Les Abats – Michel Roux Jr

Celebrated chef, Michel Roux Jr, author of many cookbooks on the art of French cooking, feels like we are missing out by shying away from offal. “Don’t be afraid of offal. Some of the greatest of all French classics involve organ meats such as brains and sweetbreads”, he encourages. He doesn’t understand Americans reluctance to utilise every part of the animal as offal is an integral part of French and world cuisine.

Les Abats: Celebrating the Whole Beast, his latest book, attempts to ease us into the advantages of cooking with every inch of the animal. The recipes range from the simple sweetbreads his mother fed him as a child, to the more complex dishes such as those served at his award-winning restaurants. The two-star Michelin chef, begins with the joy of offal from the sea before moving onto poultry, pigs, cattle, sheep and lamb later in the book. There is also a selection of side dish recipes such as chutneys, mayonnaise and salads.

As with Michel’s other titles, these recipes reflect French cuisine at its best. There are no photographs in the book which might have been helpful for us who still fear the offal. 

Special thanks to the publisher for sharing the Bone marrow croquettes and Beetroot ketchup with our members today as well as for providing three copies of this book in our worldwide contest below. 

Bone Marrow Croquettes
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Bone marrow is extremely nutritious as well as being very good to eat. It had fallen out of favour but has seen a big surge in popularity in recent years so is much easier to get. I love these croquettes as a snack with a drink, or they make an excellent garnish to serve with roast beef.

Makes 16 croquettes

  • 600g trimmed bone marrow, cut into long pieces
  • 1 sprig thyme
  • 2 bay leaves
  • 120g butter 
  • 400g white mushrooms, very finely chopped 
  • 2 shallots, peeled and chopped 
  • 2 tbsp chopped flatleaf parsley 
  • 300ml milk 
  • 80g flour, plus extra for dusting 
  • Dijon mustard 
  • 2 eggs, beaten 
  • 600g fine breadcrumbs
  • vegetable oil, for deep-frying
  • salt and freshly ground black pepper

Put the pieces of bone marrow in a bowl of cold water and leave them to soak for a couple of hours. Transfer them to a saucepan of fresh water and add the thyme and bay. Bring the water to a simmer and cook the marrow for 5 minutes. Refresh it in iced water, then drain. Cut the marrow into 16 x 1cm cubes, then roughly chop the rest.

Melt 40g of the butter in a frying pan. Add the mushrooms and shallots and cook until the pan is dry. Lightly season with salt and pepper and add the parsley, then set aside.

Bring the milk to the boil. Melt the remaining butter in a separate pan, then add the 80g of flour and stir to make a roux. Gradually whisk in the milk to make a béchamel and cook for 10 minutes. Set the sauce aside to cool, then fold in the mushrooms and shallots and the chopped bone marrow. Keep the cubes for later. 

Check the seasoning, then spoon or pipe the mixture into silicone moulds approximately 3cm deep, the shape of your choice. This should fill about 16.

Push a marrow cube into each one, followed by a dab of Dijon mustard, then cover with more of the mix. Place the croquettes in the freezer until hard, then press them out of the moulds.

Roll the croquettes in flour, then beaten egg and finally breadcrumbs. Half-fill a large saucepan or a deep-fat fryer with oil and heat the oil to 180°C. Fry the croquettes a few at a time until crisp and hot inside. Serve with beetroot ketchup

Beetroot Ketchup
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I serve this with the bone marrow croquettes on page 132, but it is also great served with grilled meat.

Makes 1 large jar

  • 1 tsp sunflower oil
  • 1 red onion, peeled and chopped
  • 60g button mushrooms, chopped
  • |50g demerara sugar
  • 2 tsp sea salt
  • 1 tsp chilli powder
  • 2 tsp smoked paprika
  • 1 tsp ground coriander
  • 1 tsp ground cumin
  • 160ml cider vinegar
  • 400g cooked, peeled beetroots

Warm the oil in a saucepan and add the onion and mushrooms. Sweat them until they are tender and any liquid has evaporated.

Add the sugar, salt and spices, continue to cook for 2-3 minutes, then add the vinegar and beetroots. Simmer for 10 minutes, then tip everything into a food processor and blitz until smooth.

Pour the ketchup into a sterilised jar and leave it cool. You can then store it in the fridge for up to a couple of weeks. 

 

The publisher is offering three copies of this book to EYB Members worldwide. One of the entry options is to answer the following question in the comments section of this blog post.

Which recipe in the index would you try first?

Please note that you must be logged into the Rafflecopter contest before posting or your entry won’t be counted. For more information on this process, please see our step-by-step help post. Be sure to check your spam filters to receive our email notifications. Prizes can take up to 6 weeks to arrive from the publishers. If you are not already a Member, you can join at no cost. The contest ends at midnight on January 27th, 2018.


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57 Comments

  • Foodycat  on  December 19, 2017

    Chicken liver and red wine risotto!

  • GregH  on  December 19, 2017

    Glazed duck necks

  • v.t  on  December 19, 2017

    Bone marrow butter

  • skipeterson  on  December 19, 2017

    Crispy pig's head wontons

  • sir_ken_g  on  December 19, 2017

    spicy chicken feet

  • bettinab  on  December 19, 2017

    Beetroot ketchup

  • lpatterson412  on  December 19, 2017

    Red onion chutney!!

  • AnnaZed  on  December 20, 2017

    Scallop roe taramasalata

  • heyjude  on  December 20, 2017

    Taramasalata

  • contest718  on  December 20, 2017

    Chicken liver salad

  • wester  on  December 20, 2017

    How am I ever going to source all these ingredients? Well, the Tongue in beer with sauerkraut sounds tasty and doable, so that will probably be the first one.

  • love2laf  on  December 20, 2017

    Bone Marrow Croquettes to start with, but this looks amazing!

  • ravensfan  on  December 20, 2017

    Spicy chicken feet

  • kmn4  on  December 20, 2017

    Beef tendon whisky teriyaki

  • Siegal  on  December 22, 2017

    I want to make the chicken giblet soup

  • LaurenE  on  December 22, 2017

    Beetroot ketchup

  • t.t  on  December 22, 2017

    Salmon head and tofu soup

  • fbrunetti  on  December 22, 2017

    Chicken liver parfait with green peppercorns

  • Dannausc  on  December 23, 2017

    Cod tongues and cheeks

  • mombaker247  on  December 23, 2017

    Glazed Duck Necks

  • lindaeatsherbooks  on  December 23, 2017

    I would like to make Puffed chicken feet with sweet mustard dip.

  • Shelley.b  on  December 23, 2017

    Spicy chicken feet

  • Livia  on  December 24, 2017

    It has got to be the Chicken giblet soup

  • Senkimekia  on  December 24, 2017

    Chicken liver gratin

  • Astrid5555  on  December 26, 2017

    Salmon head and tofu soup sounds interesting!

  • allywilliams77  on  December 28, 2017

    Grilled duck hearts with cherries and almonds 🙂

  • cambridgecook  on  December 28, 2017

    deviled lamb's liver on toast

  • antpantsii  on  December 29, 2017

    Beetroot ketchup sounds great

  • lils74  on  January 1, 2018

    Mmm, so many of these look good. I'd go for fish head chowder or braised pig trotters with white beans!

  • lgroom  on  January 1, 2018

    I need to try the bone marrow croquettes.

  • sgump  on  January 2, 2018

    The chicken liver gratin sounds comforting in these cold winter days.

  • kitchenclimbers  on  January 3, 2018

    beetroot ketchup

  • Skymanak  on  January 3, 2018

    Teriyaki salmon collars (living in Alaska with fresh Alaskan salmon!)

  • sugo  on  January 5, 2018

    Salt cod tripe with chickpeas and smoked paprika for me

  • jim.windle  on  January 6, 2018

    Pig's trotters terrine!

  • luccio  on  January 6, 2018

    Fish Head Chowder

  • Steben  on  January 6, 2018

    Tongue in beer with sauerkraut

  • PeavineBlues  on  January 6, 2018

    Sweetbreads

  • PennyBarr  on  January 6, 2018

    The beetroot curd sounds amazing – I’d try that first and I’d like to see if it goes with other dishes like grilled tuna.

  • Scotsman61  on  January 6, 2018

    Chicken liver salad

  • clairew137  on  January 7, 2018

    Sweetbreads

  • Curlyfatkins  on  January 7, 2018

    Tagliatelle with chicken giblets

  • kennethjohngilmour  on  January 7, 2018

    chestnuts are something I don't have much experience with so would try the black pudding with chestnuts found on page 84

  • Soosie  on  January 7, 2018

    I’d try the crispy pig ear, because why should my dog have all the fun?!

  • DarcyVaughn  on  January 7, 2018

    Tongue in beer with sauerkraut

  • RickPearson54  on  January 8, 2018

    Beetroot ketchip

  • jd5761  on  January 9, 2018

    Taramasalata for me

  • mfl  on  January 9, 2018

    The bone marrow croquettes. Love bone marrow!

  • sarahshan  on  January 9, 2018

    Curried lambs' kidneys for me !

  • TatyanaR  on  January 10, 2018

    Chicken giblet soup!! 🙂

  • IngridO  on  January 10, 2018

    Oxtail broth with bone marrow dumplings. There's three things in the title that I love.

  • SnarkyLarane  on  January 14, 2018

    I am so intrigued by this cookbook, I will likely try to buy it even if I don't win it. The Crispy pig's ears seem like a good recipe it start with.

  • Terrill  on  January 18, 2018

    I’d definitely try many recipes but first fish head soup..sounds less intimidating than others.

  • rosalee  on  January 25, 2018

    The Fried scallop skirts with aioli recipe sounds divine.

  • Jenamarie  on  January 27, 2018

    Glazed Duck Necks

  • SheenaSharp  on  January 27, 2018

    Tripe with apple and onions

  • rachael_mc  on  January 28, 2018

    Crispy pig's ears!

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