An escalope is traditionally a piece of boneless meat that has been thinned out using a
mallet
A mallet is a tool used for imparting force on another object, often made of rubber or sometimes wood, that is smaller than a maul or beetle, and usually has a relatively large head. The term is descriptive of the overall size and proport ...
or
rolling pin
Rolling is a type of motion that combines rotation (commonly, of an axially symmetric object) and translation of that object with respect to a surface (either one or the other moves), such that, if ideal conditions exist, the two are in contact ...
or beaten with the handle of a knife, or merely
butterflied. The mallet breaks down the fibres in the meat, making it more tender. The meat is then coated and fried. The thinner meat cooks faster with more moisture loss.
The term escalope is also applied to meat free products such as Quorn (Mycoprotein) Escalopes which have a cheese & broccoli sauce encased in breadcrumbs. In Australia the term escalope is also applied to potatoes that have been thinly sliced. Potatoes that are thinly sliced, battered then fried are often called "scallops".
Common sizes
The typical sizes of an escalope used in the food industry range from 110 to 225 g (4–8 oz).
Paillard or scallop
''Paillard'' is an older
French culinary term referring to a quick-cooking, thinly sliced or pounded piece of meat.
In France, it has been largely replaced by the word ''escalope''.
The cut is known as "scallop" in the US,
not to be confused with the shellfish
scallop
Scallop () is a common name that encompasses various species of marine bivalve mollusks in the taxonomic family Pectinidae, the scallops. However, the common name "scallop" is also sometimes applied to species in other closely related families ...
.
Origin
The term ''escalope'' originated in France.
It first appeared in cookery terminology late in the 17th century as a dialectal expression in the northeast of rural France
originally meaning a shelled nut or mollusk: ''veau à l'escalope'' (
veal
Veal is the meat of calves, in contrast to the beef from older cattle. Veal can be produced from a calf of either sex and any breed, however most veal comes from young male calves of dairy breeds which are not used for breeding. Generally, v ...
cooked in the style of an escalope).
In those days, an ''escalope'' was undoubtedly always veal.
See also
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Cutlet
Cutlet (derived from French ''côtelette'', ''côte'', " rib") refers to:
# a thin slice of meat from the leg or ribs of mutton, veal, pork or chicken
# a dish made of such slice, often breaded (also known in various languages as a ''cotoletta ...
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Saltimbocca
Saltimbocca, also spelled saltinbocca (, , ; ), is an Italian dish (also popular in southern Switzerland). It consists of veal that has been wrapped ("lined") with prosciutto and sage, and then marinated in wine, oil, or salt water, depending on ...
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Scaloppine
Scaloppine (plural and diminutive of '' scaloppa''—a small scallop, i.e., a thinly sliced cut of meat; in English usage ''scaloppini''; sometimes ''scallopini'') is a type of Italian dish that comes in many forms. It consists of thinly sliced ...
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Wiener schnitzel
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Schnitzel
A schnitzel is a thin slice of meat. The meat is usually thinned by pounding with a meat tenderizer. Most commonly, the meat is breaded before frying. Breaded schnitzel is popular in many countries and is made using veal, pork, chicken, mutton, ...
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Milanesa
The milanesa is a variation of the Lombard veal Milanese, or the Austrian Wiener schnitzel, where generic types of meat breaded cutlet preparations are known as a ''milanesa''.
The milanesa was brought to the Southern Cone by Italian immig ...
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Cotoletta
Cotoletta (; from ''costoletta'' meaning "little rib", because of the rib that remains attached to the meat during and after cooking) is an Italian word for a veal breaded cutlet. There are several variations, in Italy as well as in other countri ...
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Silpancho
Silpancho (original Quechua word: Sillp'anchu) is a popular Bolivian food from the city of Cochabamba. When prepared properly, this tends to be a large and fulfilling meal with a diversity of carbohydrates and fats. It consists of a base layer o ...
References
External links
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{{Authority control
Meat dishes