What Is Veal?

What is veal? I just assumed everyone knew. And it still surprises me how often I get asked that question.

Veal comes from a very young calf (beef). The young meat is very prized because it’s very tender and delicate.

Veal is either milk-fed or grass-fed.

A young calf raised solely on its mother’s milk will be mildly flavored, very pale and of course very expensive.

A calf that’s grass-fed will be slightly tougher with a stronger flavor. Obviously it’s going to be less expensive. The meat from a grass-fed calf is used as stewing veal.

Above is a simple diagram showing where each cut comes from.

This link will take you to a chart for MINIMUM INTERNAL COOKING TEMPERATURE

And below I have created a list of veal cuts (American) and the best way of cooking them. Of course, we’ll soon have some great recipes to go along with some of our favorite cuts of meat.

Boiling: (bo)   Broiling: (b)   Braising: (br)

Roasting: (r)   Frying: (f)   Stewing: (st)   Ground: (g)

Veal Shoulder

The shoulder area provides the following cuts:

Blade Roast, (br) (r)

Arm Roast, (br) (r)

Veal Rib Section

The rib area provides the following cuts:

Rib Chop, (f) (br)

Rib Roast, (r)

Veal Loin Section

The loin area provides the following cuts:

Loin Chop, (f) (br)

Loin Roast, (r)

Sirloin Roast, (r)

Escalopes (f)

Veal Leg Butt Section

The leg butt area provides the following cuts:

Boneless Rump Roast (r) (br)

Rump Roast, (r) (br)

Veal Breast And Flank Sections

The breast and flank areas provide the following cuts:

Riblets, (br) (st)

Breast, (br) (r)

Veal Leg Shank And Shank Section

The leg shank and shank areas provide the following cuts:

Round Roast, (br) (r)

Shank (br) (st)

I used to eat veal from time to time.  The meat is indeed very tender.  In a low carb diet, the higher the fat content the better.  So for economical reasons, why would I buy a cut of meat that's so lean when I could have a nice fatty steak at 1/2 the price.  Just sayin'!

It is a great cut of meat for entertaining though, so it's not like I'm never going to have it again.  It'll just be for "special".

In the meantime, I will share my low carb veal recipes with you soon.  Just have a peak at my beef recipes from time to time.  I'm always adding new ones. 

Let's go HOME from What Is Veal.