White wine chub matelote, a Meuse river tradition

Ingredients

• 1.4 kg fresh whole chub, gutted and scaled
• 75 cl dry Côtes de Meuse white wine
• 25 cl fish stock
• 150 g pure pork smoked pork belly
• 250 g fresh white button mushrooms
• 2 pieces yellow onions
• 3 pieces gray shallots
• 4 cloves garlic cloves
• 1 piece carrot
• 90 g unsalted pasteurized butter, 82% fat
• 30 g T55 all-purpose wheat flour
• 4 slices sourdough country bread
• 1 bunch fresh flat-leaf parsley
• 2 leaves dried bay leaf
• 3 sprigs fresh thyme sprig
• to taste fine sea salt
• to taste whole black peppercorns

Method

1. Cut the scaled and gutted chub into even steaks about 4 to 5 cm thick with a clean, sharp slice through the backbone to keep the flesh intact, then thoroughly pat each piece dry with paper towels.
2. Finely slice the yellow onions and gray shallots. Cut the carrot into very thin 2 mm rounds. Peel the garlic cloves, remove the germ, crush half of the cloves with the flat of a knife, and set aside the other half for the bread. Quarter the button mushrooms and slice the smoked pork belly into small 5 mm lardons.
3. Melt a knob of butter in a large cast-iron skillet over medium heat (about 160 °C). Add the smoked lardons and cook for 5 to 6 minutes until nicely browned, crisp, and steadily sizzling. Transfer the lardons with a slotted spoon, then quickly saute the mushrooms in the hot fat over high heat for 5 minutes, until all their liquid evaporates and they turn a golden hazelnut brown. Set aside with the lardons.
4. Add another knob of butter to the skillet, then sweat the onions, shallots, carrot, and crushed garlic over low heat (about 110 °C) for 8 minutes. Stir regularly until the vegetables turn translucent and tender without browning.
5. Place the bouquet garni of fresh thyme sprigs and dried bay leaves in the center of the aromatics. Pour in the dry Côtes de Meuse white wine and fish stock, bring to a boil, then maintain a steady simmer (about 90 °C) uncovered for 10 minutes to cook off the alcohol and reduce the liquid by about one-quarter.
6. Lower the heat to maintain a gentle simmer between 80 °C and 85 °C. Gently arrange the chub steaks in the seasoned liquid, season with fine salt and ground black pepper, cover the skillet, and poach for 12 minutes, until the flesh turns opaque, flakes gently from the bone, or reaches 55 °C at the center on a probe thermometer.
7. While the fish is poaching, mash the all-purpose flour with an equal amount of room-temperature softened butter using a fork in a small bowl for 2 minutes until you have a smooth, supple beurre manié free of any lumps.
8. Gently lift the chub steaks out with a slotted spoon, transfer them to a warm shallow serving dish, cover with a sheet of aluminum foil, and let rest for 5 minutes in a warm place.
9. Boil the cooking liquid over high heat (about 100 °C) for 6 to 7 minutes to reduce its volume by one-third. Lower to medium heat and whisk in the beurre manié in small pieces continuously for 3 minutes: the sauce should thicken, turn glossy, and coat the back of a spoon.
10. Toast the slices of sourdough country bread in a skillet over medium heat with the remaining butter for 2 to 3 minutes per side until golden and crisp, then vigorously rub each hot side for 30 seconds with the reserved raw garlic cloves.
11. Return the sauteed mushrooms and browned lardons to the warm sauce to reheat for 2 minutes over low heat (about 70 °C), then taste and adjust the seasoning with salt and pepper.
12. Spoon the velvety sauce and its mushroom-lardon garnish generously over the hot chub steaks, scatter with freshly chopped flat-leaf parsley, and serve immediately with the golden garlic croutons arranged all around.

Nutrition

Per serving

Energy

945.2 kcal

Protein

76.08 g

Carbohydrate

38.94 g

Fat

35.14 g

Fibre

4.76 g

Calcium

51.4 mg

Iron

2.08 mg

Magnesium

44.21 mg