Veal Chops with Caper Sauce

From the Essential Pépin tv series, Episode 111: Cattle Call

This is a good summer recipe. I sear the chops briefly on a very hot grill and then transfer them to a warm oven, where they continue to cook slowly in their own residual heat. The sauce, a simple mixture of onion, capers, lemon juice, and olive oil, is made separately and the chops are coated with it before they are served.

Be sure you don’t overcook the chops. Although veal is not served rare, as beef is, it should be slightly pink inside and juicy throughout.

Chicken or even a piece of fish also goes well with the caper and sage sauce. —Jacques Pépin

Serves 4

4 veal rib chops trimmed of excess fat (about 10 ounces each), and 1 inch thick
1 teaspoon canola oil
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper

SAUCE
1/2 cup diced (1/4-inch) red onion
2 tablespoons drained capers
1 tablespoon minced fresh sage
2 teaspoons julienned lemon zest
1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice
2 tablespoons olive oil
2 tablespoons chopped fresh parsley
1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
1/4 teaspoon salt, or to taste
2 tablespoons homemade chicken stock or low-salt canned chicken broth

Heat a grill until it is very hot. Preheat the oven to 150 degrees.

Rub the chops with the oil and sprinkle them with the salt and pepper. Put the chops on the clean grill rack and cook for about 2 1/2 minutes on each side. Transfer them to the oven and let them rest and finish cooking for at least 10 minutes (the chops can be kept in the oven for up to 30 minutes).

MEANWHILE FOR THE SAUCE: Mix all the ingredients in a bowl.

At serving time, place a chop on each of four plates and coat with the sauce.

Copyright © 2011 by Jacques Pépin. Used by permission of Houghton Mifflin Harcourt. All rights reserved.

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