Meat And Poultry Fondue Tips

Notater

Meat and chicken fondues

It ís best to heat the cooking liquid on the stovetop hefore bringing the fondue pot to the table. For oil, the temperature needs to be 330-375 or when a cube of bread carefully placed in the oil browns in 30 seconds. The stock should be boiling.

The best cuts of meat make for a more tender, flavorful, and quickly cooked meat fondue. Fillet or sirloin steak is the basis for the traditional bourguignonne, but pork and lamb fillet make tasty alternatives. These meats can either be cut into bite-sized pieces or into slices (see the tip for slicing meat in Mongolian Lamb Hot Pot on page 42). If you like, you can marinate the meat first for extra flavor. You can also make a novel fondue with meat balls (see page 48).

Do not let meat or poultry fall to the bottom of the pot as it can stick. And don't over-fill the pot or the oil will froth up and overflow.

The tastiest and most tender poultry to use is skinned breast meat. The meat can either be sliced thinly into strips or slivers or cut into bite-sized pieces.

The liquid for these two fondues is usually chicken stock, but depending on the dish, consommé and even coconut milk (for a Thai fondue) can be used.

Meat fondues especially, but also poultry, can be enlivened with sauces, relishes, chutneys, mayonnaises, mustards, and ketchups. The recipes in this book do suggest a selection of go-alongs, but you can prepare many others that will make good partners with your chosen ingredients. Chinese fondues can be made into a real feast with the addition of rice or noodles, and even spring rolls (see page 46).

For a rich meat-based fondue such as a Fondue Bourguignonne (sce page 50), offer a full red wine such as California or Coonawarra Cabernet, or a Burgundy or Bordeaux. White or red wines both go well with poultry. The more basic dishes can have a French vin de pays, going up the scale to an oaked Chardonnay, and onto reds like Bergerac.