The ingredient
An unfilled veal-belly envelope prepared for cima.
A veal belly pocket is the thin meat casing for cima alla genovese. It is an empty piece prepared to hold a filling, not a rolled roast or a slice of finished cima.
- Material
- Veal belly
- Form
- Unfilled pocket
- Recipe purchase
- 1 kg, about 30 × 20 cm laid flat
In the kitchen
Ask for a sound pocket sewn on three sides, with an opening for filling. Fill loosely and close with food-safe thread; the filling must fit the actual pocket without stretching the seams.
Context
In Ligurian cima, belly meat is folded and sewn into a pocket around a filling. Ordering it from the butcher in advance makes the cut and the intended preparation clear.
At the table
For the cima, use a 1 kg prepared pocket, about 30 × 20 cm laid flat. Fill no more than two-thirds and cook any excess filling separately; weight and dimensions are a guide, not a guarantee of internal capacity.
Cook with it
Choosing it
Specify veal belly for cima, trimmed and prepared as an unfilled pocket. Agree the weight and approximate laid-flat dimensions, and inspect the opening and seams. The same weight in a thick joint is not the same casing.
Keeping it
Keep the raw pocket chilled and separate from prepared foods, following the butcher’s storage and use-by directions. Handle it with clean utensils and cook the stuffed preparation thoroughly.
Questions worth asking
Is a filled, ready-cooked cima the same ingredient?
No. This is the empty raw pocket to be filled and cooked.
Will every 1 kg pocket hold the same filling?
No. Shape, trimming and thickness vary. Leave room at the seams and cook surplus filling separately.
