Sasha's Kitchen: Cabernet-Fig Glazed Veal Chops

Recently I've been exploring Bobby Flay's cookbook, Bar Americain, the newest addition to my always growing family of cookbooks.  A couple weeks ago, I made cabernet-fig glazed veal chops with his green chile spoonbread, which was a great Saturday night meal.  The main course and the side dish went together perfectly, and paired nicely with a lovely cabernet sauvignon from St Francis Winery that I had received two bottles of to sample a while back - a fantastic, deep tannic cabernet.  I'll write up the side dish soon, but for this post, I will share the main course, which was the perfect pairing for the St. Francis wine.  Bobby suggests in his cookbook making the recipe and the glaze for four veal porterhouse chops.  Instead, we made two boneless veal chops - and it was amazing.


Bobby Flay's Veal Chops with Fig Cabernet Vinegar Glaze
2 cups cabernet sauvignon
8 dried figs, halved
1 quart store bought veal stock or high quality chicken stock
2 shallots, finely diced
2 T balsamic vinegar
1 T honey
salt and pepper
2 14 oz boneless veal chops of veal porterhouse chops
2 T canola oil
parsley (for garnish)

To make the glaze, bring one cup of the wine  to a simmer. Removed from heat and add the chopped figs.  Allow to seep while you prepare the rest of the glaze.

Put the stock in a saucepan and bring to a boil.  It's important to use high quality chicken or veal stock, or it won't caramelize naturally in the proper way when you reduce it.  Cook until reduced to half to two cups, for about 15 minutes.  Add the shallots and remaining one cup of wine and continue cooking over high heat until reduced to a sauce consistency, about 25 minutes.  Stir in the vinegar and honey and fig mixture.  Keep warm and serve over the veal.

Season the veal chops with salt and pepper.  Grill on both sides in a grill pan until golden brown and slightly charred, about five minutes.   Ladle the glaze overtop.  Recipe for the side dish green chile spoonbread is coming soon!

Sasha's Kitchen: Cabernet-Fig Glazed Veal Chops

Sasha's Kitchen: Chipotle-Horseradish-Maple Syrup Glazed Veal Chops

Tonight's dinner was a simple meal that was quite enjoyable.  I much prefer the taste of veal to chicken, which is generally my least favorite meat.  However, veal chops can be expensive and often dissapointing because they are usually too fatty and require quite a bit of work to get to the meat around the bone in the chop.  Tonight, I was able to prepare an excellent veal entree using boneless veal chops that I purchased online from Fresh Direct.  Most of the meats I have ordered from Fresh Direct over the years have been high quality and reasonably priced.  Thus, this is an excellent source of meat in the New York area.

Tonight's veal recipe was inspired by one of my favorite Food Network chefs, Bobby Flay from his Mesa Grill Cookbook.  However, I modified the recipe by adding the smokiness of chipotle.

Marinade:

1/2 cup maple syrup
2 T dijon mustard
2 T gold's horseradish
2 tsp chipotle
1 T ancho chile powder

Coat four veal chops in oil, salt and pepper. Grill the chops on medium-high on a grill pan for about five minutes (adjusting the time depending on the size of the veal chops).  Turn over the veal chops and reduce the heat to medium for seven to nine minutes, covering the chops with an aluminim foil tent.   Glaze the veal chops with the marinade about three minutes before they are done cooking, using a pastry brush. Voila, an easy and delicious veal dish! This is a great dish to make if like me, you had a long day but still want to cook, yet don't have hours to spend preparing the perfect meal.

Sasha's Kitchen: Chipotle-Horseradish-Maple Syrup Glazed Veal Chops