A sauce for all seasons, and the meat that dare not speak its name

Ah, Annalena has you intrigued, doesn't she?  In sum, we are going to look at a sauce which, while intended for a meat that no one wants to hear about (she will tell you at the end) which, as Annalena has discovered, is almost universal.   And it is a sauce for all seasons, because even those of you with limited pantries, have this stuff in your kitchen.  If you don't, for shame.

It is mustard sauce.  Or, more aptly, mustard wine sauce.  It is a classic French sauce (and those of you with some culinary chops will know what "the meat that dare not speak its name " is, at this point, not served very much in fancy restaurants, but clearly a product of French home cooking.    It is easy to make, and you should make it often.   So let's go.  Let's make some.


First, let us look at our protein.  IF you are using meat, as compared to fish (this works spellbindingly well with scallops, and also flat fish like sole and flounder, and heftier ones like cod and monkfish), then let's brown it first.  You will need about three pounds of meat on the bone.  Let's assume you're using chicken.  Use the legs if you can, because this is a braise.  Pat them dry, salt and pepper them, and then add two tablespoons of oil, and brown them well, on all sides.  You may need to do this in a couple of batches - in fact, if you're doing the full 3 pounds, you will.  As you brown the meat, put it to the side.

Clean out that skillet, and add a tablespoon of butter.  Add a chopped onion, and cook it at low heat, until it softens.  It won't take long.   Toss in 1.5 cups of white wine - any leftover you have (Annalena pours her dregs into one bottle and uses that).  Raise the heat, and boil it down by half.

If you are using the meat option, then put the meat in now.  We'll discuss what to do if you're going to use it on fish, below.  Once you have the meat in, add 2 cups of chicken broth.  Cover the pot, and cook at a simmer, for about 45 minutes.

At this point, take the meat out, and raise the heat.  Reduce your liquid to two cups.  While it's reducing, measure out about 1/3 of a cup of good quality dijon mustard.  Also, get a teaspoon of cornstarch and mix it with a tablespoon of  COLD water.  You may not need this, but you might.

When the liquid has reduced, spoon out about half a cup, and add the mustard to it.  Then put this back in with the rest of the liquid.  If you would like it thicker, add the cornstarch solution and stir it to a boil.  Put the meat back in, and you're done.

Now, what if you're using fish?  Well,  if you are doing fish, start with the tablespoon of butter, and do everything that the paragraph above says.  Then, go directly to the addition of the broth.  Don't cover the pot, but cook it down.  Do everything else with the mustard and the cornstarch, and put the completed sauce to the side, while you saute some fish or scallops, and pour the sauce over it.

Annalena has done this with flounder, scallops, and chicken.  She's also doing it tonight, with skate wing.  And what is the meat that  dare not speak its name.  Have you guessed?

Let us just say Peter Cottontail will NOT be hopping down the bunny trail anymore.  And he gave it up for a good dish.   Yes, ragazzi, coniglio, cornejo, haare, etc, is what you classically use in this.  And if you will eat it, do so.  It is terrific.