Food Detective: Veal, the comeback kid

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Once a cheap, everyday meat, veal is gaining in popularity again. | Courtesy Strauss Brands

Updated: January 1, 2012 8:01AM

When Eisenhower-era moms made meatloaf, they ground up veal and mixed it with pork and beef, probably to help make the latter two more costly meats go further.

I asked Randy Strauss, a third-generation veal producer in Wisconsin, why veal was once so cheap.

"After World War II," Strauss said, "there was a surplus of whey protein, a byproduct of cheese-making. No one knew what to do with this whey.

"Now, to produce milk, a cow has to give birth to one calf every year. Female calves were always put back into the herd to become milking cows. Male calves had no use in dairy. Eventually, someone came up with the idea of feeding whey to male calves, which was then sold as ‘milk-fed veal.' "

So, veal was inexpensive because it was produced using two agricultural byproducts no one wanted.

As it turned out, that situation didn't last long.

The price of whey and male calves went up as both started being used to feed humans. Now, though veal is generally more expensive than either pork or beef, it's making a comeback, and there are bargains.

The unavoidable issue with veal, of course, is less about price and more about how calves are raised - as well as the morality of eating baby animals.

Strauss believes "animals will be healthier and happier if we raise them closer to Mother Nature." Nurtured without tethers or growth hormones, his pasture-raised calves live closer to the land, with lots of green grass and sunlight, until the arrival of what Strauss calls their "one bad day."

Because veal has a milder flavor and less lush mouthfeel than steak, the meat needs a savvy chef to patiently coax out flavor.

Paul Fehribach of Big Jones, 5347 N. Clark, prefers the delicate meat with rich accompaniments, "preparations like a stuffed breast with mushrooms and rice and a white wine cream sauce with lots of butter and crawfish."

Despite humane practices and tasty preparations, however, some people still freak out at the thought of eating cute little animals.

"I guess no one told them what lamb is," observes Patrick Sheerin, most recently of the Signature Room at the 95th.

We picked up Strauss veal soup bones at Caputo's. They yielded magnificent stock and they were cheap, about $2.50 a pound.

David Hammond is an Oak Park writer and contributor to WBEZ (91.5 FM) and LTHForum.com. E-mail detective@suntimes.com.