Le Cordon Bleu - Practical #1; Instruction #2

Point five seconds into the first practical there was a cut. By minute 3, the second one. And by the end, a half-dozen students were wrapped with band-aids. I remained band-aid free.

My dominating goal for this practical was not to cut myself. Goal achieved. Oh, and the rustic vegetable soup came out as well.

My judicious notes kept me calm. No major mistakes. And in the end the chef gave me a, “C’est bonne.” He also told me that I worked at a good pace and kept my area clean – all good.

After finishing my first intense practical I was drained. Instruction #2 followed immediately – so no resting yet.

Instruction #2 – Basic Stocks – Part I

• Brown Veal Stock
• Fish Stock (fumet); Two ways
• Lemon Sole fillets in white wine sauce

As in Instruction #1, Chef Stril slowly, but steadily, guided us through each recipe. Brown veal stock will simmer for about 3 hours – so we began there.

Brown Veal Stock

Roasting will brown the veal bones. (Pictured is a fresh, unroasted bone.) It will be this coloring and the addition of some tomato paste that will develop the final coloring of this stock. We are not so much concerned with how the veal bones are cooking as we are about their color.

Carrots, onion, garlic, and celery are also roasted. More brown color.

Tomatoes are skinned and seeded, then mirepoix.

Bones, vegetables, tomatoes are heaped into a stock pot with a bouquet garni (thyme, bay leaf, and parsley stems tied in leek greens), 2 cloves, and 20 peppercorns. Water is added until just above the ingredients. Bring to a boil. Then start the 3 hour clock.

The impurities of the ingredients will begin to rise to the surface. This looks like white foam. Skim this off with a skimmer throughout the cooking process.

Once the impurities have ceased – the grease will begin to rise. In the same manner, but with a ladle, skim and discard the grease.

After 3 hours – viola. Fond de veau brun.

Fumet
Fumet is made in a similar manner as the veal stock with a few alternations.

The bones are not roasted – this stock is clear or white. The stock will simmer for only about 20 minutes. And a white wine/water combination is used.

We, of course, need to scale, trim, gut, fillet, de-head, skin, and de-blood the fish. Chef Stril glided through this process making it all look so easy. Most of these steps you can conceptualize, but de-blood?

Once the fish has been filleted – leaving only the skeleton intact – then whack the vertebrae with a chef’s knife. Soak in cold water – extracting the blood. Change the water every 5 minutes until clear.

Lemon Sole with Bercy Sauce
Bercy sauce is white wine and butter. After the fillets of lemon sole have been braised (cooked in liquid in an over) the pan juices are reduced by at least 80%. Then cold butter is slowly added – while continuously whisking – until the sauce is finished. (In demo the chef used 2 blocks [4 sticks] of butter! But he was cooking for 30.) Add a bit of finely diced parsley and pour over your braised fillets.