Behind the French Menu: Bœuf de Chalosse, Label Rouge, IGP. The Chalosse, Red Label, Beef Cattle.

from
Behind the French Menu
by
Bryan G. Newman
bryangnewman@gmail.com

The Bœuf de Chalosse.
Photograph courtesy of Association Bœuf de Chalosse

The origin of Chalosse.

Until 1790, the second year of the French Revolution, the ancient region of Chalosse—a hilly, green area nestled near the Pyrenees—was part of historic Gascony. It was then incorporated into the newly created Landes department, now part of Nouvelle-Aquitaine. In food products, the name Chalosse lives on through local specialties, including:

· Label Rouge and IGP-certified Bœuf de Chalosse (beef)

· IGP Vins des Coteaux de Chalosse (wines)

· Jambon de Chalosse (cured ham)

· IGP duck products from the area of Chalosse that are part of the Canard à Foie Gras du Sud-Ouest

(The region had been part of the larger territories held by the English crown (the Duchy of Aquitaine/Guyenne) from the 12th to the 15th centuries when it returned to France during one of eternal French-English wars).

The IGP

Chalosse beef has been raised in the region for hundreds of years and, since the early 1900s, has been recognized for its exceptional quality. Today, it holds both a Pan-European IGP (Indication Géographique Protégée) and the prestigious French Red Label (Label Rouge).

In France, where beef is rarely aged to ensure maximum tenderness, specific Chalosse cuts are an exception and are aged for at least ten days: the Entrecôte , Filet (US tenderloin/ UK fillet), Faux-filet, (UK sirloin/USA strip steak), Rumsteck (rump steak) and Côte de Bœuf (bone-in rib eye or rib roast).

The Chalosse Beef logo

Interestingly, the Chalosse cattle are not a particular breed; rather, this group includes beef cattle from the Blonde d'Aquitaine, the Limousine, and the Bazas breeds and, rather obviously, the progeny from these three strains. (This emphasis on nurturing rather than strict breeding is also central to the success of the Bœuf Fin Gras du Mézenc AOP.

The Chalosse Beef
Photograph courtesy of France-Voyage.com

The Bœuf de Chalosse on French Menus:

Entrecôte de Bœuf de Chalosse à la Bordelaise - An entrecôte (ribeye) steak from the Bœuf de Chalosse prepared à la Bordelaise. (To order a steak, in France, cooked the way you prefer it click here See Chapter 1).

In this listing à la Bordelaise indicates the use of Sauce Bordelaise - This sauce is made with Bordeaux red wine, veal stock, butter, shallots, thyme, and bone marrow. The wine used in the preparation of this sauce is key, and there is plenty of choice. Bordeaux is a port city that is close to the center of France’s Atlantic coast and the cultural center of the nearly 60 wine appellations that make up the famous Bordeaux wine-growing region.

Ordering wine to accompany your Entrecote Bordelaise - When selecting a wine to accompany a dish with Sauce Bordelaise, remember there are over 3,500 wine châteaux and wholesalers in Bordeaux. While you may recognize a few famous names on the wine list, that alone does not guarantee a good match, and the restaurant’s wine list may offer 20 more options with excellent wines with names and years that you don’t know. At this point, a sommelier, the wine steward, should demonstrate their skills using your preferences and budget. The sommelier can suggest a wine that pairs well with the dish and complements the sauce without overpowering it.

If you prefer making your own choices, buy an up-to-date pocket wine book before you travel or buy the guide as an eBook so that you can browse the wine list with your phone.

Sauté d'Onglet de Bœuf de Chalosse aux Petits Légumes et au Gingembre - A lightly fried, US flank steak (a UK hanger steak) (see chapter 17) from Chalosse beef, served with young vegetables and flavored with ginger.

The ginger root holds 90% of the plant's ginger flavor, and when cooked, the aroma and the sharpness and spiciness drop considerably, and that is the ginger taste that most of us prefer. French chefs who want the kick and flavor that comes from the fresh root will buy it whole and then grind and dry their own powdered ginger to use as required.

Boeuf de Chalosse Wellington
(For more about Beef Wellington see the post)
Photograph and recipe courtesy of Qualité Landes

Paleron de Bœuf de Chalosse Braisé au Vin de Tursan.– A Paleron is a cut from the shoulder used for many of France’s finest stews. (See chapter 16). Here, the paleron is braised in a Tursan AOP wine, probably a red, from the vineyards in the departments of Landes and Gers.

Tursan is a relatively small appellation with a long history of winemaking for reds, whites and rosés. As winemaking techniques have improved, their wines are gaining popularity.

Pièce de Bœuf de Chalosse à la Plancha, Pommes Grenaille au Poêlon - One of the unique and tasty French cuts from the rump (See chapters 5 and 19), prepared on the plancha and served with small new potatoes prepared in a particular frying pan called a poêlon.

The Plancha or Planxa is part of many southern French and French Basque recipes and provides unique tastes that cannot be obtained with traditional frying or grilling. (In French restaurant tradition, the pots and pans used in preparing various dishes are often noted in the menu listing, implying authenticity and artisanal preparation.) The plancha is an iron sheet, almost one and a half centimeters (0.6”) thick, that provides a very even method of cooking that uses very little oil, which results in a taste of its own. The invention of the plancha is claimed as their own by the French, the Spanish, and the Basques.

Pommes Grenaille - Grenailles may be translated in your French-English dictionary as pebbles; however, you will be served small, early, new potatoes.

Poêlons - Heavier and deeper than standard frying pans and used for slow cooking and braising.

Filet de Bœuf de Chalosse en Croûte aux Herbes – Fillet of beef, a cut from the tenderloin (chapter 20), from the Chalosse beef (en croute aux herbes indicates the beef is cooked within a covering of herbs).

En Croûte: initially, only indicated dishes that had been cooked, or finished cooking inside pastry or in a hollowed-out loaf of bread. Today's creative chefs have moved on and apart from pastry and bread dishes, en croûte may be prepared with coverings from vegetables, herbs or fruits. Dishes en croûte may also include toasted dishes that are sometimes called a croustade. The word croûte, on its own, is the French word for toasted and or a crust.

Filet de Bœuf de Chalosse aux Échalotes Confites
A cut from the fillet, the tenderloin (chapter 20) from Chalosse beef served with a shallot confit (jam).
The word confit means to cook very well, cure or preserve. Following on confit also links to the word confiture (jams or jellies) and in this case the shallot confit will be close to a jam.
Photograph and recipe courtesy of Elle à Table.

The Chalosse Beef with the Label Rouge

To earn the prestigious Label Rouge designation, the nurturing of cattle is strictly regulated. Calves must be reared by their mothers until weaned, and the use of antibiotics or growth hormones is strictly prohibited. For the first two years, the animals graze freely from spring through Autumn, and during the winter, when they are in barns, they are fed the grasses and herbs from the same area where they grazed in summer, mostly wild grasses. In the third year, in the six or twelve months before going to market, they have corn (USA maize) added to their diet.

While the commercial center of Chalosse is the spa town of Dax (the home of the Dacquoise or Le Biscuit Dacquoise ), the seat of the Beef Association of Chalosse is located in the small village of Lourquen, about 24 km (15 miles) away. Most farmers only send about 40 animals to the market each year, so there is a very limited supply. Fewer than 80 artisanal butchers sell the beef throughout France; consequently, finding this very special beef on a restaurant’s menu will be a special occasion, and you should not pass on the opportunity.

The Trophée Bœuf de Chalosse

If you are in the area of Landes on the last Saturday in July, do not miss out on the Trophée Bœuf de Chalosse; this is a two-day fete in the small town of Montfort-en-Chalosse, which is a ten-minute drive from the village of Lourquen. The main events are on Saturday, including a gourmet dinner that attracts meat lovers.

On Saturday, the town festival begins at 8 a.m., and by 9 a.m., the flea market and local market are open, and visitors can watch the parade of cattle, decorated with flowers and entertainment by folk groups, bandas, and pony rides for children. Also in the morning, the competition of fattened oxen, cows, and heifers will take place, and for lunch, local butchers will prepare dishes based on the IGP Label Rouge Chalosse beef.

Bulls on show at the Trophée Bœuf de Chalosse.
Photograph courtesy of MODEF.

Landes is about much more than just beef.

Situated on France’s Atlantic coast, Landes boasts over 100 km (66 miles) of uninterrupted sandy beaches. Its long shoreline is a rich source of fresh fish, oysters, and mussels. For exceptional oysters, head to Lac d'Hossegor (Hossegor Marine Lake), and if you're curious about how oysters are sold by weight in France, check out the post Huitres. Oysters. Huitres II: How Fresh Oysters in France are Sold by Weight. The nearby town of Hossegor is a European surfing hotspot that draws surfers from across the continent. Just a ten-minute drive away is Capbreton, home to a working fishing port, a paradise for seafood lovers, and it also has beautiful sandy beaches. Further north lies Seignosse, renowned for its wild, dune-backed beaches popular with surfers, as well as its nearby water park and golf course. These are just a few of the many places to explore, relax, and enjoy the flavors of Landes.

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