Escalope

The word "escalope" is French. It first appeared in cookery terminology late in the 17th century as a dialectal expression in the northeast of rural France meaning shell from a nut or snail: veau à l'escalope (veal cooked in the style of an escalope).

In those days an escalope was doubtlessly always veal. Today it can be any of the "white" meats (veal, pork, chicken or turkey) as opposed to the "red" meats (beef or wild game). "Escalope" has even crossed into seafood recipes, as in "salmon escalope with a sorrel sauce". Perhaps it sounds a bit more upscale to a food writer than "salmon fillet", yet the same writer will refer to "veal cutlets" rather than "veal escalope".

The most famous recipe using veal escalope is "Veal Cordon Bleu", and its various look-alikes such as the Italian "Saltimbocca", where the same cut of veal is known as scaloppine. The dish is basically a veal sandwich with the escalope serving as the "bread" and the filling being ham and cheese. This is then floured, dipped in beaten egg yolk or milk, then in bread or cracker crumbs, and cooked in a pan with butter or, sometimes, oil. In the case of Saltimbocca only one slice of veal is used and the resulting "open-face sandwich" is rolled before being enrobed and cooked.