Good source of veal in Chicago in winter?

I love to prepare Veau Marengo ( a veal stew with tomatoes, onions, mushrooms and olives in white wine) but I have a hard time to find a good source of "white" veal that will not render lots of water and shrink a lot when sauteed.
Strauss and Chiappeti veal are not what they used to be. Any suggestion?

No suggestions (will be interested to find out too), but what time and where is dinner?

Mary

agilejacks wrote:No suggestions (will be interested to find out too), but what time and where is dinner?

My reaction too, Mary!... lol... Veal Marengo is a wonderful dish and one which I haven't had in many, many years...

Alain -- I'm afraid I too am unable to offer specific advice... Chiappetti was for many years a top source for veal here and a supplier for many other businesses, so I'm disappointed to hear you think they've gone downhill a bit...

I myself don't eat much veal these days for various reasons (shocking admission for an Italian)... but one of the reasons is that when I want to eat veal, I want to eat really good veal and I don't seem to frequent shops where the veal looks 'great'...

When the City Noor butcher shop was alive and well, perhaps on account of their considerable Balkan clientele (Bosnian in part...Arabs probably don't eat much veal traditionally!), they carried very good halal veal and there were certain cuts I would buy there with some regularity... But they've been out of business for some time now... In any event, I wonder whether some other such 'ethnic' butcher shop is around that might do the trick for you... Just a thought... I'm guessing you've already checked in with places like Paulina and Fox & Obel...

A

Although I don't buy veal very often, I'm always tempted by to good looking stuff in the butcher case at E & M in Northbrook.

Elegance in Meats
3135 Dundee Rd
Northbrook, IL 60062
(847) 480-6328

I'm not a veal connoisseur, but you might try Mint Creek Farm's grass fed Rose veal. Available at the Green City Market.

if you are hardcore, you could pick up a baby bull calf at a local dairy farm for virtually nothing.

Darren72 wrote:I'm not a veal connoisseur, but you might try Mint Creek Farm's grass fed Rose veal. Available at the Green City Market.

Also, Sundays @ the Logan Sq Mrkt

Perhaps Strauss is not too your liking because their veal is from pastured animals.

teatpuller wrote:if you are hardcore, you could pick up a baby bull calf at a local dairy farm for virtually nothing.

You may be interested to learned bull meat is favored by Vienna Sausage. They now have challenges sourcing bull, because bulls are so quickly harvested after birth.

Regards,

Vital Information wrote:

Darren72 wrote:I'm not a veal connoisseur, but you might try Mint Creek Farm's grass fed Rose veal. Available at the Green City Market.

Also, Sundays @ the Logan Sq Mrkt

Perhaps Strauss is not too your liking because their veal is from pastured animals.

hmm, I have not seen Mint Creek at either of the last 2 Logan Square markets.

Thanks to all for your comments and suggestions.
I used to buy my veal stew at Paulina Market. It was decent enough meat from Wisconsin, but since they were bought by one their employeees, their prices, including veal, have become prohibitive for my meager budget.
Northbrook is a little far away to go buy 1 and 1/2 Lbs of veal stew ( I make it for my wife and myself...)
Mint Creek sells good stuff, but most of the time fozen, and it's very expensive.
I think therefore that I will continue to buy my veal stew from Strauss at Farm Fresh International in Niles. It is OK, but not always white enough for my taste, but at least it does not render gallons of water when you saute it, and at least quite inexpensive veal from Wisconsin

Kennyz wrote:

Vital Information wrote:

Darren72 wrote:I'm not a veal connoisseur, but you might try Mint Creek Farm's grass fed Rose veal. Available at the Green City Market.

Also, Sundays @ the Logan Sq Mrkt

Perhaps Strauss is not too your liking because their veal is from pastured animals.

hmm, I have not seen Mint Creek at either of the last 2 Logan Square markets.

They better be there this weekend to deliver my meat CSA

Thanks for posting this question, it is a great one. My name is Lori Dunn. I oversee animal compassion for Strauss Brands veal. I would like to give you some insight into what you are seeing on the store shelves.

Unfortunately, for years, the veal industry has incorrectly educated consumers that white veal is the "best" and "highest quality". What they didn't tell you is that a veal calf naturally a red-meat animal (mammal) and that to make the veal white the calves are forced to exist on an iron-deficient diet. Iron deficiency causes anemia, which leads to illness and excessive antibiotics usage.

We believe our consumers and our calves deserve better. That is why we work with our local family farmers to raise our calves humanely - never tethered and group raised. Strauss and, ironically, Chiappetti, are the only veal companies in the US to have made this committment. The result is dramatically healthier calves, healthier product, and veal you can feel good about. Just as a homegrown tomatoe is richer in color, nutrients and bursting with flavor, so is humanely raised veal.

I hope that you will agree that a slight richer color is worth the trade-off of a healthier, more humanely raised animal. If you wish to really try the best of the best, go to your local Whole Foods Market where you can purchase our pasture raised veal - Strauss Free Raised. Simply put, Free Raised calves are born and raised in the pasture, just as veal was raised centuries ago. Mother's milk, pasture grass and naturally antibiotic free. This is my personal favorite because the flavor and tenderness is phenomal. This product is so good, Oprah, the Today Show, Food & Wine, and The Chicago Trib have all featured it (alogn with others). To learn more about our committed to humane raising, and our product lines, please visit www.freeraised.com.

Thank you, and I hope you enjoy your veal marengo -
Lori Dunn
Strauss Brands

PS - we work hard to keep our veal an affordable for all - thanks for taking note.

Hi,

Are their any Chicago sources for veal knuckles or veal breast at reasonable prices?

Tim

I am pretty sure that I saw a sign in the window of Andy's Fruit Ranch advertising veal breast recently. Definitely call ahead, though, and don't take my word for it.

Although prices may not be low, I am sure Whole Foods will have them, or be able to get them on short notice.

Andy's Fruit Ranch
www.andysfruitranch.com
4733 North Kedzie Avenue (near Lawrence)
Chicago, IL 60625-4420
(773) 583-2322

alain40 wrote:I think therefore that I will continue to buy my veal stew from Strauss at Farm Fresh International in Niles.

I saw veal for scallopini at Fresh Farms/Niles yesterday.

For special requests and/or questions I'd suggest a call to John Christakes manager of Fresh Farms/Niles meat department. I have found John to be both customer service oriented and knowledgeable.

Regards,
Gary

Fresh Farms
5740 W Touhy Ave
Niles, IL 60714
847-779-7343

ldunn wrote:Thanks for posting this question, it is a great one. My name is Lori Dunn. I oversee animal compassion for Strauss Brands veal. I would like to give you some insight into what you are seeing on the store shelves.

Unfortunately, for years, the veal industry has incorrectly educated consumers that white veal is the "best" and "highest quality". What they didn't tell you is that a veal calf naturally a red-meat animal (mammal) and that to make the veal white the calves are forced to exist on an iron-deficient diet. Iron deficiency causes anemia, which leads to illness and excessive antibiotics usage.

We believe our consumers and our calves deserve better. That is why we work with our local family farmers to raise our calves humanely - never tethered and group raised. Strauss and, ironically, Chiappetti, are the only veal companies in the US to have made this committment. The result is dramatically healthier calves, healthier product, and veal you can feel good about. Just as a homegrown tomatoe is richer in color, nutrients and bursting with flavor, so is humanely raised veal.

I hope that you will agree that a slight richer color is worth the trade-off of a healthier, more humanely raised animal. If you wish to really try the best of the best, go to your local Whole Foods Market where you can purchase our pasture raised veal - Strauss Free Raised. Simply put, Free Raised calves are born and raised in the pasture, just as veal was raised centuries ago. Mother's milk, pasture grass and naturally antibiotic free. This is my personal favorite because the flavor and tenderness is phenomal. This product is so good, Oprah, the Today Show, Food & Wine, and The Chicago Trib have all featured it (alogn with others). To learn more about our committed to humane raising, and our product lines, please visit http://www.freeraised.com.

Thank you, and I hope you enjoy your veal marengo -
Lori Dunn
Strauss Brands

PS - we work hard to keep our veal an affordable for all - thanks for taking note.

Lori -

Many thanks for writing in and passing along this information. As I mentioned in my post above, I have been eating little veal in recent years and vaguely said that I was eating less of it "for various reasons." The primary reason has been concerns about the treatment of the animals, though the other reasons (generally reduction of meat in our diet, cost and quality of the veal available) are not negligible.

Perhaps it would help for you to get your information seen by more LTHers if you started a thread in the "Professional Forum" with a post about the quality of your meat and your more humane treatment of the animals.

Thanks again.

Antonius

Dear Mr. Dunn,

Thank you so much for that very useful information. I duly took a note of it and it will certainly influence my future purchases of veal.
My reason for liking a lighter hue in veal meat is simply due to the fact that as a European I have been eating mainly milk-fed veal that you can still find at good butcher shops in Paris. But in September, while there I wanted precisely to prepare a Veal Marengo and had to give up this idea because of the vertiginous cost of that kind of veal at my old neighborhood butcher shop.
I buy Strauss veal at Fresh Farms in Niles, where as Antonius rightly said, the Meat Dept. is managed efficiently by John Christakes, a very nice and competent man of Greek origin who knows his suppliers.
I'll try the Strauss veal at Whole Foods.

Hi,

Everytime I think of Veau Marengo, Napoleon and the Battle of Marengo pops up in my mind. I remember watching Julia Child prepare it on The French Chef. She topped it with fried eggs. I have also read where people serve it with scrambled eggs. How do you prepare your eggs for Veau Marengo?

Regards,

Alain -

There is a useful distinction made in Italian but lacking (so far as I know) in every-day English between vitello and vitellone, the former being the meat, very pale in colour and delicate of flavour, of very young calves which have only been, as you alluded to, milk-fed. Vitellone is from older but still young animals (maybe a year or a year and a half old), slaughtered after they have been weened and started to graze for some months. I have the impression that for a long time now only the latter -- vitellone -- is regularly available here in the States.

Antonius

Antonius,

Thank you for reminding me of the difference between the 2 types of veal in Italy. I had totally forgotten it but I remember that I learned about it many years back in a bistro not too far from the Duomo in Milano when I asked the waiter, that had served me very delicious and tender scallopini, how they managed to find such a tender and white meat. He explained the whole story to me in broken English.

Cathy: It is true that the "veau Marengo" recipe was improvised by Monsieur Dunand, Napoleon Bonaparte's chef, in the evening after the battle of Marengo, where all he could find was veal, tomatoes, onions, and I beieve olives.
There are many variations for Veal Marengo recipes. Most of them use mirepoix, or finely diced carrots.
Personally, I do not use carrots. I sauté the well-dried cubes of veal (about 1.5 Lb of raw veal for two persons) in a cocotte Le Creuset, where I have already sauteed chopped garlic and onions, then I add the content of a large can of peeled San Marzano tomatoes, seeded and coarsely chopped, add salt and freshly ground black pepper, and dried thyme and 2 small bay leaves, add a Tb of corn starch diluted in water. I stir he whole thing and pour 1 cup of low salt chicken broth and 1 cup of dry white winein it. Then I add 1 and a half TB of good quality tomato paste. I cover the pot and let that stew cook slowly for about one hour and a half. Then I add about 12 good quality canned (better than fresh ones for that dish) white mushrooms, sliced, and sometimes 12 green olives.
Then I cook the stew for 30 more minutes, the last 15 uncovered to allow the sauce to reduce.
Garnish with freshly chopped parsley and serve with tagliatelle or even better farfalle.

I read about some people adding a fried egg. But personally I never seen that addition to the recipe in any French bistro. And I would never think of adding that strange ingredient to a stew.

Lori Dunn.
Sorry for having (by simple distraction) written Mr. instead of Ms. in front of your name.

Alain

alain40 wrote:Antonius,
Cathy: It is true that the "veau Marengo" recipe was improvised by Monsieur Dunand, Napoleon Bonaparte's chef, in the evening after the battle of Marengo, where all he could find was veal, tomatoes, onions, and I beieve olives.
There are many variations for Veal Marengo recipes. Most of them use mirepoix, or finely diced carrots.
Personally, I
Alain

Not exactly. According to Larousse Gastronomique, Dunand created the dish with a small hen, three eggs, four tomatoes, and six crayfish, using brandy borrowed from the General's flask.

Thank you for correcting my historical imperfections. This explains that strange sorry about adding eggs to the dish that I had never heard of before.