Lots of 'em! Meat fondue in oil or cheese fondue?

I'd love some tips for meat fondue!

For a fondue bourguignonne you can flavour the oil with some herbs and a garlic clove that you remove once the oil is hot.

The next thing is to make some really good sauces to dip the meat into. Mayonnaise, tartar sauce, b�arnaise etc.Serve some nice boiled new potatoes on the side.

Then of course you need some very tender beef. Yum.

Another option is Fondue Bacchus, cooking in broth and wine rather than oil. Add chopped garlic, onion and herbs to beef stock, reduce it by half, strain, mix with dry red wine and simmer. For this style, thinly slice instead of cubing the beef.

You can do the same thing with chicken broth and white wine with thinly sliced chicken breasts.

I guess I didn't even think of doing meats, I've only ever had cheese sauces (way back when)at friends houses. Can you use a regular little fondue pot for oils and broths, I mean will it get hot enough? This could be get very interesting.

and remember that the burner on your fondue pot won't have enough oomph to get that pot of oil to 375....so heat the oil on the stove top and pour it into the pot to maintain temp.

Cut the meat no more than in 1 1/2 inch cubes unless you like it VERY rare, and remember that things like broccoli florettes, cauliflower and mushrooms are very good in a fondue pot.
Here are a couple of sauces I use...
INDONESIAN SATAY SAUCE
Fabulous as a sauce for pork kabobs or satays, this sauce also makes a delightful dip for raw vegetables.
2 tsp vegetable oil
1 cup finely chopped onion
4 cloves garlic, minced
2/3 cup cider vinegar
1/2 cup each: molasses and soy sauce
2 tsp hot pepper flakes
2 tsp minced peeled ginger root
1/2 cup peanut butter
1. Heat oil in a nonstick saucepan over med-high heat and saute onion and garlic for 3 min. or until tender, stirring frequently.
2. Add vinegar, molasses, soy sauce, hot pepper flakes and ginger root. Bring to a boil, reduce heat and boil gently for 5 minutes. Blend in peanut butter; boil gently for 1 minute.

Blender Hollandaise
put 4 egg yolks in the blender
Add 2 T lemon juice
Pinch of cayenne
Cover and blend.
Melt butter 1 stick ( don't brown) and when bubbling hot, pour slowly into running blender.

Sweet Hot Mustard
1/4 c. Coleman's dry mustard ( Must be Coleman's or it will be bitter!)
1 1/2 T. cornstarch
1/2 t. salt
1/4 c. sugar
2/3 cup water
1/3 cup cider vinegar
Mix mustard with a little water and allow to stand. Mix cornstarch, salt, and sugar with the rest of the water until smooth. Add vinegar and cook over low heat stirring constantly for 5 minutes, remove from heat, cool slightly and add mustard mix.

Linda c

Thanks for the ideas, I'll give it try

We really enjoy a cheese fondue several times during the winter months. In front of a warm fire with snow all around! Perfect!

This is my very favourite recipe and the Kirch is a must! Although it only calls for bread as a dipper we also enjoy, parboiled or steamed broccoli, cauliflower, asparagus and mini potatoes....but the bread is my favourite!

Can't wait for our first of the winter!

Cheese Fondue

Servings

2 Tbl cornstarch or potato flour
1/4 Cup kirsch (cherry brandy)
1 Clove garlic
1 1/2 Cup dry, white wine
12 ounces shredded Emmentaler cheese
12 ounces shredded Gruyere cheese
1/4 Tsp white pepper
1/4 Tsp nutmeg

Combine the cornstarch and kirsch. Set aside. Slice the garlic in half lengthwise and rub the cut side over the inside of a medium, heavy saucepan. Discard the garlic. Pour the wine into the saucepan and bring it to a boil over a medium-high heat. Immediately reduce the heat to low. Add the cheese to the wine by handfuls and stir slowly until the cheese is just melted. (Stirring in a figure-8 or zigzag motion prevents the cheese from clumping.) Stir in the cornstarch mixture, pepper, and nutmeg. Simmer for two or three minutes until it begins to thicken, but do not let it boil. Transfer to a warmed ceramic fondue pot and serve immediately. Keep warm over a very low flame.

This original/traditional cheese fondue recipe is still best served with the original dipper; serve with 2 to 3 loaves of crusty French bread, cut into 1 cubes. Serves 6.

My girlfriend often invites us over for fondue. She does one pot of hot oil and a variety of meats and seafood, and one pot of chocolate with cake cubes and fruits.

Personally, I prefer a cheese fondue, although I have never made it myself. Best I ever had was in Geneva years ago. Just cheese and bread. Sharon's recipe sounds very similar to the one we had, and I agree, the kirsch is not an optional ingredient!

Linda

I looked online for fondue recipes and found one that is supposed to taste like the one at the Melting Pot. I think I'll start with the cheese recipies (Thanks Sharon) and then try to expand my horizons!!! Chocolate sounds like fun! Thanks everyone

A metal fondue pot will get too hot on the bottom for a cheese fondue. Properly a cheese fondue pot is crockery....stoneware not metal.
If you do make cheese fondue, do as sharon suggested and make it in a different pan on the stove.....and keep it warm over a very low flame in your warmed fondue pot.

Also Sally, you should know that there is some "science" to making a cheese fondue....in the acid balance etc. Some cheeses will get ropey if there isn't enough acid in the stuff you melt them in.
Cheese fondue is traditionally made with either gruyere or a mix of gruyere and emmenthaler ( the Swiss cheese with the holes in it)...Cheddar, edam or Jack pretty well melts in anything.
Linda C

Boy this is sounding more and more complex. I have a metal pan with what looks like a teflon coating and it's electric. It has a temperature dial that goes from Warm - Simmer - then 250 to 450 degrees. I can't use a candle under it. I guess I'll have to melt it all in a pan on the stove and then transfer it into the pot and just try it on the warm setting. If I ruin it....I guess I'll send it to the Good Will store!!

Like Linda said a Cheese fondue is best made initially on the stove and then served and kept warm in a fondue pot. Your pot will be just fine on a warm or maybe simmer setting.

Go for it !

Electric,,,,,whole different thing!

With an electric fondue pot you can make any kind of fondue right in the pot! I make the chocolate fondue and serve it with fresh strawberries, angel food cake and marshmallows when the Grandchildren come. I get the chocolate at williams-Sonoma. I have also made the classic cheese fondue and served it with new potatoes, bread and blanched broccoli. It is lots of fun and delicious! The Grandchildren loved the chocolate the best and ask for me to make it when they come to visit!
Joann

Get a portable propane stove from a camping store or an Asian store.

The propane cartridges are cheap and last a long time. The stove is light weight and adjustable from low to very hot.

No more long extension cords.

dcarch

Here is a link that might be useful:

Dcarch, I have one of those for camping and I think it would be far too hot for a fondue. Anyway, with a traditional pot there is no cable, just a little flame.

I tried the traditional Swiss cheese fondue a while back and did NOT like it! I may have used a little too much Kirsch or not enough of something else... so I had pretty much given up on cheese fondue until I tasted a Mexican-style fondue!!! yummy! I dipped tortillas, pepperoni stick, steamed broccoli (and bread of course)... but it was awesome! It used beer, monterey jack cheese and jalapeno peppers.

Here is a link that might be useful: Mexican cheese fondue

I went to a Swiss Fondue restaurant (at least that is what it was called) in the Zona Rosa neighborhood of Mexico City back in 1978, and what I got was more like the Mexican mixture, which I liked a lot. Back then it was difficult to get imported cheese (or imported anything) in Mexico because of the high tariffs, and so all the cheese was Mexican, but it was still good. We dipped both bread and tortilla pieces (and some vegetables that I cannot remember - perhaps cherry tomatoes), and the cheese definitely had chilies in it! That was my one experience with cheese fondue, but I've made chocolate fondue myself, after receiving a fondue pot for Christmas one year.

Lars

Steph21
Thanks so much for the web site, it looks like a lot of good information & recipes. Perfect!

Here's a no-brainer dessert using a fondue pot.

Get some Toblerone chocolate (the one in the yellow triangular box). Melt it together with enough half and half to make it the appropriate dipping consistency. Dip fruits, bits of cake, banana slices etc. in it. Simple and delicious.

It has been a while since I've made a Cheese Fondue. I make it identical to the recipe that Sharon posted.

Ann