Galantine of Veal.—Bone completely either a shoulder or breast of veal, removing the skin and most of the fat. Pare the flesh off to get it level, and mince this with a little more veal and an equal quantity of fat bacon or ham, seasoning it generously with salt, pepper, and grated nutmeg (if liked), spread this farce, which should be very finely minced (or even pounded), over the veal, and on it lay strips of ham, cooked tongue, mushrooms, or truffles, and blanched almonds or pistachios; spread a very thin layer of the farce over this, roll up the veal lengthways, very tightly, tieing it into shape with broad tapes, and then rolling it in a clean cloth or a piece of butter muslin; lay it in a pan that will hold it nicely, with a sliced carrot or two, one or more onions (one stuck with three or four cloves,) some pieces of bacon rind, a good bouquet (thyme, parsley
bayleaf, green onion, lemon peel, etc.), and enough light stock, or equal parts of stock and white wine, to cover it. Bring it to the boil, then draw it to the side, and keep it simmering slowly and steadily for three hours or more till tender. Now lift it out, and let it cool in the cloth for a little; when nearly cold remove the cloth and put the galantine between two dishes under weights till perfectly cold. Meanwhile strain the liquor, and put it into a pan over a sharp fire with the well whipped whites of two or three eggs, and keep it stirred till it boils up, when you cover it down tightly and let it simmer steadily for half an hour; then strain, and as it is setting (it will be a stiff jelly) use it to paint over the galantine. This may manifestly be varied to taste. Some cooks use sausage meat instead of the veal, whilst others again add the contents of a tin of pâté de foie gras truffé to the veal and ham farce, etc. But the principle is always the same.
The preceding is the galantine reduced to its simplest form. A somewhat more ornate and fuller recipe is the following:
Galantine of Veal.—Take a piece of breast of veal, about twelve to fourteen inches long; bone and trim it carefully, removing all gristle and superfluous fat, as well as some of the meat (about 1lb.). Take the meat and half a pound of fat bacon; pound together in a mortar, season with powdered spice, sweet herbs, pepper and salt to taste, then pass the mixture through a wire sieve. Cut ½lb. of boiled tongue in pieces about an inch square; cut half a dozen truffles, each into three or four pieces. Lay
the prepared breast of veal skin downwards on the table, sprinkle it with pepper, salt, and powdered spices; lay the pounded meat, the truffles, and the tongue on it, then roll it up neatly as a rolypoly pudding, and tie it up tightly in a cloth. Put all the trimmings and bones of the breast into a saucepan large enough to hold the galantine, add a calf's foot cut in pieces, the trimmings of the bacon (they must be perfectly sweet), two or three onions, and two carrots cut in pieces, a clove of garlic, a bunch of sweet herbs (thyme, marjoram, parsley, and bayleaf), cloves, whole pepper, mace, and salt in proportions, according to taste. Fill up with such a quantity of cold water as will leave room for the galantine to be put in. Set the saucepan on the fire, and when the contents boil put in the galantine. Let it boil gently without interruption from two to two and a half hours. Then lift it out, put it on a plate, and when it has cooled a little take off the cloth, tie it up afresh, and lay it between two dishes, with a moderate weight upon it, to remain till cold.
Care must be taken in this last operation that the “seam” of the galantine be made to come undermost. When quite cold undo the cloth, glaze the galantine, and garnish it with savoury jelly made from the liquor in which it was boiled.
A galantine of fowl is made in pretty much the same way as follows:
Bone the fowl and lay it out flat on the table or mincing board, getting it as even as possible; the meat removed from the legs can be used for this, and
if you are using an old fowl (which is generally taken for galantine, as the long cooking makes it tender), pass this meat once or twice through the mincer before using it for this purpose. Flatten the meat with a wetted roller, and after pulling in the loose flesh or skin, get it into as trim a shape as you can. Now spread all over it a layer of delicately prepared sausage meat (4oz. white breadcrumbs, a good teaspoonful of salt, and about half that of white pepper, to each pound of lean pork), being careful to keep this farce a little within the edge of the meat; on this lay strips of rather fat bacon, ham, tongue, and sliced hard-boiled egg, and some sliced truffles or mushrooms if at hand, and cover this again with the sausage mixture; now roll it up very tightly longways, being careful to keep the farce well inside. Next roll this all up as tightly as you possibly can in a clean wet cloth, tie up the ends well, and fasten it round with broad tape to keep it in a nice bolster shape. Simmer it very gently (allowing forty minutes to the pound) till done, when you lift it out and leave it to press between two dishes under heavy weights. If on lifting it out of the pan the cloth looks wrinkled, take it off, re-roll the galantine, and then put it to press as described above. When perfectly cold remove the cloth, wipe the galantine to take off any fat that may be adhering to it, brush it all over with just liquid aspic jelly, and serve garnished with chopped aspic round it. An old turkey is made into a galantine in precisely the same way. Mutton makes an excellent galantine, if treated in this