Veal Chops - A First Time for Everything

Prior to my veal chop endeavor, I had never cooked any veal of any kind ever.  Some of you may be thinking that there was a deeper reason for not having prepared veal.  Perhaps I was taking a political stand, or didn't like veal that much, or simply never got around to it.  The truth is I was simply afraid I'd mess it up.  You see, I enjoy veal at restaurants immensely.  Veal Parmigiana is a common order of mine at a fine Italian Restaurant, as are Veal Saltimbocca, Osso Bucco and Veal Piccata.  But make it on my own?  Now that's bold.

Insert my 2014 quest to cook everything in Paulina's main case, and veal will be on order several times this year.  So, instead of attempting one of the aforementioned veal dishes I enjoy so much in restaurants, I opted to go all-in, and make a cut I don't believe I've ever had: Pan Seared Roasted Veal Chops with polenta.  It's been several days since I made this, and my mouth is watering all over again.

As far as recipes are concerned, things don't get much easier than this one.  I let the chops come to room temperature for about an hour, coated them with a mixture of kosher salt, fresh cracked pepper, olive oil, garlic and fresh chopped rosemary.  See exact measurements here.  I seared them golden brown on both sides using an olive oil coated cast iron skillet.  Put them into a roasting pan and roasted them (I did convection roast at 350) for about 12 minutes.  It really depends on the thickness of the cuts, the size of the bones and your preferred meat temperature.  I landed on Medium Rare and in hindsight, would have preferred a bit closer to Medium Rare Plus or even Medium.  That was due mostly to the size and thickness of the cuts from Paulina, which were delightfully tasteful but a tough gauge when comparing to the cooking time of lamer cuts of the same variety.  But I don't need to preach about my fan club status of Paulina Market.  It's well known enough already.

Along the side, I prepared a very simply polenta.  I've used this recipe for years, generally combining with Italian Sausage with Peppers, but it works really well as an alternative to mashed potatoes for any meals calling for a starch.  And slightly behind my love of all things meat, is my love of all things corn.  Corn Muffins (anyone know a good Corn Muffin in Chicago?  Is that an East Coast thing?), Corn Bread, Corn Meal Crusted Bacon (Yep, go to Toronto and you'll know what I'm talking about), etc.  Anyhow, this polenta recipe is solid.

Out came the veal chops.  I rested them for a few minutes under foil, and then served adjacent to a small bed of polenta.  I laid a fresh sprig of rosemary on them, and check it out....restaurant quality presentation!!!  And restaurant quality!!!

13 Down, 45 To Go!