The stuffed veal pocket is a classic Sunday dish, an easy recipe to make but packed with flavor. The veal pocket is also called a pouch and depending on the region, it can be stuffed in different ways. I use a mixed filling of meat and sausage.
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- Difficulty: Medium
- Cost: Economical
- Rest time: 2 Minutes
- Preparation time: 10 Minutes
- Portions: 4
- Cooking methods: Oven
- Cuisine: Italian
- Seasonality: All seasons
- Energy 357.97 (Kcal)
- Carbohydrates 17.75 (g) of which sugars 2.74 (g)
- Proteins 26.99 (g)
- Fat 20.78 (g) of which saturated 5.48 (g)of which unsaturated 6.06 (g)
- Fibers 4.80 (g)
- Sodium 1,239.45 (mg)
Indicative values for a portion of 200 g processed in an automated way starting from the nutritional information available on the CREA* and FoodData Central** databases. It is not food and / or nutritional advice.
* CREATES Food and Nutrition Research Center: https://www.crea.gov.it/alimenti-e-nutrizione https://www.alimentinutrizione.it ** U.S. Department of Agriculture, Agricultural Research Service. FoodData Central, 2019. https://fdc.nal.usda.gov
Ingredients for 4 people
- 21 oz veal pocket
- 7 oz ground beef
- 3.5 oz sausage
- 1 egg (medium)
- 0.88 oz Parmigiano Reggiano DOP
- 2 tbsp breadcrumbs
- 1 bunch parsley
- 1 onion (optional)
- 1 carrot
- to taste salt
- to taste extra virgin olive oil
- to taste pepper
Tools
- 1 Cutting board
- 1 Knife
- 1 Bowl
- 1 Kitchen twine
- 1 Spoon
- 1 Baking pan
Procedure
For a good stuffed veal pocket, I use a mix of beef and pork so no additional ingredients are needed. The ideal mix is 1/3 pork and 2/3 veal.
If you have a whole veal pocket (or pouch), you will need to cut it in half to create a cavity for the filling. To avoid mistakes, start from the wide central part and use a sharp knife to cut through the middle so that the top and bottom of your veal pocket have the same thickness.
Then, following the line, go all the way to the bottom of the pocket, opening the sides like an envelope and rolling the already cut part outward.
If you’re afraid of making a mistake, you can ask your butcher to prepare it for you.
Now let’s prepare the filling, first chop the onion and carrot into small cubes and mince them with a knife to obtain a fine and homogeneous mixture.
In a bowl, combine the ingredients for the filling, mix the ground meat, sausage, egg, and add the vegetable mixture, a pinch of salt, pepper, and chopped parsley. Mix well before placing the filling in the pocket.
Continue the recipe by filling the veal pocket 3/4 full, not more, or it might puff up too much and burst during cooking.
To seal the open side, you can use toothpicks or kitchen twine. I use toothpicks to pierce the meat and help pass the kitchen twine through as if it were a sewing thread.
All that’s left is to bake the pocket in a convection oven at 350°F for 20-30 minutes. Once cooked, remove from the oven and let cool before slicing.
Your stuffed veal pocket is ready!
Plating Tips:
Bring the veal pocket to the table already sliced. You can prepare it in advance and then quickly heat it in the oven to serve it hot. If reheating in the oven, moisten it with some water and cooking juices so it doesn’t dry out; 5 minutes at 300°F will do.
Serve with potatoes or roasted vegetables. If desired, you can also accompany it with a Sicilian eggplant caponata or an autumn vegetable caponata.
Wine Pairing for Veal Pocket:
For this recipe, I recommend a full-bodied and flavorful red wine like a Brunello di Montalcino or a Chianti Classico.
