Clay's Kitchen : Sauce and Stock Recipes

Sauce and Stock Recipes

© Copyright 1995-2023, Clay Irving <clay@panix.com>, Manhattan Beach, CA USA

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Café De Paris Sauce

Recipe from: French by Damien Pignolet

It's actually Café de Paris butter — which of course melts to a 'sauce' on the hot sirloin steak it must be served with — which was devised by chef Freddy Dumont in 1941, created specifically to be served with sirloin steak, which made its debut at the Restaurant Café de Paris in Geneva, where it still features on the menu today.

This reading was published in 2005 by the great Australian chef Damien Pignolet who obtained it via chef Franz Scheurer, his father, and yet another chef, then working at the London Savoy in 1943.

16 servings of the butter — do not attempt to scale down the recipe: the proportions will break up because of measuring inaccuracies!

1 kg soft unsalted butter
60 g tomato ketchup
25 g Dijon mustard
25 g capers in brine, rinsed and coarsely chopped
125 g French shallots, finely diced
50 g curly leaf parsley, finely chopped
50 g chives, finely chopped
5 g each of dried marjoram and dill
5 g thyme leaves, lightly chopped
10 French tarragon leaves, lightly chopped
pinch of ground dried rosemary
1 clove garlic, very finely chopped
8 anchovy fillets, rinsed and finely chopped
1 tablespoon each of brandy and Madeira
1 teaspoon Worcestershire sauce
½ teaspoon sweet paprika
½ teaspoon curry powder — Keen's
pinch of cayenne pepper
8 white peppercorns, finely ground
juice of 1 lemon
finely grated zest of ½ lemon
finely grated zest of ¼ orange
1 to 1 ½ teaspoon salt

To make the Café de Paris butter, beat the butter until creamy — either by hand or on low speed in an electric mixer. In a separate bowl, thoroughly combine all the remaining ingredients before adding to the butter. Mix again with a large spoon or on low speed in the mixer

Place a double thickness of foil 20 cm in length on a workbench and place half the butter along the closest edge, leaving about 5 cm free at either end. Roll into a log shape about 5 cm in diameter, twisting the ends to seal. Repeat with another length of foil and the other half of the butter, then refrigerate until set.

When the sirloin steaks are done, slice and divide the Café de Paris Butter between them and place under a hot salamander until melted and slightly coloured. Serve at once.


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