For more than ten centuries one great dish of France has stood the test of time, its popularity never wavering. That dish is, of course, the pot-au-feu. Pot-au-feu has always been a dish for the peasant, tasty, hearty, and inexpensive, but it is also a dish for the haul monde, a dish which can be relished after a too prolonged diet of rich foods. No one knows better than the gourmet Frenchman that an uninterrupted series of sumptuous feasts is so surfeiting that soon nothing tastes good, nothing tempts the appetite. A weekly respite in the way of a simple soup and the boiled meat and vegetables that go with it is very welcome.
If you ask the French chef of an important hotel what his favorite meal is, he will surely answer that he likes nothing better than to sit down to a good pot-au-feu. After planning, supervising. and preparing endless elaborate menus that feature dishes stinting on neither skill nor money, we find in the pot-au-feu a gustatory escape from the monotony of luxury foods as well as a way of keeping our taste buds acute for the nuances of more elegant and complicated fare.
The pot-au-feu is the traditional Sunday dinner in France. When I was a very small boy at home, it was my weekly kitchen chore to get out the biggest maemite we bad and draw the water to fill it up, while Maman trimmed the meat, washed the bones, and cut up the vegetables. As 1 grew older, 1 was allowed a greater share in the preparations for Sunday dinner, and by the time I went to Moulins to serve my apprenticeship as a chef, I could make a pot-au-feu with my eyes closed.
At home our pot-au-feu was usually a simple beef-and-vegetable combination, with bones added to give the broth more flavor. I have since learned that bones also give valuable minerals. The cut of beef we used was the plate, and I still like it best, because I find it juicier and more succulent than the leaner cuts. I must confess, however, that cur plate beef was more meaty than the kind I buy now, perhaps because cur beef creatures were larger, and not scientifically raised and fed. All the beef cuts were larger, and the meat between the layers of fat that are characteristic of the plate was thicker, if not so fine-grained and tender as that of American beef. We had to depend upon long cooking to achieve tenderness.
In some parts of France other meats and poultry went into the pot-au-feu. In a region where beef was scarce and expensive, but where flocks of ducks waddled over every farm, less beef would go into the marmite, and a duck would serve to enrich the stock. At my house we used chicken. This gave us he petite marmite Henri IV, which that most beloved King of France made famous when he said back in the eleventh century that every good Frenchman was entitled to a chicken in his Sunday pot. The chicken in every pot, then as now, was a symbol of well-being and security.
At home we always ate the soup of the pot-au-feu first, and then sliced the meat and ate it with the vegetables. Because the meat was mild in flavor from its long boiling, mustard, sour pickles, or a sharp sauce like horseradish sauce was served with it. Some people, however, prefer to put broth, meat, and vegetables all together in the soup plate and eat them at once.
When 1 did my service militaire as a young man in France, we ate a very good pot-au-feu in the army mess cut of the same deep bowl, une gamelle, from which we also ate everything else. This was one phase of military service which distressed our families, who had tried so hard to teach us decent table manners. The folks at home would shake their heads and say that we would never he the same gentlemanly fellows we had been before the army took us over “Mais oui, vous allez manger à la gamelle,” from now on you will always want to eat everything out of a bowl!
Pot-au-feu is made everywhere in almost the same way. The broth is light-colored. but has a well-rounded flavor from the meat and bones cooked in combination with a fagot, some garlic, and a variety of root vegetables. Yet it is not quite so strong and rich as a concentrated consommé. Maman liked a soup to have a nice golden-brown color, so she always caramelized a little sugar and added it to the pot-au-feu at the end. I like to do that too.
Some people like potatoes or cabbage with the pot-au-feu, but they are never cooked in the marmite with the other ingredients, Instead, a little of the broth is poured into another pan, and the potatoes or cabbage are cooked separately.There is always the necessity to keep the stock pure for possible storage and later use.
This recipe for pot-au-feu is generally followed all over France.
Pot-au-Feu Pot-au-feu can be started in one of two ways. Cover a 4 to 4 ½-pound piece of fresh plate or 3 ½ pounds of rump or chuck of beef and some beef or veal bones with cold water, bring to a boil, and parboil (or 5 minutes. Take out the meat and bones, discard the water, and clean the kettle. Return the meat and bones to the kettle and add 4 ½ to 5 quarts water and 1 ½ tablespoons salt. Bring the water slowly to a boil, skimming all the time until no more scum rises to the surface. Or, as an alternate method, cover the meat and bones with 4 to 4 ½ quarts cold water and bring slowly to a boil. When the water has reached a rolling boil, add 2 cups cold water to bring the scum to the surface. Skim and continue to boil gently, skimming all the time until no more scum rises to the surface. The first method is a little more trouble, but it makes a clearer stock. It is important that all the scum is discarded either by changing the water or by careful skimming so that there will be none in the sauce when the dish is done.
After the scum ceases to rise, continue to boil gently for 1 ½ hours. Add 3 or A carrots, 1 or 2 small turnips, and 1 small parsnip, all cut into pieces, 2 onions, each studded with a clove, 5 or 6 leeks tied together, 1 clove of garlic, and a fagot made by tying a few sprigs of parsley, a little thyme, and half a bay leaf inside 2 stalks of celery. Cook for 2 ½ hours longer. If a chicken is to be cooked in the pot, add it about 2 hours before the soup is finished. If the chicken is browned first in a hot oven, it will give the broth a richer color. If cabbage or potatoes are desired, cook them in a saucepan in some of the broth. Any leftover broth may be strained and stored in the refrigerator for use in soups and sauces.
A French housewife's trick is to tic 2 or 3 hearts of celery with the leeks. As soon as they are cooked, they are removed, set aside to cool, and served with vinaigrette sauce for hors-d'oeuvre or for salad.
The question that arises next, so frequently asked, is the difference between pot-au-feu and polite marmite. In practice the terms are used interchangeably. Technically, the difference is that in making pctite marmite you begin not with water but with the broth from a pot-au-feu, so the soup of the petite marmite is much stronger and richer. As a rule, a chicken is added to petite marmite. Another difference is that petite marmite is always served as a soup with the pieces of meat and chicken and vegetables cut in small enough pieces to be conveniently eaten. Frequently included are thin cross sections of shin marrow bone, from which one can scoop out the marrow to enjoy with the soup.
Petite Marmtite Henri IV
Parboil 1 pound of lean beef brisket, 1 oxtail, and the legs and neck of a chicken, etch kind of meat cut into 6 or 8 pieces, for 10 minutes, drain, and rinse in cold water. Turn the meat into a marmite, a deep clay casserole, or a soup kettle and add 2 to 3 quarts broth and 1 tablespoon salt. Bring the broth to a boil, skim, and cook gently for 2 hours, skimming as necessary.
Parboil 2 carrots, sliced, 1 turnip, cut in small pieces, and 2 leeks and 2 stalks of celery, both cut in inch pieces. Drown 2 small onions in butter, sprinkling them with a little sugar to give them color. Add the vegetables to the marmite and cook for 2 hours longer, skimming from time to time. Correct the seasoning with salt. Keep the soup hot, but not boiling, and remove all fat from the surface.
It marrow bones are desired, have a shin bone cut in half-inch slices. Put the slices in a pan with enough cold water to cover them and bring the water to a boil. Set the bones aside in the water until ready to serve the soup. Then add them. Serve the soup very hot with small thin slices of crusty rolls and, if desired, with grated Parmesan or Gruyère.
Pot-au-feu doesn't end with the good soup and boiled meat. The piece of meat used should always be large enough to allow leftovers for another meal or two. This is another example of French thrift—to start with a dish inexpensive in itself and not wasteful of fuel and produce from it something extraordinarily flavorful and delectable by adding a spice or herb, some wine, tomatoes, vinegar, or whatever will give the needed lift. So often at the old Ritz, French guests would phone me and ask me to save for their dinner some of the pot-aufeu that was a specialty on our luncheon menu one day each week. Sometimes I would ask if they wouldn't prefer the meat sautéed Lyonnaise style or prepared with mustard, as pot-au-feu beef is often served in France, and I would be overwhelmed by their appreciative thanks for suggesting it. These dishes which follow, familiar enough to every French housewife and to those who have eaten in small French restaurants, especially in rural inns, are seldom seen on American tables. They are well worth trying here in these days of high meat prices when it is as important to be thrifty as it was when I was a youngster in Prance,
Emincé de Bocuf Sauté à la Lyonnaise (Boiled Beef Sauté Lyonnaise)
Cut enough cold boiled beef into thin slices to make about 2 ½ cups. In a frying pan sauté the meat in 2 tablespoons hot butter, a few pieces at a time,until all are lightly brown on both sides. In another pan cook 2 small onions, sliced, in 1 tablespoon butler until they begin to turn golden. Add ¼ cup vinegar, ½ teaspoon salt, and a little freshly ground pepper and cook a minute or two longer. Saute I ½ cups sliced potatoes in butter until brown. Combine the meat with the onions and vinegar and add the potatoes. Serve sprinkled with chopped parsley. Or put the meat and onion mixture in the center of a serving dish and arrange the potatoes around it.
Fricandelles de Boeuf(Beef Patties)
Chop finely enough leftover beef to make about 2 ½ cups. Wash and bake 4 large potatoes. Remove the pulp, press it through a fine sieve or ricer, and beat with a spoon until very smooth. Cook 2 small onions, chopped, in 1 ½ tablespoons butter until golden and combine with the meat. Add the potato puree, 1 egg, beaten, I tablespoon chopped parsley, ½ teaspoon salt, and a little pepper, and mix well. Divide the mixture into pieces about the size of an egg,roll them in flour, and flatten like hamburger cakes. In a frying pan sauté the cakes in 3 tablespoons hot beef or veal fat or butter until they are brown on both sides. Place the pan in a moderately hot oven (375° F.) for 7 to 8 minutes and serve with any desired sauce and vegetable.
Escalope de Boeuf Pochée Moutarde (Sliced Boiled Beef with Mustard)
Cut leftover boiled beef into thin slices. Spread both sides of each slice with prepared mustard and coat thoroughly with fresh bread crumbs. Sprinkle the slices with a little melted butter and sauté them in hot butter until brown on both sides. Arrange the slices on a fiat dish, sprinkle them with salt and pepper, a few drops of vinegar, and some chopped parsley, and let stand about 15 minutes to absorb the vinegar.
Dip the meat in Hour, then in an egg beaten with ¼ cup milk, 1 tablespoon oil, and ¼ teaspoon salt. Roll the slices in fine dry bread crumbs and saute them in butter or good fat until brown on both sides. Serve with a tomato sauce and any desired vegetables.
Few cuts from the younger, more lender animals are used for boiled dishes. After all, who wants to boil a delicate,tender piece of veal or lamb that is perfect for roasting or broiling or braising? All its delicate flavor would be lost in boiling and the essence captured by the broth would never be strong enough to make a fine—flavored soup. And so we boil a leg of lamb or mutton-the joy of every Englishman when served with caper sauce-and the shoulder cut of veal to make the famous French blanquette de veau and a few other dishes and call it a day. Pork is such a fatty meat that it demands cookery methods which draw our the fat and brown the meat at the same time. The exceptions in pork are the cured cuts, such as hams, butts, shoulders, and so on.
The tougher cuts of meat respond to gentle boiling, but this rather vigorous treatment is not suited to tender birds and fish. These should be poached, that is, simmered in water held just below the boiling point.
Gigot d'Agneau Bouilli (Boiled Leg of Lamb)
Have the butcher prepare a 5- to 5 ½-pound leg of lamb with a short shank and remove the irregular shaped hip bone at the other end. Save the hip bone and beg another bone for the broth. Put the meat in a kettle with water to cover, and ½ teaspoon salt for each quart of water, and bring the water to a boil. Add the lamb, the hip bone, and any other bones, A medium carrots, and 3 white turnips, both cut into pieces, 2 onions, one studded with a clove, 3 leeks, and a fagot made by tying together 1 stalk of celery, A sprigs of parsley, half a bay leaf, and a little chyme. Skim the liquid until no more stum rises to the surface, then boil gently, allowing 15 minutes for each pound of meat. When ready to serve, remove the lamb from the broth, carve, and serve with the vegetables, with potatoes which have been boiled separately, and with caper sauce (see below).
Caper Sauce
To 1 cup bechamel sauce (see March, 1952) made with half milk and half lamb stock, add 2 tablespoons coarsely chopped capers and 1 teaspoon each lemon juice and chopped parsley.
Lamb Broth
Cook the liquid in which a leg of lamb was boiled until it is reduced to about half its original quantity. Add carrots, onions, leek, and celery, all chopped or diced, and a little barley or rice, and cook until the vegetables and barley or rice are tender. Correct the seasoning with salt.
Lamb Stew à la Ritz
Cut 3 pounds of lamb, preferably the lower ribs or shoulder, into rather large pieces. Put the meat in a saucepan, cover with water, and parboil for 5 to 6 minutes. Remove the lamb from the pan, discard the water, and rinse the meat in fresh cold water. Clean the pan and return the meat to it. Add 2 quarts water,3 onions, 3 or 4 potatoes, 4 leeks, A stalks of celery, all chopped, 1 clove of garlic, 1 tablespoon salt, and 4 or 5 peppercorns. Bring the water to a boil and cook gently for I hour. Remove the meat to another pan. Skim the fat from the broth, strain, rubbing through the sieve as much of the vegetables as possible, and correct the seasoning. Meanwhile prepare 18 small white onions, 2A small potato balls, 18 small white turnips, and 2A slices of carrot. Put all the vegetables on top of the meat. Sprinkle with 1 tablespoon chopped parsley and add the strained broth. Bring the broth to a boil and cook for 45 minutes or until the meat is done. A few cooked green peas or string beans may be added just before serving. For a sharper flavur add 1 teaspoon of Worcestershire sauce to the gravy.
Poule Bouillie au Riz(Boiled Fowl with Rice)
Clean and singe a 4- to 5-pound fowl and truss the wings and legs close to the body. Put it in a deep pan and cover with water. Bring the water to a boil and skim well. Add 1 tablespoon salt, 2 carrots, 2 onions, one of them studded with a clove, 2 leeks, and a fagot made by tying together 2 stalks of celery, 4 sprigs of parsley, I small bay leaf, and a spray of thyme. Cook slowly for 2 hours or until the fowl is tender. Half an hour before the fowl is done, prepare the rice as follows: Melt 2 tablespoons butter in a pan, add 1 tablespoon chopped onion, and cook until the onion is soft. Add 1 tup rice and shake over the fire until the grains are coated with the butter. Add 2 cups of the boiling chicken broth in which the fowl is cooking, cover closely, and cook in a moderate oven (375° F.) or on top of the stove over very low heat for 20 to 25 minutes, or until the liquid has been absorbed by the rice. Add 1 tablespoon soft butter and toss it through the rice with a fork to a void mashing the grains.
While the rice is cooking, prepare the following sauce: Melt 2 tablespoons butter in a saucepan and stir in 1 ½ tablespoons flour. Stir in gradually 1 ½ cups chicken broth and cook, stirring constantly, until the sauce is smooth and thick. Correct the seasoning, add a little nutmeg, and cook gently for 10 minutes longer. Mix 1 egg yolk with ¼ cup sweet cream and a little of the hot sauce and stir into the sauce. Add a few drops of lemon juice and cook for 2 or 3 minutes. but do not boil.
Make a bed of the rice on a serving platter, carve the fowl, and arrange it on the rice. Slice the carrots and arrange them around the bird. Pour half the sauce over the fowl and rice, and serve the remaining sauce separately. Leftover boiled fowl can be used for salad, croquettes. or hash, or served cold with mayonnaise.
Paulet Poché (Poached Chicken)
In a kettle combine 2 quarts water, a few chicken bones, 2 teaspoons salt, 2 carrots, 2 onions, 2 leeks, and a fagot made by tying together 2 stalks of celery,4 sprigs of parsley, half a bay leaf, and 1 spray of thyme, and simmer for 1 hour. Clean and singe a young 2 ½- to 3-pound chicken and truss the wings and legs close to the body. Put it in the broth and simmer for 30 to 35 minutes, or until done. To test, pierce the second joint with a kitchen fork or needle, and if no pink juice follows as the fork is withdrawn, the chicken is done. Keep it in the broth until ready to serve. Serve with rice prepared as for boiled fowl and either sauce suprême or allemande.
Sauce Suprêpre
Simmer 2 cups Chicken stock with 3 mushrooms, sliced, until the stock is reduced to one-third its original quantity.Stir in 1 cup chicken velouté (see below), bring to a boil, and cook until the sauce is reduced to about 1 cup. Stir in gradually I cup heavy cream, correct the seasoning with salt and a little cayenne. ant) strain through a fine sieve.
Chicken Velouté
Melt 1/3 cup butter, stir in 1/3 cup Hour, and cook for a few minutes. Stir in gradually 3 cups chicken stock, ½ teaspoon salt, and a little pepper, and cook, stirring constantly, until the sauce thickens. Continue to cook, stirring occasionally, until the sauce is reduced to about 2 ½ cups and is very thick.
Sauce Allemande
Mix 2 egg yolks with a little cream and stir into 2 cups hot sauce suprême. Cook, stirring constantly, until the sauce almost reaches a boil, but do not let it boil. Finish with 2 tablespoons heavy cream.
Faisan Poché au Céleri(Poached Pheasant with Celery)
Clean a pheasant and put 2 or 3 stalks of celery into the cavity. Put the bird in a kettle with broth to cover, add 2 stalks of celery, and simmer for about 45 minutes, or until the bird is tender. Serve with braised celery hearts (see Feb. 1952) or purée of celery and wild rice and sauce Smitane (see below).
Sauce Smitane
Saute 2 small onions, finely minced, in 1 ½ tablespoons butter until they are soft but not brown. Moisten them with ½ cup dry white wine, stir well, and let the liquid reduce to almost nothing, stirring occasionally. Four in 1 generous cup scalded heavy sour cream, stirring constantly, and continue to stir until the mixture is thoroughly blended. Simmer very gently for 5 minutes. Strain the sauce through a fine sieve or cloth and season it with salt and pepper to taste. Just before serving, add 1 teaspoon lemon juice.
Poached fish is preferred by many people, and poaching is a particularly good way to cook a whole fish or a piece of large fish weighing several pounds or even fish steaks and is a good way to cook shellfish. It is best to wrap the fish in cheesecloth to keep it from breaking apart, and if a large whole fish is being cooked, a saumonnier—fish kettle—is almost essential. This is a long narrow pan with a rack on which the fish rests, with handles at the ends by which the rack and fish can be easily lifted from the hot cooking liquid. If the fish is large and is to be served on the cold buffet, it is laid on a thin wooden board and tied to the board lightly with strips of cheesecloth to keep it straight and flat.
There are three different kinds of court-bouillon—stock—that are used for poaching fish. One includes milk and lemon juice to keep such fish as halibut and cod white during cooking; another uses vinegar and spices to give a spicy taste to the fish; and the third includes wine for the flavor it gives to delicate fish and shellfish. In France les érrevisses —crayfish—and les moules —mussels—are usually cooked in a stock with white wine.
Poached Haddock or Codfish
If the fish is cut into steaks or slices, poach them in court-bouillon ( see below) with milk and lemon slices for 10 to 15 minutes. The fish is done when the meat detaches easily from the bone. Remove the fish by lifting the slices from the kettle with a broad spatula. Serve with any desired fish sauce or with melted butter.
Court-Bouillon au Blanc (Milk Stock for Fish)
In a saucepan combine 2 quarts water, ½ cup milk, I tablespoon salt, and 3 slices of lemon. Pour the stock over the fish and bring to a boil. Lower the flame and simmer gently until the fish is done.
Poached Salmon, Halibut, Turbot, or Siriped Bass
Poach a fish weighing 5 to 6 pounds in court-bouillon with vinegar (see below) for 40 to 50 minutes. For larger fish allow 10 to 12 minutes per pound longer. The fish is done when a large kitchen needle easily detaches the meat from the backbone. If no fish kettle is available, a long fish can be cut in half and the two pieces put side by side in a saucepan. The cooking time should then be shortened.
To serve a whole poached fish, put it on a serving platter with a napkin under it to absorb any surplus liquid. Remove the top skin and the black part of the flesh. Serve with melted butter or any desired sauce. When eaten cold, fish is usually served with mayonnaise or with mayonnaise combined with herbs and with a vegetable salad.
Court-Bouillon au Vinaigre (Stock with Vinegar for Fish)
In a saucepan combine 3 quarts water, ½ cup vinegar, 1 tablespoon salt, 2 medium carrots, and 2 medium onions, both sliced, 8 peppercorns, 6 sprigs of parsley, a little thyme, and 1 bay leaf, Simmer for 30 minutes and strain over the fish. Bring to a boil, lower the heat. and simmer gently until the fish is done.
Truite au Bleu (Brook Trout au Bleu)
The trout must be alive to be prepared this way. Clean them very quickly and sprinkle with a little vinegar. Put about two inches of court-bouillon with vinepar, or just enough to cover the fish, in a shallow pan or heatproof dish. Bring to a boil and add the fish. Lower the heat so the trout will simmer gently and cook them for 9 to 10 minutes. They will curl up and turn a bluish color. Drain the liquid from the dish and serve the trout from the dish in which they were cooked or remove them to a serving dish with a napkin under them. Serve melted butter separately.
Homard Poché au Court-Bouillon (Lobster in Court Bouillon)
In a kettle combine 2 quarts water, 1 tablespoon salt, 1 slice of onion, a few slices of carrot, ½ cup vinegar, 9 peppercorns, and a flavor made by tying together 1 stalk of celery, 3 sprigs of parsley, 1 bay leaf, and a little thyme, Simmer for 30 minutes. Add the lobster and simmer for 20 to 25 minutes if it is to be served immediately. If it is to remain in the water to cool, 15 minutes will he long enough, as it will continue to cook as the water cools. To serve, split the lobster, break the claws, and place it in a serving dish with a little of the cooking liquid, the carrot and onion, and a little fresh parsley. Serve lemon quarters and melted butter separately. Or serve cold with mayonnaise or as a salad or cocktail, one lobster to a portion.
Crevettet Pochées (Spicy Shrimp)
In a kettle combine 2 quarts water, 5 or 6 stalks of celery, and some celery tops, 24 allspice berries, 2 blades of mace, 9 cloves, 1 pod of red pepper, a little cayenne pepper, a fagot made by tying together 5 sprigs of parsley, I bayleaf, and a little thyme, and enough salt to make the broth quite salty. Simmer for 30 minutes to extract the flavors of the ingredients. Add the shrimp and cook 5 minutes. Cool the shrimp in the broth, shell, and remove the intestinal veins. Arrange them on a bed of cracked ice and garnish with parsley. Serve as bors-d'oeuvre, with cocktail same, if desired.