Stuffed Veal Breast with Pomegranate Glaze

Stuffed Veal Breast with
Pomegranate Glaze

Brought to you by

Working with Yossi’s Cuts is a project that speaks to both my professional craft and my personal story. Cooking, with a focus on elevated meat recipes, has always been my passion, and I aim to create and design recipes that balance both flavor and presentation. I work closely with my wife, Malky, a leading food photographer and stylist known for her eye for detail and elegant plating. Together, we carefully plan each recipe from start to finish – how it should be cooked, sliced, plated, and garnished to ensure it is both exceptional in taste and beautifully presented. Our work has been featured in numerous popular magazines, where we’ve built a reputation for consistently creating great recipes and introducing new concepts and original ideas. With this project, my goal is to pair professional technique with approachable cooking. So when you pick up a piece of meat from Yossi’s Cuts at your local supermarket, you’ll feel confident preparing it and achieving restaurant-worthy results.

Two Paths to
Great Flavor

The Simple Approach is for those who want smart shortcuts without sacrificing flavor. They want to create impressive meals without spending hours in the kitchen. Instead of making stock from scratch, cooks can use ready-made vegetable or beef stock, or even a simple soup mix with water. Vegetables will then go straight into the pan with minimal prep, keeping things quick and easy while still delivering an elevated, satisfying result. Even with these shortcuts, you’ll achieve rich, layered flavors and results that rival a chef’s touch.

The Chef’s Method is for cooks who want to embrace true French-inspired techniques. Vegetables are seared or roasted to build a deep, flavorful homemade broth, which becomes the base for cooking the meat. The broth is then carefully strained to create a unique sauce tailored to each cut. Even the finishing touches are chef-driven, like wrapping the warm meat tightly in layers of plastic wrap to give it a refined, restaurant-worthy presentation.

This dual approach makes the recipes flexible, making it ideal for anyone who wants to cook like a chef at home, yet equally practical for busy families who want the same delicious results with less effort.

Tools of the trade

Cooking meat to perfection isn’t just about the cut or the recipe, it’s also about having the right tools at your side. The right utensils and gadgets make the process easier, and more precise, ensuring every roast, steak, or braise comes out just the way you want it. Here are some essentials every cook should keep in their kitchen.

Meat Thermometer:

Ensures perfect doneness without guesswork.

Sharp Chef’s Knife:

Clean, precise slicing and trimming.

Knife Sharpener:

Keeps knives sharp for safe, precise cutting and trimming.

Electric Knife:

Makes carving large roasts effortless.

Parchment Paper:

Prevents sticking, doubles as a cartouche (paper lid) to retain moisture.

Kitchen Twine:

Secures roasts and stuffed meats for even cooking.

Kitchen Shears:

For trimming fat, cutting poultry, or snipping twine.

Heavy-Duty Tongs:

Turn or transfer meat without piercing or losing juices.

Basting Brush:

For spreading a glaze or pan juices over meat to keep it flavorful and moist.

Digital Kitchen Timer:

Keeps track of cooking and resting times accurately.

Fine Mesh Strainer:

Strains pan sauces for smooth, silky results.

Ingredients

Roasted Vegetable Base:

2 carrots, halved in length and width
1 parsnip, halved in length and width
3 shallots, or 1 small red onion, cut into quarters
5 garlic cloves, halved in length and width
3 celery stalks, halved
½ leek, halved in length and width
1 small zucchini, halved in length and width
2 tablespoons beef fat or oil
1 teaspoon salt
½ cup tomato paste
1 tablespoon brown sugar (or white sugar)
½ cup red wine
1½ cups vegetable stock (see recipe below)

Ground Beef Filling:

2 tablespoons beef fat or oil
1 small onion, diced
2 frozen garlic cubes (or 2 cloves garlic, minced)
1½ lbs. ground beef
2 eggs
½ cup matzah meal or breadcrumbs
½ cup rice (raw)
1 teaspoon salt
½ teaspoon black pepper

Veal Breast:

5-6 lbs. veal breast (4-5 bones, cavity ready for stuffing)
2-3 tablespoons beef fat or oil
1 tablespoon coarse salt
½ tablespoon coarse black pepper
Prepared roasted vegetable base

Glaze & Herb Crust: (Optional)

Strained sauce from roast
½ cup honey
½ cup pomegranate glaze (or concentrate)
1 tablespoon chopped rosemary
1 tablespoon chopped thyme
2 tablespoons chopped parsley
2 tablespoons chopped mint
2 tablespoons chopped pistachios
½ cup olive oil
¼ cup pomegranate arils

Directions

Make the Roasted Vegetable Base:

Preheat the oven to 450°F and prepare a large roasting pan.
Toss vegetables with beef fat or oil and salt, and spread on the prepared roasting pan. Roast for 30 minutes, tossing every 10 minutes.
Remove from the oven and stir in tomato paste and sugar, roasting another 15 minutes until paste darkens to a brick color.
Remove pan from the oven and add red wine and 1½ cups vegetable stock; mix well to combine.
Reduce the oven to 375°F and cook for 10-15 minutes more until the sauce slightly thickens. Set aside.

Make the Ground Beef Filling:

Heat beef fat or oil in a pan. Sear onion and garlic until golden.
In a large bowl, combine sautéed onion and garlic with ground beef.
Add eggs, matzah meal, rice, salt, and black pepper.
Mix thoroughly until well combined. Set aside.

Make the Veal Breast:

Preheat oven to 275°F and line a small roasting pan with parchment paper. Place the prepared vegetable base in the pan.
Season the veal with salt and pepper. Heat a large frying pan over high heat, add the beef fat or oil, and sear the meat for 3-5 minutes per side until it has a golden brown crust on both sides. Remove veal from pan onto a plate and let cool slightly.
Add 1 cup vegetable stock to the hot pan and scrape up all the browned bits from the bottom of the pan (this step is called “deglazing” the pan.)
Stuff the cavity of the veal with the prepared ground beef filling, and use cooking twine to tie between each rib bone, then tie twice lengthwise across the whole breast to secure its shape tightly and evenly.
Add deglazed liquid to the vegetable base in the pan and place stuffed veal breast on top, bone side down.
Wet a sheet of parchment paper and place it directly on top of the meat. Cover the pan tightly with two layers of foil, crimping the foil edges together with the parchment to seal.
Bake until internal temperature reaches 200-205°F using a meat thermometer, or until a fork can easily be inserted into the meat. See approximate cooking times below.
Remove from oven, take the veal out of the pan, and let it cool down a little. While still warm, wrap the veal tightly in plastic wrap and refrigerate overnight. Chilling in this way sets the meat, ensuring a uniform shape and allowing for precise even slicing.
Strain the cooking sauce from the pan to use for finishing.
Remove plastic wrap and, using a sharp knife, trim both ends of the veal straight, and trim and clean around the bones for a neat presentation.

Approximate cooking times for Stuffed Veal are as follows based on the weight of the roast:

3–4 lbs: 4–4½ hours
4–5 lbs: 4½–5 hours
5–6 lbs: 5–5½ hours

Make the Glaze & Herb Crust:

Preheat the oven to 350°F and place the veal breast in a roasting pan. Pour reserved strained sauce over the meat and cover.
Warm in the oven for 25 minutes, then remove the meat from the oven and increase temperature to 425°F.
Mix honey and pomegranate glaze in a small bowl and brush over veal; return veal to the oven uncovered.
Every 3-4 minutes, brush again with glaze. Repeat 3-4 times until the glaze is sticky, glossy, and lightly charred.
Mix chopped herbs and pistachios with olive oil and spoon mixture over glazed veal, sprinkling with pomegranate arils before serving.