from
Behind the French Menu
by
Bryan G. Newman
behindthefrenchmenu@gmail.com
The
Charolais Cattle
Photograph courtesy of deanezl
www.flickr.com/photos/45449312@N00/1733676500/
The AOP-certified
Charolais cattle are prized for the excellence of their meat. They were the
third French breed to be awarded an AOC (now an AOP) for
the consistent superior quality. For livestock, an AOP also dictates the
manner in which the cattle are raised and what they may be fed. Charolais herds
are all free-range for most of the year, feeding on grasses, wildflowers, and
herbs in the summer. In winter, when moved to sheltering barns, they are fed local
grasses and cereals collected and stored from their summer grazing areas. Furthermore,
all AOP cattle must be completely free of growth hormones and antibiotics.
Calves must be raised by their mothers and remaining together until weaning.
A
Charolais cow resting.
Photograph courtesy of David Wright
www.flickr.com/photos/dhwright/6997890059/
Charolais cattle are almost entirely white, creating a marvellous contrast as they graze in lush summer pastures. Their striking appearance, with their white coats against the vibrant green, is a memorable sight in the countryside.
Unlike those raised for veal, Charolais beef cattle are not brought to market until they are at least two and a half years old. This extended rearing period allows for their body fat to be finely distributed throughout their muscles, resulting in exceptionally well-marbled beef.
The Charolais Beef on
French menus:
Filet de Boeuf Charolais aux
Morilles et Savagnin Gratin de Pomme de Terre et Légumes de Saison -
This is a cut from a Charolais fillet (the tenderloin), prepared with Savagnin
wine sauce and accompanied by wild morel
mushrooms, a potato
gratin and a Savagnin
wine sauce.
Filet de Boeuf: Beef
Fillets. While the fillet is always the tenderest
cut of beef, it isn't always the most flavorful. In France, fillet cuts are
almost always served with a sauce. Here, the sauce combines the natural cooking
juices, morel mushrooms, and the unique Savagnin wine.
The
Savagnin grape: The grape that yields fantastic white and yellow wines in
France's Jura department,
which borders Switzerland. Its name, derived from the French word sauvage
(meaning wild), hints at the grape's origins in wild vineyards.
Morilles -
Morels are a family of tasty mushrooms with a decidedly different look to most
others. Morels lack the gills and domed
caps of many other mushrooms, but they all have white to ivory-colored stems
and a conical cap. Dried morel caps that
you may see in the market look tube-shaped, but that is part of the drying
process and when rehydrated the conical cap returns. The morel’s taste and
texture make them a French favorite; they’re served fresh from early spring
through to the beginning of June. (The idea that Morel stems are not edible is
an urban legend, though they are a little tougher than the cap).
Gratin de Pomme de Terre:
and maybe Gratin Dauphinois: while the menu listing refers to
browned potatoes it’s quite probable that the chef has chosen the popular
Gratin
Dauphinois to accompany a filet steak with a wine sauce. Here, thinly sliced baked potatoes are cooked
with olive oil and garlic and layered with cream and milk. Some versions add
onions and nearly all add grated cheese,
typically Gruyère
with
the dish browned under the grill before serving. This dish originated in the
historic Dauphine region of France, now the departments of Savoie and Isère in
the region of the Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes, and part of the region of
Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur. Dauphiné
translates as a dolphin, that seagoing mammal but that will not be on the menu,
neither will the dolphin fish. A dolphin was the symbol of the counts who ruled
the area until they became part of France some 600 years ago. Then the Kings of France adopted the title
Dauphiné for their eldest sons, the first in line for the throne. N.B. Pommes de Terre Dauphine are
different; they’re potato croquettes mixed with choux pastry and fried.
Morel
mushrooms
Photograph
courtesy of Pascal
Blachier
https://www.flickr.com/photos/pascal-blachier/3471258841/
Le Carpaccio de Bœuf Charolais, Mesclun et Copeaux de Parmesan – A Carpaccio of
Charolaise beef served with a mesclun salad and sprinkled with flakes
of
Parmesan cheese.
Carpaccio -
This
iconic dish didn't originate with a French chef; the Carpaccio’s creator was an
Italian, Giuseppe Cipriani (1900–1980). Giuseppe
Cipriani was the owner of Harry’s Bar in Venice, Italy and in the 1950's Cipriani
created Carpaccio di Manzo (Italian for Beef Carpaccio) for a regular
customer whose doctor had forbidden her to eat cooked meat The dish was named
in honor of the famous Venetian Renaissance painter Vittore Carpaccio (c. 1460
- 1526), known for his vibrant red hues. According to the Cipriani tradition,
the dish was created for a regular customer of Harry’s Bar whose doctor had
forbidden her to eat cooked meat.
Mesclun: means
"mixed" in the Provençal language of southern France. While a Salade Mesclun can certainly serve as an entrée
(the French first course), it more commonly accompanies a main dish or may be
part of a light lunch.
Typically, a salade mesclun will
feature five or six distinct ingredients chosen for their harmonious yet
contrasting tastes, textures, and colors. It's traditionally served with a
vinaigrette sauce. The exact ingredients change with the seasons,
Typically, a salad mesclun will feature
five or six distinct ingredients chosen for their harmonious yet contrasting
tastes, textures, and colors. It's traditionally served with a vinaigrette
sauce. While the exact ingredients change with the seasons, you might encounter
leaves like:
Pissenlit (dandelion
leaves), for a pleasant spicy note.
Treviso Radicchio or
Chicorée Rouge di Chioggia (radichio),
chosen for its beautiful flash of reddish-purple color and a touch of
bitterness.
Endive (Belgian
endive), for a satisfying crunch.
Chicorée Frisée (curly
endive), is often included for its slightly bitter taste and attractive look.
Feuille de Chêne (oak leaf lettuce),
which can be red or green. Haricot Vert (green beans) are often added.
Mâche or Mâche Nantaise
(Lamb’s lettuce or Corn Salad), France’s tastiest contribution to a mixed
salad. Mâche leaves are nutty, juicy, with just a tinge of spice, and a texture
that expands when tasted with other salad greens.
Roquet
(rocket/arugula) spice.
Sucrine (bibb lettuce), buttery texture and mild,
slightly sweet flavor.
Laitue Iceberg (iceberg
lettuce), included for the crunch.
Even if the chef got a little
"carried away" and adds herbs, tomatoes, and its ubiquitous Haricots
Blanc, white beans you're guaranteed a great salad.
Boeuf
Carpaccio
Photograph courtesy of patrick janicek
www.flickr.com/photos/marsupilami92/32731729907/
Pavé de Rumsteck "Charolais"
Sauce au Poivre
Vert – A thick-cut
Charolais rump steak served with a green peppercorn sauce.
A
French "rumsteck" comes from a slightly different cut than a
North American or UK rump steak. In France, this cut is traditionally barded
(wrapped in fat) during cooking to prevent it from drying out, as it's
naturally lean. This technique often results in a French rump steak that's more
flavorful than its counterparts elsewhere.
Pepper
steaks: Most French pepper steaks are prepared with green peppercorns, and
for good reason. Green peppercorns are picked as unripe peppercorns and pickled
in brine before drying. This process gives them a slightly herbal flavor and
makes them much less pungent than black or white peppercorns. Theit milder
profile makes green pepper sauce easier to control, ensuring the dish is
perfectly seasoned without overpowering the other flavors.
Pave
de Rumsteck
Photograph
courtesy of Brian Griffin
www.flickr.com/photos/124398512@N05/19843323429/
Tartare
de Bœuf Charolais, Pommes
Frites et Salade de
Jeunes Pousses – A Steak Tatar made with Charolais beef and served with French
fries, chips, and a salad of young vegetable leaves. The most popular young leaves and shoots, come from spinach, chicory,
Belgian Endives, arugula, and watercress.
Tartare de Bœuf : A
steak in the manner of the Tartars, the famous and frightening fighters who
rode to war under the direction of Genghis Khan beginning in the 13th
century. Twentieth-century folklore has
the Tartar tribesmen riding to war 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. Despite the name, Steak Tartar (Tartare) is far from
any real Tartar culinary traditions.
Steak Tartar begins with raw ground
or chopped beef. Despite the lack of a frying pan or grill, in France, this may
be one of the greatest steak dishes that you have ever tasted. Steak Tartar is
spiced beef made with steak. Fish and
vegetarian versions of this dish are also not cooked.
Pommes Frites: The perfect Pommes Frits, French
Fries or Chips can be a culinary feast on their own. The ideal French fry has
no fixed size though most French schools of the culinary arts teach their
would-be chefs to cut them 5mm x 5 mm thick and 5 or 6 cm long. An excellent
French fry is crispy and slightly crunchy on the outside; it will be colored a
golden brown, and on the inside, it will be cooked and tender.
The French take on properly made French fries requires them when freshly
cut to be soaked in cold water before frying them twice. I was told that the
soaking reduces much of the starch on the outside, and that aids in producing
crispy fries, but its frying them twice that provides that perfect crispy fry.
To order a steak to go with the fries see the post: Ordering a steak in France,
cooked the way you like it.
Tartare
de Bœuf
Steak
Tatar.
Photograph courtesy of cyclonebill
www.flickr.com/photos/cyclonebill/9382942005/
Tournedos de Bœuf du Charolais Poêle,
sa Béarnaise a
la Truffe Noire avec
Petits Légumes de Printemps a la Vapeur d'Estragon et Couronne de Pommes de
Terre Rôties – Pan-Seared
Charolais Beef Tournedos with Black Truffle Béarnaise Sauce, served with
Steamed Spring Vegetables with Tarragon, and a Crown of Roasted Potatoes.
Tournedos:
The thickest cut from the end of the fillet, the tenderloin, is
called the tournedos in France. A tournedos is also the cut used for
a Tournedos Rossini,
and a double tournedos will be a Chateaubriand.
Sauce Béarnaise:
One of France's really awesome sauces; it is part of many beef or fish dishes
whether they are served hot or cold.
The sauce was created by chef and restaurateur Jean-Louis François
Collinet. He famously created it by adapting Sauce Hollandaise by substituting
lemon with white wine vinegar and shallots, and replacing other herbs with
chervil and tarragon, and voila he created Sauce Béarnaise. Collinet is also
credited with creating soufflé potatoes in 1837.
Charolais
cow and calf
Photograph
courtesy of K-State Research
and Extension
https://www.flickr.com/photos/ksrecomm/51001467159/
Finding Charolais and Bourbonnais on the map.
Part of the Charolais
du Bourbonnais name for this breed of cattle comes from the village and
community of Charolles in the department of Saone et Loire in the
Bourgogne. (Bourgogne, Burgundy, is today joined
with Franche Comte as Bourgogne – Franche-Comte). This area was home
to the Bourbon Kings of France, hence Bourbonnais.
Portions of Charolais and Bourbonnais are now included in a new voluntary economic and agricultural grouping called Le Pays Charolais-Brionnais.
How
to get to Charolles
Photograph courtesy of Elliott Brown
www.flickr.com/photos/ell-r-brown/34878669824/
The area of Charolais-Brionnais covers part of the South West of Burgundy and part of the region of the Auvergne - Rhône-Alpes To make things more interesting when you ask the locals who they are some call themselves Charolaise and some call themselves Bourbonnais.
There is much more than beef on the menu with the names Charolais and Bourbonnais; for example:
Charolais AOP - Fromage Charolais AOP - A 45% fat, creamy, goat’s milk cheese made with unpasteurized milk.
L’Agneau Charolais Fermier du
Bourbonnais, Label Rouge – The highly rated Charolais
Bourbonnais Label Rouge, red label, lambs that developed alongside the
Charolais cattle. When Charolais lamb is on the menu, do not pass it by.
The Volailles Label Rouge Bourbonnais IGP - The Bourbonnais poultry. Their highly rated poultry includes their farm-raised chickens, their Poulet Bourbonnais Fermier Label Rouge, and their Pintade Bourbonnais, Fermière Label Rouge, their red label, farm-raised Guinea hens.
------------------------------------------
Behind
the French Menu
by
Bryan G. Newman
behindthefrenchmenu@gmail.com
Copyright 2010,
2011,2012, 2016, 2019, 2025
--------------------------------
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Carpaccio on a French Menu. How to Order a Carpaccio in France.
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