WINE WITH…Mustard-Lemon-Sage Glazed & Grilled Veal Chops
This recipe is adapted from a dish that our good friend (and
Wine Review Online editor) Michael Franz served at a dinner party many years ago. The glaze is tangy but also slightly sweet, and we’ve found
that it works wonderfully on grilled pork and chicken as well as veal. It’s easy to make and stores well in the refrigerator, so you can prepare it well before any guests arrive.
Veal chops can sometimes be hard to find. Happily for us, we have a local specialty grocery store that keeps them in stock. If you’re not as lucky, try the glaze with bone-in pork chops or skin-on chicken thighs (you need skin or fat for the caramelization). No matter which meat you choose, grill over medium rather than high heat. You’ll want some char, but nothing burnt.
Mustard-Lemon-Sage Glazed and Grilled Veal Chops
(Serves four)
4 bone in loin veal chops
3 tablespoons Dijon mustard
1 teaspoon honey
1 tablespoon dry rubbed sage
Juice of half a large lemon
4 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
Season the meat with salt and pepper, and pat dry. Whisk together thoroughly all the other ingredients. Brush the glaze on all sides of the chops. This should use a little more than half of the glaze. Midway through grilling, brush on more glaze, flip the chops, and brush the rest on the other side. When the chops are done, remove them from the grill and let them sit for five minutes before serving.
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The meat’s succulent flavors and almost caramelized richness from the light char might be pretty easy to pair with almost any good full-bodied white or red wine, but the rich, zesty flavors of the glaze turn this into an even more tasty and complex dish. You might think that this means giving a little more thought to the wine selection, but we found that of the ten wines we tried (three whites, one rosé, and six reds), almost all paired superbly with the chops. The reds we rejected, mostly Cabernets and a Zinfandel, were too big and overpowering, while one of our whites was too light to stand up to the dish.
