Delicious Decapitation: Roasted Veal Head Technique

Michael Toscano is a composed and soft-spoken chef; not one to cause a scene. But he’s regularly turning heads (in more ways than one) and causing a stir in his dining room. Preferring to let his food do the talking, whole roasted veal heads are paraded through the floor of Perla and presented tableside to eager and adventurous guests several times a night. After the initial presentation, the head is ushered back behind kitchen doors where Toscano makes the final preparations: cracking the skull, removing the brain, slicing and searing the cheeks … Before you know it, a heavily browned, prehistorical, picked-clean skull floats to your table on an aromatic cloud of carnivore dreams. The veal head platter serves just three (cheeks, tongue, brain schmear, face bits etc), but the bold presentation is a feast for all the eyes in the dining room.

Roasted Veal Head in the Perla Kitchen

Roasted Veal Head for Three

Chef Michael Toscano Breaking Apart the Jaw

Toscano Chars Cured Beef Tongue and Sears Cheek Meat

Roasted Veal Head for Three

Roasted Veal Head for Three

This sensational dish has been a staple on Toscano’s menu at Perla since he opened, and for good reason. He transforms a part of the animal many diners, as well as chefs, are unaccustomed to confronting into a decadent platter of veal head goodness. The fattyness of the offerings, that also include a hearty ribollita, are cut by the brain schmear spiked with a punchy champagne vinaigrette.

The beautiful mosaic of head meat took a while to come together. “The texture is something we initially struggled to get right,” says Toscano who uses moist and dry cooking, low and high heats to create varied textures from one (technically) “cut” of meat. After aggressively seasoning the head, he cooks it low and slow—at 200°F in a CVap—which softens the connective tissues and breaks down the gelatins. He then blasts the head with some hot, dry heat to brown the outside for color and flavor. Next comes the infamous traipse through the dining room, before the chefs gently pry the cheek meat from the bones and craft a surprisingly large meat patty from the proteins above the calf’s palate and eye socket. Toscano sears one side of the patty on a screaming hot plancha to a deep crispy brown while leaving the other ever-so-perfectly tender and juicy. Add a quickly grilled (previously brined) calf’s tongue and the stage is set for a heady, delicious show. And for whole roasted veal head, Perla is the only ticket in town.

Technique:

1. Clean veal head. Coat with oil. Season.
2. Wrap using 3 layers of plastic and place in CVap at 200°F for 12 hours.
3. Heat convection oven to 400°F, unwrap head and roast 15 minutes, or until deeply browned.
4. Rest 30 minutes.
5. Heat plancha. Remove cheeks, pick meat from jaw and press into patty.
6. Sear patty until crisp.
7. Crack skull and remove brain. Reserve for purée.
8. Set aside cleaned head for table presentation.

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