Palais de boeuf

[Baggy]

I have been looking up some charcuterie terms and came across ‘palais’ as one of the abats rouges. There seems to be very little reference to this, and certainly no recipes that I can find.

The closest I can find is that palais might be the stuff that divides the vault of the mouth and the nasal cavities. I think I can believe it if this is the same as the soft palate – but, honestly, how big is a cow’s soft palette?

Is palais taken from any other animal, or only beef? How big is it and how is it prepared?

[Ptipois]

Some recipes are available in French, most of them part of the XIXth-century cuisine bourgeoise tradition. Dumas and La Grande Cuisinière bourgeoise mention the stuff.

I have never seen a palais de bœuf at a boucher or tripier, but from reading around it seems to be just what it means, beef palate. Judging by the preparations it should be close in texture and geography to museau de bœuf (beef snout). May be grilled (after marinating), boiled and served à la poulette, ravigote, vinaigrette, etc.

Another thing to inquire about from Parisian tripiers. Of course finding a tripier these days might be just as difficult as finding a beef palate.