Oeufs en meurette

I’m distinctly nervous about today’s dinner. Usually I am happy to tackle the most complex of recipes, but today’s I’m distinctly nervous about.

So what is this meal? I’m having a go at Œeufs en Meurette.  The recipe is from “Secrets of the Great French Restaurants” by Louisette Bertholle. All the recipes in the book are by Michellin starred chefs. I’ve sometimes had to simplify some of the recipes. I haven’t got a brigade of sous-chefs to assist me or a cooker that can take dozens of pan at once.

So what is Œufs en Meurette, you might ask. Essentially it’s eggs poached in a rich red wine sauce, meurette. So far I’ve made the sauce. That can be warmed up this evening before I add the eggs to poach in it.

My anxiety lies in the fact I’ve never properly poached an egg. As my mother did, I always poach my eggs in an egg poacher, my grandmother’s egg poacher to be precise. It may be a bit bashed around, the cups a bit dented after nearly a hundred years’ of use, but it still works well. Some people would say eggs cooked this way are steamed rather than poached, but to me they’re poached & it is the way I prefer them. I’ve had eggs poached in water with a little vinegar or lemon juice in, but so often I find the vinegar or lemon juice adversely affects the flavour of the egg.

However, for this recipe it is essential to poach them in the red wine sauce as that flavours the egg. I just have a vision of 4 eggs joining together to form one massive mound of poached egg. I have deliberately bought some fresh eggs for the purpose in the hope the whites will stick around the yolk & the eggs stay separate but I’m only too aware that eggs from the supermarket are never that fresh as it takes several days for them to get from the farms to be distributed to the shops. Still I’ve done my best.

We’ve had Œufs in Meurette several times in France. When we visited Burgundy a couple of years ago every restaurant served them. We just had to try them. They are one of the specialities of the region. We did enjoy them, so here’s hoping all works out well.

 

The gardens of a hotel in Beaune where we enjoyed our oeufs en meurette