Escallopes

Part of speech: noun

Definitions

1. Thin slices of meat or fish, often breaded and fried; culinary preparations featuring uniformly sliced portions suitable for quick cooking; food items cut into even, flat pieces typically used in French cuisine
2. Uniformly thin cuts of poultry, veal, or fish, usually tenderized and cooked by frying or sautéing; a style of preparing meat slices designed for rapid and even cooking; dishes presenting finely sliced portions that may be breaded or plain
3. Flattened, slim portions of meat or seafood, especially favored for delicate and swift cooking methods; breaded or unbreaded slices prepared for frying or sautéing; culinary technique involving the slicing of protein into thin, consistent pieces for enhanced texture and taste

Etymology: "Escallopes" is the plural of "escallope," a thin slice of meat, usually veal or chicken, that is flattened and then fried or sautéed. The singular came into English from French "escalope," and the French word is probably related to "escale," a shell or shell-like husk, from a Germanic source that also gave English "scale" and "scallop." The idea is that a flat piece of meat resembles a shell, and the same image lies behind the scallop shellfish. Surprisingly, the word's first sense in English referred to the shell itself rather than to food. Its meaning shifted toward cookery as French cooks applied the term to thin pieces of meat or fish cut or pounded flat, and English adopted that culinary sense. Dictionaries generally trace this chain to French, though the exact early stages are not fully settled.

Synonyms: cutlets, slices, fillets, steaks, medallions