Cutlets Alla Milanese Cooking Recipe – Cotoletta Alla Milanese Recipe
Cutlets alla Milanese is the signature dish of the capital of Lombardy. This original recipe, using a thick cutlet of veal cookedon the bone, is relatively unknown. A simplified recipe, prepared with a thinner, crisper escalope, is much more famous, and is sometimes called “elephant’s ear.”
Ingredients
- 4 veal cutlets on the bone (see Advice on preparing meat alla Milanese), approximately 1 in. (2 cm) thick
- 1 ¾ sticks (7 oz./200 g) butter
- 1 egg
- 1 cup (2 oz./60 g) fresh bread crumbs
- Salt, pepper
Cooking Method
- Make a few cuts around the edge of the cutlets to prevent them curling while cooking.
- Trim the end of the bone so that it is visible, but taking care it does not become detached from the rest of the meat.
- Prepare the clarified butter: melt the diced butter in a saucepan on low heat.
- Skim off any foam that forms on the surface, then leave it to settle for a few minutes.
- Transfer all the clear fat that has risen to the top to a container, using a spoon. Discard the milky residue in the bottom of the saucepan.
- Beat the egg in a bowl with a little pepper.
- Spread the bread crumbs on a plate.
- Dip the cutlets in egg (1), then in bread crumbs (2).
- Heat the clarified butter in a skillet (3) and fry the cutlets for 2 minutes on each side (4).
- Sprinkle with salt and moisten them with the buttery cooking juices. Serve immediately.
Chefs note
You can prepare the clarified, butter in advance and keep it in the refrigerator for several months in a hermetically sealed con-tainer. Butter that has been clarified can be heated to a high tem¬perature (350°F/180°C) without risk of burning.
Did you know?
This recipe appeared on the menu of an official lunch for the clerics of the church of Saint-Ambroise in 1134, under the name of Lombos cum Panitio (rib chops in bread crumbs). It also featured in works by fifteenth-century chef Martino da Como.
Variations
Bolognese: cook the scaloppine alia Milanese as in the recipe on the facing page.
Put it in the oven at 390°F (210°C) for 4 minutes, covered with a slice of ham and a few shavings of Parmesan. Serve coated with a hot tomato sauce.
Valdostana: make a horizontal slit in the side to form a pocket and slip a thin slice of fontina (or other quick-melting cheese) into it, with perhaps a few thin slices of white truffle. Close and lightly flatten with a weight.
Dip the cutlet in flour (especially the edge with the pocket in order to seal it), then in egg, then in bread crumbs. Cook as in the recipe opposite.
Modenese: fry slices of onion in a knob of butter with some diced pancetta. Add the breaded cutlets and color them well on both sides.
Deglaze with white wine, let evaporate, and add 4 cups (1 liter) of stock, then 1 cup (100 g) of crushed tomato. Season with salt and pepper. Turn the cutlets and leave to cook, covered, for 10 minutes more on medium heat.
Did you know?
Although you can often find scaloppine and cutlets alia Milanese accompanied by spaghetti with tomato sauce or tagliatelle in Italian restaurants, especially in other countries, this is not an Italian custom at all. In Italy, you would find the dish served with fries, salads, green vegetables, jacket potatoes, etc.
Advice on Preparing Meat Alla Milanese Cooking Recipe
Cutlets for cooking alla Milanese are traditionally veal loin chops (recognizable by their small T-shaped central bone). Forscaloppine alla Milanese, however, the meat is taken from the veal cushion or the rump.
In most recipes alla Milanese, there is a step for flattening and tenderizing the meat as much as possible by “beating” it. Only beat meat thinly for preparing scaloppine; they can be flattened to the size of a plate. The loin, on the other hand, is a very tender cut of meat that does not lend itself to this practice.
The method of cooking is crucial when preparing meat alla Milanese. It must be cooked evenly, and quickly, and be nicely crisp. To achieve this, cook the meat in very hot fat to color it rapidly. Clarified butter is best for this, because it can be heated to a high temperature.
In place of clarified butter, you can use browned butter with a spoonful of olive oil added (this will allow it to be heated to a higher temperature). You can also use sunflower oil, but the flavor will be less good. You are strongly advised not to use olive oil on its own as it will transmit too strong a flavor to the meat.
In several recipes for cooking meat alla Milanese, it is recommended that you dip it in flour before dipping in the beaten egg to encourage the egg to adhere better. This is true when the meat is cold, but when heated the flour tends to make the egg and bread crumb coating come away from the meat. Avoid adding salt to the egg as this draws the moisture from the meat and also has the effect of making the coating fall off.
- Certain recipes suggest adding Parmesan to the breadcrumbs.
- Meat-cooked Alla Milanese can also be served cold (often in a sandwich with a lettuce leaf and a little mayonnaise). For this, the scaloppine should be well drained on paper towel after frying.
- To make the cutlets easier to eat, the bone can be wrapped in foil or parchment paper.
- Always cook meat from room temperature. You will achieve better results as it will be less likely to shrink.
