Have you ever eaten this crap? It’s horrid! Our stupid friends managed to talk us out of our steak dinner plans and con us into this overpriced, bubbly, oily goo-on-a-stick.
The initial bread-and-cheese wasn’t too bad. It would have made a nice snack, I suppose, in small amounts. But when they brought the huge platter of assorted raw meats… well, it’s hard to enjoy the tiny, grease-laden morsel on the end of your fork when you’re looking at a huge pile of raw chicken and beef glistening in the light of the sterno.
The smell of the hot oil – which had garlic and “secret spices” in it – seeped into my clothing and hair and I smelled of it through the rest of the night; disgusting.
The greasy cheese and meat sat like a leaden ball in my stomach. No matter how many Tums I ate, that gloopy feeling wouldn’t go away. I have had Tums maybe twice in my life. They are repugnant in their own right, but that’s another rant. I was just desperate for relief from the greasy secret-spice belches with which I was plagued.
I was up most of the night, wishing I could just puke and get it over with. It’s now been 24 full hours, and I’m starting to feel a little better. Ugh. Fondue? Never again.
instead of the oil, a nice light chicken broth seasoned nicely to simmer meat and parboiled veggies in comes out more like fishing the cooked bits out of soup…never fondue in oil! Sorry you found it so unpleasant=(
My favorite is to have several dipping sauces ready, a ponzu [soy/citrus] a sweet/sour/teriyaki sauce, a sort of herby/garlicy almost vinaigrette, and garlic butter. For dipping, raw peeled shrimp, cubes of chicken or turkey, cubes of beef, defrosted broccoli and cauliflower florettes, plain not marinated artichoke hearts, cherry tomatos, and baby potatoes in the skin. Id you are not allergic to mushrooms, small raw button mushrooms as well.
You make sure that you have 1 fondu set up per 2 people [more people and you sort of tangle each others forks] and plenty of dipping sauces, paper towels and that the broth is good and hot but not boiling. You skewer each piece [most fondu pots come with 8 or 10 skewers, and 4 or 6 little dip cups, but the dip cups never hold enough=] You put the tidbit in the broth to eat then dip and eat it…I have always tossed the leftover tidbits in a pot with the broth and made soup while doiong the dishes and had it for the next day=)
mrAru and I love to do fondue this way. Of course there is the chocolate type with fruit and cake that is just as yummy=)
Pardon my ignorance, but exactly how does the raw meat get cooked in this set-up? Does each person cook their own on the end of a stick or something? I thought fondue was where you dipped strawberries and bread into chocolate sauce!?!? I’m confused.
Maybe I should become more worldly and cosmopolitan, or something. Then I would (maybe) know these things.
I agree that fondue using hot oil is definitely to be avoided. A nice broth, however, is really good IMHO. In fact, we did this recently with the kids at a local restaurant and it was a big hit.
Oh course, if you are hung up on seeing raw meat, you are simply screwed. No way to get around that part.
I really don’t care for the meat fondue - the cheese and the dessert are fantastic, though. And when I went to Switzerland, lo and behold, I saw mostly the cheese kind, as a meal. So there.
The men with us didn’t see how we could just eat that, though. We don’t take them with us when we go to the Melting Pot these days, is all.
This was the most interminable restaurant meal I’ve ever experienced. The food was OK, but it just took so freaking long to get through all the courses. And it required too much effort for so little pay off.
Fondue generally is a catchall for any pot of chocolate/cheese/broth/oil/whatever that you dip food into. That may not be the original meaning, but it’s what I’ve always known it to be.
Personally, I like the hot oil. You’re basically deep frying your food. Chicken, fries, fish, etc.
Mrs. Jockey and I went to a much hyped fondue place in Vermont whilst on vacation, and found the experience not worth repeating. The meat was ok, (and I hear ya on the hot oil smell, I left there smelling like a fry cook) but the grey cheese was just too much to wrap our minds around. I don’t do grey food. Ever.
Fondue comes from the French word for “melt” (which come from the same Latin root as “foundry”), and refers to a meal of morsels dipped into a hot or molten sauce. The idea of using a fondue pot as a deep fryer is revolting; the meat should already be cooked, and the pot should contain a sauce to make it tastier*. And yes, chunks of bread dipped in molten cheese and fruit dipped in molten chocolate are fondue favorites as well.
*Yes, I know the the “raw meat in boiling oil” is traditional; so are lots of things I can live without. The only exception I would make is for shrimp or crab, which can cook remarkably fast, and will benefit from a (relatively) brief dip into a hot broth.
Hopefully some French or Swiss will come along to correct any nits…
Fondue is traditionally made with cheese and white wine, some garlic, kirchwasser and possibly topped with fresh ground pepper. It’s delicious when done well, but a bit heavy and not all American palates will appreciate it as a full meal, which it normally is, probably preceeded with a light salad. This type I’ve heard referred to as Fondue Suisse and Fondue Savoyarde.
Fondue cooked in a broth is referred to as Fondue Chinois, or Chinese fondue. Not sure if this actually has a precedent in China or came about from Chinese restaurants in France.
Fondue cooked in oil is called Fondue Bourgignonne. I found at least one cite claiming this has it’s origins in Vaud, which is the Swiss canton just north of Canton Geneve along Lac Leman (Lake Geneva). IIRC this canton borders the French province of Burgundy, so the names not far off. I don’t know that I’ve ever had this kind of fondue, but it’s probably going to be to your taste or not. Your personal tastes doesn’t invalidate it as a cooking style, even if it seems a bit heavy handed.
I’ve also had Fondue Bacchus, which is fondue dipped into a wine/broth mixture. This is delicious and I highly recommend it if you can find it.
Fondue consisting of fruit dipped in melted chocolate is, AFAIK, an American twist on a French/Swiss tradition. It tastes good, so why not, but purists may pummel you if you suggest that this is fondue.
You get these long fork thingys, and you spike that bit of whatever, and plunk it into the hot liquid of choice to cook. Or you spike something and swish it around in hot cheese or melted chocolate…
The main problem with oil is to fry something and not have it come out all greasy and nasty is temperature based. If you are hot tubbing your beef bit in oil that is at boiling or just under, say 100 centigrade or 212 fahrenheit, the oil is not hot enough to fry quickly as it needs to be up in the 300 fahrenheit range. So the meat sits there and absorbs oil, making it nasty and greasy. If you do it in broth, then it is just like fishing out a beef chunk from a pot of soup, not greasy. well, same goes for chicken, shrimp or veggies=)]
The one at crate and barrel uses a tealight to keep things warm, but I have the older type with a small alcohol burner that can crank things up to deep frying temperature if you really wanted to
We got suckered into once and it’s the single-most overpriced meal I’ve ever had in my life. The fact that we were on vacation and had a plethora of other places to choose from makes it even worse.
For the same price, you can actually get a nice prepared meal at most places.
Dipping meat into broth or oil to cook it is worse than any other possible way to cook meat. The fact that you’re doing it yourself SUBTRACTS from the experience.
It is not classy, delicious, cheap, or fast. There is no reason for anyone to eat this type of fondue.
If you go to such a place that brings you a pile of raw meat, I think you’re better served just by eating the raw meat, seriously.
Bread in melted cheese is fine, but it’s just fancy nachos.
Fruit dipped in chocolate can also be nice as a dessert.
You sure you aren’t Swiss, ShibbOleth ? Cause you hit the nail mostly on the head with the different fondues. A real cheese fondue contains cheese of course, then white wine, a bit of pepper, a bit of starch and Kirsch (Schnaps made from cherries) but NO garlic. The earthen bowl, which is called a caquelon btw, is only rubbed in with a piece of garlic. As different people have different tastes, the fondue itself is only peppered lightly. Usually you put a little bit of pepper on your plate where you can dip in our bread after you dipped it into the cheese. The bread really should be white or semi dark crusty bread. French baguette works too if there is nothing else available.
An important thing to note is that you should under no circumstances drink water with a cheese fondue, the cheese will (believe me) heavily on your stomach. White wine or tea are both ok, the best thing is to drink a few Kirsch afterwards.
As ShibbOleth noted, Cheese fondue is a full meal in itself and is usually not even accompanied by a salad.
The following is a fondue recipe for 4 Persons:
300 gr Vacherin Friburgeois
300 gr Gruyere
3dl White Wine
1 bottle of Kirsch
Freshly ground pepper
1 big clove of garlic
Corn or potato starch
Half the clove of garlic, rub caquelon out with it. Put in wine and grated cheese. Heat up while stirring constantly. Dissolve about 4 teaspoons of starch in a small glass (4cl ) of Kirsch. Stirr the mixture into the cheese. Let it blubber for about 3-4 minutes more and put it directly on the rechaud (candle-holder). Put bread on fork, dip into cheese, dip into pepper (optional) and enjoy. Drink the rest of the bottle of Kirsch and maybe a bottle of white wine and you’ll have an unforgettable (or forgettable, depends on how well you hold your drink) evening. As a slight alternative, you can dip your bread into the Kirsch before dipping it into the cheese.
A few important points:
Please, for the love of all that is holy, use good cheese. Preferably the swiss originals, you’ll thank me for it.
Kirsch is not cherry liquor, just to clear this up, it is a clear Schnaps, official versions have around 40-45% Vol alc but “inofficial” versions go up to the point where you can use it to burn holes in stuff just by pouring it on it. It also doesnt taste very much like cherries.
I’ll stress it again, don’t drink water or beer with it, you’ll regret it, I’ve done it once and boy did I have stomach cramps.
Fondue is terrific as long as it is pineapple other fruits dipped in melted chocolate. I don’t know about this business of dipping goat testicles in hot motor oil.
We have a tradition where every New Year’s eve we stay home and invite some friends over to have some cheese fondue. I make it pretty much as described above: rub a garlic clove around the pot, then simmer some dry chardonnay and add shredded cheese - half emmentaler and half gruyere. A sprinkle of pepper to taste, and, instead of kirsch (which I would never buy because the stuff is dreadful, IMHO), I toss in a shot of Remy Martin (which is a nice excuse to open the inevitable bottle of the stuff my wife receives during the holidays) VSOP. I cut up a couple of loaves of Boudoin-style sourdough bread into 2-inch cubes and we go to town. It’s so delicious I absolutely cannot stop even when my stomach tells me to stop! It hurts!
The only thing I don’t like about it is the next day, cleaning the fondue pot, looking at the clingy, goopy, greasy remains and imagining the stuff floating through my blood. :eek:
After skiing, I quite like combining a sauna with a fondue. Heavy eating and saunas are not a good combination, but it is nice to have something rich and tasty to much on intermittently after a good ski, so fondues fit the bill. There is something sociable about a fondue that fits well with the sociability of a sauna.
Fondue - baah!
Raclette is where it’s at for swiss cheese-based communal cooking.
But if you must fondue, don’t lose your bread…
“Into the Lake, with weights around his feet” - Asterix in Switzerland
