Taureau de Camargue AOP. The Best Beef in France.

from

Behind the French Menu

by

Bryan G. Newman

behindthefrenchmenu@gmail.com

(Madame) 'Taureau de Camargue'
Photograph courtesy  of Gérard Meyer
https://www.flickr.com/photos/ferdinand23/54388435786/

The Taureau de Camargue  or Race de Biòu Camarguais (Raço di Biòu in the Provençale language)  was the first breed of French cattle to be awarded an AOC, now an AOP, for the unquestionably excellent and consistent quality of their meat. When the Taureau de Camargue is on the menu, you will have an opportunity to enjoy some of the best steaks or roasts that France can offer; in the winter fabulous stews will be on the menu.

The Camargue where the cattle are raised is a working nature reserve and part of the Delta of the Rhone River on France’s Mediterranean coast; it is partly in Provence, Alpes-Côte d'Azur; and partly in Occitanie.

The Gardiens
Photograph courtesy of yves P
www.flickr.com/photos/ypou34/7569136082/

The Taureau de Camargue AOP are completely free range and looked after by real French cowboys (called gardiens) who also look after the Camargue’s wild white horses. The breed has black and dark brown bulls and cows that are descended from the great Spanish fighting bulls; however, they are physically much smaller and are now considered an entirely separate species.  

Wild horses of the Camargue
Photograph courtesy of Barry.
https://www.flickr.com/photos/beejd1044/34729434332/

Your first bite will tell you that the texture and taste of their Taureau is different, and there are reasons for that.  To hold their AOP, the animals must be antibiotic and growth hormone-free, and 90% of their food must come from natural grazing.

The Taureau de Camargue on French menus: 

Carpaccio de Taureau, Parmesan, Cebette et Câpres  -   A Carpaccio of Taureau de Camargue prepared with Parmesan cheese, spring onions and capers. While the Taureaux de Camargue are semi-wild, this will be a delicate serving of the flavorful Taureau beef, very thinly sliced and drizzled with olive oil—a light and authentic taste of the Camargue region.

The AOP olive oils of Provence and Occitanie are famous and the olive oil used for this dish will be one of the three that grow with a few miles of the Camargue:  The Vallée des Baux-de-Provence AOP, the Aix-en-Provence AOP or the Nîmes AOP. 

 

Côte de Taureau de Camargue Grillée au Thym, Sauté de Pomme de Terre à la Ciboule – A rib roast of Camargue beef, grilled with thyme and served with potatoes fried with scallions (green onions). Most French rib roasts have four ribs and will weigh three kilos or more, so you will be served slices. To choose how you prefer the meat cooked and to order meat cooked to the doneness you prefer click here.

Pavé de Taureau de Camargue
A Taureau de Camargue rump steak.
Photograph courtesy of patrick janicek
https://www.flickr.com/photos/marsupilami92/16897832010/

             

Entrecôte de Taureau de Camargue, Sauce Béarnaise, Pommes de Terre Rate au Four, Légumes du Moment - An entrecôte steak, a US or UK ribeye. An entrecote, in France, is nearly always grilled, and here it is served with Sauce Béarnaise.   Accompanying the steak are baked ratte potatoes, one of France's most popular potatoes, along with the freshest vegetables.

Sauce Béarnaise: Sauce Béarnaise (pronounced bay-are-naiz) is a superstar.  On steaks, chicken, salmon, vegetables or poached eggs, Sauce Béarnaise has been popular for almost 200 years.

The sauce is a "child" of Sauce Hollandaise.  In the 1830s, the chef and restaurateur Jean-Louis Françoise-Collinet took the recipe for Sauce Hollandaise, omitted the lemon juice and added white wine vinegar, échalotes, shallots; cerfeuil, chervil, and estragon, tarragon and made Sauce Béarnaise. It's the tarragon and white wine vinegar that supply the tang that makes us Sauce Béarnaise devotees.  The same chef Collinet, in the same restaurant, Pavillon Henry IV, 20 km (12.5 miles) from Paris, in 1837, created soufflé potatoes. The story of soufflé potatoes will need a separate post.

Ratte potatoes: This is a small French potato, also called the Asparge Potato. It is not a new variety in France but a born-again potato. This potato originally came from Denmark and went out of fashion for a few years. The Ratte was reintroduced and is again much appreciated for its taste and smooth, slightly buttery texture and its name will be on many menus.

In French, ratte does mean a rat or possibly a mouse; however, that just refers to its uncooked form. With a bit of imagination, these potatoes may resemble a crouching mouse or rat. This potato's fame is in the taste, not the name.

Now, to decide whether the English translation of a ratte should be a mouse or a rat, read Umberto Eco's book, A Mouse or a Rat: Translation as Negotiation.

Ratte potatoes
Photograph courtesy of Ashley Basil
https://www.flickr.com/photos/28438417@N08/35866747031/

Gardiane de Taureau et son Riz de Camargue – A slow-simmered, traditional stew from the Camargue region. This is the hearty, memorable dish prepared by the Gardians (Camargue cowboys), similar to a Provençal daube, but made exclusively with Taureau de Camargue beef, braised in red wine and herbs and served with the highly rated Camargue rice and for more about the foods grown and served on the Camargue click here).

The Gardians are the French cowboys of the Camargue. Their primary role is to manage and tend to the semi-feral herds of both Camargue cattle (taureaux) and horses.  (The herds are known as manades). The Gardian is typically a paid employee of the manadier (the herd owner), who profits from the sale of the cattle (used in the acrobaticcourses camarguaises and for meat) and the horses (used for work and tourism).

  

Pièce de Filet de Taureau de Camargue AOP Sauce au Vin Rouge, Purée de Pomme de Terre à l'Huile d'Olive – A tender fillet steak from the Taureau de Camargue prepared with a red wine sauce and served with pureed potatoes flavored with olive oil. 

The Course Camarguaise 

Among the Camargue's most cherished traditions is the Course Camarguaise, a unique acrobatic competition featuring the Taureau de Camargue cattle, most often the cows. This event is emphatically not a bullfight; it is an athletic competition where the raseteurs (competitors) attempt to retrieve tassels from the bull's horns. The cattle are" professionals" and the gardians (cowboys) take great care to ensure they are never harmed or wounded.

A Course Camarguaise

Photograph courtesy of Arnaud DG

https://www.flickr.com/photos/hern42/3930446271/

 

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Connected posts: 

AOC and AOP on France's Foods and Wine labels? Why is the AOC becoming an AOP?

Carpaccio on French Menus.

Côte, a rib or rib roast, a cutlet or a chop; Côté, a side or a filet; Côtes, (cotes) the hills or the coast in French. All will be on French menus.

Daube – A Traditional Provencal Stew. Now on Menus all Over France.

Entrecôte. Ordering a Perfect Entrecote Steak in France.

Estragon - Tarragon. Tarragon, the herb, in French Cuisine.

Filet Mignon on French Menus and Filet de Bœuf in French Cuisine.

French Olive Oils. Enjoying France's Best Olive Oils.

Ordering a Steak in France, Cooked the Way you Like it.

Parmesan, the Italian Parmigiano-Reggiano is an Important Ingredient in French Cuisine.

Regions - France’s Mainland Regions and Their Borders Have Changed. Keep This List With Your GPS and Map.

The Camargue, France. The Land, its People, and its Own Unique Cuisine.

Thyme in France. Thym, Serpolet, Farigoule and Thym Citron, Lemon Thyme in France. Thyme. One of the most important herbs in French cuisine.

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Behind the French Menu
by
Bryan G. Newman
behindthefrenchmenu@gmail.com
Copyright 2010, 2013, 2019, 2025

 

Bœuf Fermier d’Aubrac, Label Rouge – The Red Label Beef from Aubrac in the Center of Southern France.

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

 
Aubrac cow and calf.
Photograph courtesy of Jean Weber
        www.flickr.com/photos/inra_dist/25371239801/

When you want great beef, and Bœuf Fermier d’Aubrac is on the menu expect something special.  From farms over 800 m. (2600’) high, for five to six months a year the Aubrac cattle are free-range on the Aubrac Plateau where they graze on grass and wild herbs and flowers.  In the winter they are fed hay from the same grass and herbs that they eat in the summer; after two to three seasons on the plateau, their beef is flavored and well marbled.

   

The Aubrac Plateau is close to the center of southern France.

The plateau is to the South of the Massif Central where the departments of Lozère, Aveyron, and Cantal meet.

Photograph courtesy of the Journal of Alpine Research.

    

The Aubrac Beef’s Label Rouge

The Bœuf Fermier d’Aubrac must meet yearly standard checks, unlike many wines that bear famous labels but were last checked one hundred or more years ago.  For their Label Rouge IGP, (the UK PGI) the calves must be raised by their mothers until weaned and no antibiotics or growth hormones may be used.  Every year there are organoleptic tests, where highly trained professional tasters use their very special noses and taste buds to ensure the quality never drops.

   

Statue to the Aubrac Bulls in Laguiole.

Photograph courtesy of marlenedd

www.flickr.com/photos/marlened/5131867074/

 

To meet the requirement for the Label Rouge cattle, there must be at least 10,000 sq. m. (2.50 acres) for each cow and calf.  This beef comes from small farms with the average herd less than 100 head including calves and bulls.  Many of the farms are also AB (Agriculture Biologique) certified organic farms.

  

Aubrac Plateau in winter,

Photograph courtesy of Roland Brossy

www.flickr.com/photos/rolandbrossy_photographies/32611740535/

  

Bœuf d’Aubrac on French Menus:

Côte de Bœuf d’Aubrac pour 2 (800 g), Frites Maison –  A  bone-in rib-eye steak from the Bœuf Fermier d’Aubrac for two,  with 800 grams (28 ounces) including the bone, served with the restaurant’s special French Fries.  The bone will take 50% of the weight served, and so each diner may expect 200 grams (7 ounces).  When a menu listing reads Frites Maison that indicates the restaurant has its own particular take on French fries. Ask.

  

Daube de Boeuf Aubrac Label Rouge -  Daube is a famous beef stew that originated in Provence.  It is made with a red wine and tomato base; the vegetables and herbs depending on the time of year and the chef.  When good chefs begin with good beef, they make seriously good steaks.  However, with good ingredients, it is the rare gourmand who can tell one good steak from another.  That is not so true for stews where it takes more than a very high temperature and a little salt and pepper to cook.  A good stew takes hours of preparation at a low temperature, the herbs have to be just right, and when the meat used is not just good but seriously good then you will taste the difference. 

   Daube
Photograph courtesy of tpholland
https://www.flickr.com/photos/tpholland/4122574973/

 

Faux-Filet de Bœuf d'Aubrac au Poivre Noir de Kâmpôt, Lit de Fèves - A UK sirloin steak, a US strip steak. (The UK and USA sirloin are not the same cuts).  This is a pepper steak made with the Kampot black pepper from Cambodia and served on a bed of fava beans, also called the Windsor or broad bean.  Poivre de Kâmpôt from Cambodia is real pepper, from peppercorns, not a chili pepper, and holds a European Union IGP.  Pepper enthusiasts claim its taste speaks to gourmands and of course the pepper’s origin makes the menu listing more interesting.

 

Pièce de Bœuf d’Aubrac Cuite au Barbecue, Panisses aux Herbes et Sauce Foyot – The butcher’s choice of unique rump steaks cooked on a barbeque and accompanied by  Panisses and served with Sauce Foyot. The cut called the Piece de Bœuf, or Piece Boucher indicates the butcher’s choice and that is the name given to a few uniquely tasty cuts from the rump with only enough steaks for six to eight servings from a whole steer.  A skilled French butcher knows the real value of these cuts that are overlooked and wasted outside of France,

 

The Panisses began as a street food in the City of Nice on the Cote d’Azur on the Mediterranean and have made it to the best restaurants.  They mostly look like wide oblong fries (chips) and are made with chickpea flour, and like the best fries (chips) are crispy on the outside and soft on the inside.  The shape of  Panisses differs from street vendor to chef as each has his or her favorite.  Traditionally they are offered with just a sprinkling of with salt, but now grated Parmesan or Gruyere cheese may be added.  The Sauce Foyot was created by adding to a Sauce Béarnaise the glazed cooking juices of roasted meats making it the perfect sauce for grilled meats.  (Sauce Foyot is also called Sauce Valois). 

   

Tartare de Bœuf d'Aubrac (Cru ou Aller-retour), Frites Maison – Steak Tartar cru, uncooked, or aller-retour, ever so lightly seared on both sides, accompanied by the restaurant’s particular take on French fries.  Steak Tatar is a steak in the manner of the Tartars, the frightening fighters, the hordes, who rode to war under the direction of Genghis Khan in the 13th century.  Twentieth-century folklore has the Tartar tribesmen riding to battle with raw meat under their horses' saddles.  As they rode they were said to cut off pieces of the raw meat with a knife, and eat as they rode; they only stopped riding to sleep.

Today’s Steak Tartar begins with hand-cut or ground steak.  The texture is very important, and with this dish, you can really taste the meat so you do need seriously good beef and Aubrac beef fits that requirement.  Despite the lack of a frying pan or grill, this may be one of the greatest steak dishes that you have ever tasted.  Steak Tartar is made with tender, flavorsome steak, onion, parsley, cornichons, capers, and Cognac with Tabasco or Worcester sauce adding spice.  In many recipes, a raw egg yolk will be mixed in just before serving.  For those who enjoy good restaurant theater, you may an enjoy a true professional mixing the ingredients in front of you; there is no cooking involved.  For the French, a Steak Tartare is a spicy dish, but for most of us, spicy French dishes are not really very spicy.

 Steak Tatare Aller-Retour

This menu listing offers a choice of the traditional uncooked (cru) Steak Tatar or  very very slightly seared on the top and bottom "aller-retour".  Aller-Retour means go and come back, and when I use to travel from Paris to Lyon by train to see customers, I would order a cheap day-return train ticket known as an “aller-retour” a same day return ticket.  But how did this name jump to Steak Tatar and other dishes very lightly seared on both sides?  A French friend explained that for a new dish a chef must choose a name and "aller-retour" caught on.  So a Steak Tatar with a go and return ticket indicates the beef pate is taken from its starting point on a plate for a very very short searing of the beef on one side and that is the “go- aller,”  then the beef pate is flipped to the other side for the  “return – retour."  This creates a Steak Tatar sandwich of different flavors and textures.

The cities of Paris and Lyon compete for the name of the center of all that is good in French Cuisine and “aller-retour” Paris-Lyon- Paris tickets are still on sale.  When you visit Paris consider a side trip to Lyon for lunch, a visit to one of its three major art museums, the Bartholdi Fountain, and and then back to Paris for dinner.  Travel time each way is a pleasant two to two and a half hours.  Whether you try a Steak Tatar “aller-retour” in Paris or Lyon is up to you.

Steak Tatare
Photograph courtesy of Joselu Blanco
https://www.flickr.com/photos/silverman68/5457046330/

  

The Aubrac cattle

 

The Aubrac cattle were, until the French revolution, bred by monks on the Aubrac Plateau.  There they were raised to pull plows and provide milk as well as meat.  The cows provided the milk for the fabulous Laguiole cheese though now other breeds have taken their place and tractors replaced the Aubrac cattle pulling plows.  Nevertheless, despite the changes, a few farmers still make cheese with Aubrac milk.

  

Transhumance

   

Aubrac beef farmers continue a tradition of “transhumance.” the seasonal movement from the winter farms and barns to the summer pastures.  Every year a few thousand visitors come to watch as the herds meet near the village of Aubrac on the 25th of May when the herds with the cows and their calves begin their trek to their summer pastures.  To learn more about this tradition see the website below.  The Google or Bing translate programs allows the French language website to be clearly understood in English.

 

http://www.transhumanceaubrac.fr/

The village of Aubrac where the transhumance begins is just 20 km (12 miles) from the small but famous town of Laguiole.

Laguiole is home to three famous products.

N.B. Forget about the spelling, Laguiole is pronounced lie-yole, the G is silent. 

 

Laguiole AOP cheese.

The excellent Laguiole AOP, 45% fat, cow’s milk cheese is aged from 4 to 24 months before sale and to reach its own post click here.

Laguiole Cheese.
Photograph courtesy of Au Fromager de Rungis.

Maison du Laguiole

   

Maison du Laguiole, the House of Laguiole.  The creator of the original Limonadier, the traditional French corkscrew, and the Laguiole knife along with some of France’s best cutlery.

   

Laguiole en Aubrac - Brown Horn
Photograph courtesy  of Amazon

Restaurant Bras

 

Restaurant Bras, one of France’s most celebrated restaurants.  I do not usually name restaurants as chefs change fairly frequently and an up-to-date newspaper or magazine review is better than a post in a blog that can be around for a number of years.  However, the Bras restaurant under the imaginative command of Michel Bras and his son Sébastien has held three Michelin stars for fifty years.  That is just about long enough to tell me that they are doing something right and unlikely to change very soon.  Michel studied under the master chef Ferdinand Point who in the 1950's taught French chefs to throw out the heavy sauces and heating pans of Haute Cuisine.  Point’s students created today’s modern French cuisine then called Nouvelle Cuisine.  Those students are today, like Michel Bras, the grey-headed patriarchs of French cuisine.  The Bras restaurant and its associated hotel and restaurant have an English language website:

 

http://www.bras.fr/en/

Traveling to Laguiole

 

If you are traveling to the Mediterranean and the town of Sete or Montpellier from Paris you will probably take the A71 and A75 highways.  The A75 passes close to the Aubrac Plateau and Laguiole.  The ThinkLink.com web page below shows Laguiole in the center and clicking on the letter “i “  will pop up websites of all the French Government Tourist Information Offices in the area. 

 

ThinkLink.com and Laguiole

Aligot on the menu

On the menu in the region as well as many restaurants around France will be Aligot, a wonderful dish of cheese and mashed potato and garlic that is important enough to have its own post.  There are purists who believe that the real aligot can only be made with a young Laguiole cheese, a local tome fraiche, or a young Cantal cheese.  However, I can attest to having enjoyed, outside the region, excellent aligots made with other cheeses.

   

Aligot

Photograph courtesy of Marie Claire

   

The Laguiole French Government Tourist Information Office has an English language website:

http://www.aubrac-laguiole.com/en

Connected Posts:

 

Aligot on a French Menu; What’s That? Aligot is one of France’s Traditional Potato and Cheese Dishes and Remains Hugely Popular.

 

Araignée, the Spider; Merlan, Whiting, the Fish; Poire, the Pear; Langue de Chat, the Cat's Tongue. France’s Unique Cuts of Beef That are also Called the Butcher’s Choice.

 

Bio or Biologique. Aliments Biologiques, Produits Biologiques AB - Organic Food and Wine in France.

 

Cantal and Salers. Two of the Best Cheeses From the Auvergne, France.

 

Cornichons – Crisp, Crunchy, Vinegary, Slightly Salty, Miniature Cucumbers (Gherkins). Cornichons in French Cuisine.

 

Côte, a Bone-In Rib Steak, a Rib Roast, a Cutlet or a Chop; Vegetable Ribs; Côtes, (Cotes) the Hills or the Coast; Wine Growing Regions. All will be on French menus.

  

Daube – A Traditional Provencal Stew. Now on Menus all Over France.

 

Deciphering Cognac Labels and How to Tell the Age and Grade of a Cognac. Cognac; the World's Most Famous Brandy. Cognac I.

 

Dining in Nice on 'La Côte d'Azur'. The Cuisine of Nice, Cuisine Niçoise.

 

Faux-filet or Contre-filet - A UK Sirloin, a USA Strip Steak.

 

Farine - Flour. The flour in your French bread, crepes, and other delights.

 

Frites or Pomme Frites - French Fries in the USA and Chips in the UK. French Fries on French Menus.

 

Gruyère Cheese – French or Swiss? Enjoying French Gruyere IGP.

 

Haricot or Coco - Beans. Beans in French Cuisine.

 

Laguiole AOP Cheese. One of France's finest cheeses.

 

Nouvelle Cuisine? What ever happened to Nouvelle Cuisine? Who was Fernand Point?

 

Oignon or Ognon – An Onion. Onions on French menus. France’s most famous onions and their history.

 

Parmesan, the Italian Parmigiano-Reggiano is an Important Ingredient in French Cuisine.

 

Persil - Parsley. Parsley in French Cuisine.

 

Poivre - Peppercorns. White, Green, Black and Red Peppercorns. Grey Pepper and the Misnamed Pink Peppercorns. Pepper in French Cuisine.

 

Sauce Béarnaise, its Creation, its Creator and its Connection with Béarn. Sauce Béarnaise in French Cuisine.

 

Tabasco Sauce, its Origins, and its Place in French Cuisine.

 

Tartare - Tartar on French Menus. Steak Tartar, Fish Tartar and Vegetable Tartar.

 

Searching for the meaning of words, names or phrases

on

French menus?

Just add the word, words, or phrase that you are searching for to the words "Behind the French Menu" and search with Google. Behind the French Menu’s links include hundreds of words, names, and phrases that are seen on French menus. There are over 400 articles that include over 3,000 French dishes with English translations and explanations.

Behind the French Menu
by
Bryan G. Newman 
Copyright 2010, 2018, 2023.

behindthefrenchmenu@gmail.com