinking of making this too. It’s quite a process of heating and evaporation, and it’s again a drag for commercial operations (which is why we don’t get it), but the result is unique.
At the moment, their produce is geared for the trade, if you’re interested, contact Sue or Ross at Wild Peacock: www.wildpeacock.co.za
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4 Comments
There are certain things I just cannot justify eating, and veal is high on my list just under shark fin and fois gras. I don’t want to sound too much like a hippy tree-hugger, but there are so many delicious ingredients out there, why do we have to choose ones that involve cruelty to animals?
Alice, a few points are worth making in response. Pretty much all commercial animal husbandry is cruel to some degree, so choosing to eat meat is a choice to partake and an acceptance of culpability. For example, the dairy industry (which is usually the source of veal), accelerates the maturation of cows and then keeps them in a near-permanent state of lactation (not exactly normal) and in pens that are not our idea of heaven. This exacts its toll on the animal, and they “wear out” quickly in terms of usefulness to the industry. So using milk or cheese means involvement.
Bull calves from this dairy industry are the usual source of veal meat, they don’t otherwise have much “use” since they can’t be milked. There are differences in the “kindness” in the husbandry of veal calves, and one can find out how humanely they are kept. Of course the chicken industry is famously cruel, even “free range” often means little more than exposure to a few more metres and some sunlight – not the rolling hills we imagine.
Pardon my ignorance, but I was under the impression that milk fed veal was illegal in SA. I am no bunny hugger and love foie gras, veal, ect. Just always thought that proper veal (white meat) was not allowed in SA. Please correct me if I am wrong!
Congrats to Bertus and his team for running one of the best restaurants in SA!
Ronnie, I cannot find any reference to its illegality. And since farmers are supplying it to market I assume it is legal, but if anyone has further information?