From farm to kitchen: Czech veal and its celebrated return to menus
Amaso: Guaranteed quality meat
Veal is a jewel among the ingredients that chefs have been highlighting on menus for a long while. Under socialism, however, it disappeared from Czech butcher shops and restaurants, and with it went the craftsmanship required to prepare it. So two years ago, the team at Amaso started a new mission – to put Czech dairy veal back on our plates.
"When I was cooking in Austria, we used to get dairy veal from the surrounding farmers. We realised that it was nutritionally very valuable, a luxury ingredient and the highest quality form of beef, so we treated it accordingly. In our country, the tradition of veal has disappeared, and today's generation of cooks no longer have the same relationship with it as those in Italy or Austria. And who else should change that but Amaso,' said Tomáš Karpíšek at the October chefs meeting at UM, where Ambiente butchers and chefs met to taste dairy veal from Líšná near Zbiroh.
"I have the feeling that we are experiencing a similar story to that of Czech beef. In the past, most of it was processed into goulash, but later we started to age it and carve it into steaks. Similarly, years ago, we wouldn't have thought to serve pork chops until we got to know prosciutto. Czech veal is an opportunity for the whole gastro scene, and for the farmers' market," Tomáš added. It was his reaction, after all, that sparked the whole event. Once at Christmas he bought veal in Naše Maso, at the time still from Holland. The quality was nowhere near what he had seen in Austria.
Veal? Czech!
Then a criticism came to the butcher's shop from Tomáš Karpíšek, which launched a search for Czech veal. "We have not found any Czech breeders who consistently supply dairy veal to the catering industry. Farmers from Lhota pod Libčany have been slaughtering for us for some time calves of the chestnut breed aged about seven months. However, at that age the animals are almost mature, so they had darker, fleshy meat that did not match our idea," explained Radek Chaloupka from Naše maso and continued his story:
"We knew we didn't want to order Dutch veal anymore, but we had no alternative. So we looked around the whole region of Central Europe. We managed to get veal from Austria, but in the end we went back to the original idea and decided to do everything we could to to get good Czech veal on the counter."
Three pieces per month
The butchers' next steps led to approaching already friendly suppliers – only one of them nodded to the demand and offered Amaso three calves a month. "Farmers naturally resist supplying veal because it is not financially worthwhile. Farmers in Líšná u Zbirohu agreed only because we had been buying steers and heifers from them for a long time," Radek pointed out. His previous experience made him look into the parameters of the calf, so that the production would give economic and culinary sense.
"We had calves raised and slaughtered between three and seven months of age to evaluate the culling, and the effects of age on the characteristics of the meat. We fried perhaps hundreds of cutlets and agreed that the optimum age of a calf is around four months," Radek described how the potential of the dairy calf was explored at UM.
Age matters!
While the legislation considers an animal up to eight months old to be a calf, the chef's perspective says that the younger the cut, the better the meat. Dairy veal is characterised by a tender and delicate taste and texture.
"A young animal does not have as much muscle, so the meat is more tender and less flavourful than older cattle. Diet also contributes to this. The calf is fed a normal ration to kick-start digestion in the rumen, but then it is exclusively given milk, either fresh or dried," said Radek, explaining the main reason for the typical white to pinkish colouring.
Cow's milk (unlike green grass) contains only minimal iron, which plays a role in the synthesis of haemoglobin, or the red blood pigment. This causes the meat to darken. "The fact that calves lick metal fences also affects the colour. If breeders could prevent this, the meat would be even lighter," added Radek. Pink meat therefore signals breeding that is longer than in the past and respects the animals' needs.
It's value, not price, that counts
The price for dairy veal from Líšná is rightly higher than for imports from Holland. It is all the more important to understand the butchers' objective to add value to the raw ingredient in the kitchen. "We have never discussed prices with farmers. As buyers, we can comment on the conditions of farming, but changes are always by agreement.," Radek Chaloupka responded to the debate on the price list from Amaso, for whom the distribution of veal is so far almost unprofitable. For the last two years, it has served more as an educational tool, in an attempt to broaden the awareness of Czech veal among chefs and customers.
More than just one cut!
The price and uniqueness of dairy veal motivates the pros to lean into tradition, and at the same time to choose an innovative point of view on the preparation of the delicious meat. "Veal is not something that should be on the table every day. When such a young animal gives its life, we should appreciate it and present the meat as a festive affair. At the same time, let's know that veal is can be more than just a rump cut," Radek pointed out during a tasting of dishes that Ambiente's creative chefs prepared from various cuts, including carabaccio, shoulder, neck or leg of veal.
"With veal you have to to work with gently, but the weight loss was small, even when we braised the neck or slow-roasted the ossobuco. Short muscle fibre also makes it possible to use cheaper cuts for minute adjustments or cook them at low temperatures without making the meat tough. For example, the brisket, which we cooked for 24 hours at 55 °C, was juicy, tender and retained its texture in the final product," evaluated creative chef František Skopec.
For testing, several portions of Dutch veal were also cooked – it was again the schnitzel that proved the tasty quality of the Czech variant. The meat from the younger animals dominated in colour, leanness and tenderness. "I think it's not about comparing two meats, but focusing on the raw material itself. Veal in paprika is a great thing, but we should move on from the place and and try to adjust the portions differently to how tradition instructs," mused Tomáš Karpíšek, while others shared their own practice.
Czech veal is regularly served in the Čestr restaurant, most often as an appetiser or as a 120g steak. It is rarely used to make Wiener Schnitzel. Smaller portions don't increase the raw material intensity of the dishes as much and also reflect the uniqueness of the meat. Quality takes precedence over quantity!
"We buy veal tripe, mostly liver, tongues or kidneys, but the heart is also perfect. We see it as a compromise in terms of price, and mainly as an opportunity to show people that tripe is equal in quality to 'premium' cuts of meat, especially in young calves," said chef Honza Všetečka from U Kalendů.
Success depends on cooperation!
The plate-based education session concluded with a call for cooperation, without which the Czech veal offer cannot develop successfully. "If we want to have really good products in our kitchens, we have to support farmers right up to the moment when the food is brought to the table. And Amaso also needs such support from us," emphasised Tomáš Karpíšek to his colleagues, who together can increase the take-up of veal so that the vision becomes a reality.
"If we guarantee a solid take-up, the breeders will see a future in our plan and be willing to invest in it. Then we can try to influence for the better the welfare of the animals and of course the quality of the meat," Radek Chaloupka continued, recalling the fate of the black pied pig from Přeštice.
"I like the sentence by Fanda Kšana, who once said that the only way to save the piglet is to eat it. I wish we could look at Czech dairy veal, which is a small but important chapter of our cuisine, in the same way," he added.
