Boeuf à la Bourguignonne: Fondue Bourguignonne

Ingredients

• 800 g beef fillet, rump, or sirloin, trimmed of all sinew and fat, cut into uniform 2 cm cubes, brought to room temperature
• 1 litre groundnut or grapeseed oil, neutral, high-smoke-point; do not substitute olive oil
• 1 garlic clove, peeled, added to the oil while heating
• 1 rosemary sprig, added to the oil while heating
• 1 bay leaf, added to the oil while heating
• Optional marinade (half the beef)
• 30 ml soy sauce
• 1 tsp fresh ginger, grated
• For the sauces (minimum five)
• 150 ml Béarnaise sauce, prepared
• 150 ml sauce Tartare, with capers and cornichons
• 150 ml Dijon mustard mayonnaise, prepared
• 150 ml tomato-horseradish sauce, prepared
• 150 ml curry sauce, prepared
• Accompaniments
• 200 g cornichons
• 150 g pickled pearl onions
• 1 green salad, dressed
• 600 g pommes frites or baked potatoes, prepared and kept warm

Method

1. 1
   If using the optional marinade, combine the soy sauce and grated ginger. Toss half the beef cubes in the mixture and leave for 30 minutes at room temperature. Pat dry with kitchen paper before service — excess moisture spitting in hot oil is a safety hazard. The surface of each cube should be visibly dry.
2. 2
   Fill the cast-iron caquelon no more than one-third with oil. Add the peeled garlic clove, rosemary sprig, and bay leaf. Set the pot on the stove over moderate-high heat and bring the oil to 180–190°C. At 170°C the herbs will begin to sizzle gently — this is the first signal. Confirm temperature by dropping in a 2 cm cube of bread: it must sizzle immediately and colour to golden-brown in 30 seconds. Transfer the pot to the spirit burner at the table, maintaining the oil at this temperature throughout the meal. This step decides the dish: oil below 180°C steams the beef grey; oil above 190°C burns the exterior before the centre is cooked.
3. 3
   Arrange the raw beef cubes on a platter. Set out the five sauces, the cornichons, pickled pearl onions, green salad, and pommes frites or baked potatoes. Distribute one colour-coded, long-handled fondue fork to each diner.
4. 4
   Each diner spears one cube on their fork and submerges it in the oil. Cook to personal preference: 30 seconds for bleu, 45 seconds for saignant, 60 seconds for à point, 90 seconds for bien cuit. Cook no more than four to six cubes simultaneously — overloading drops the oil temperature. The oil must continue to bubble actively around each cube throughout cooking.
5. 5
   Transfer each cooked cube from the fondue fork to a dinner plate before eating — the fork will be dangerously hot. Dip into the chosen sauce. The exterior of the cube at à point should yield immediately to the touch; a saignant cube will feel soft and springy.