I have always loved the fondue pot. When I was a kid, we would fill the pot with oil, heat it up several hundreds of degrees and drop in little pieces of beef on a stick. You had everything there. Hot oil inches from you, food on a stick and an amazing delivery method to carry various dips and sauces to your mouth.
Put a tiny cube of beef on your fondue fork, stick it in and a minute later it is done and the biggest challenge is to ensure you don’t burn yourself with the hot fork or lose your meat off of the fork. Back in the day we had a few choices for dipping sauces: ketchup, mustard (yellow), melted butter, steak sauce and mayonnaise. Yes, we deep fried red meat and dipped it in butter and mayonnaise. Those were very different days,
At some point when my parents were moving, I absconded with the fondue set. Six well worn forks, a small pot and the electric burner it sits on. When my sons were young, we introduced them to the method and they took to it right away. We used it about twice a year and it became such a favorite that one of my boys chose for the family to go to The Melting Pot (a fondue restaurant) for a special occasion. We’ve since added additional forks and fondue plates.
After several visits to The Melting Pot, I moved from using the hot oil to a broth recipe that they use: Court Bouillon Broth.
Making the broth is easy. I try to use better cuts of beef as they don’t cook for very long and I don’t want it to be chewy.
Our choice of sauces has improved over the years as well. In addition to the ketchup, yellow mustard and steak sauce, I routinely add teriyaki, soy, buffalo, ranch, spicy brown mustard and will often add whatever else I have in the house (peanut sauce, General Tso). While we are still using beef, long gone is the melted butter and mayonnaise.
Bring the broth to a rolling boil and then drop the heat back down.
Fondue – Court Boullion Broth
Ingredients:
- 5 ½ C warm water
- 3 Tbsp finely chopped onion
- 1 Tbsp finely chopped celery
- 1 Tbsp chopped carrot
- 2 Tbsp kosher salt
- 1 Tbsp freshly ground pepper
- 2 tsp garlic powder
Directions:
Whisk the water, onion, celery, carrot, salt, pepper and garlic powder in a bowl until combined.
Pour into a fondue pot. Bring to a rapid simmer over medium-high heat. Thread a piece of meat or vegetable on a fondue fork. Cook in the broth to the desired degree of doneness. Serve with your favorite sauce. Recommended dipping accompaniments: Seafood, beef, ravioli and gourmet veggies.
Nice read. Me and my wife go to Melting Pot for every special occasion. But we stick with the traditional oil. The broth feels like I’m just boiling everything. plus with the oil you get tempura. Mmmmm…
LikeLike
I remember the hot oil and beef fondue – and the cheese one which I liked even better. I like the idea of using the stock. Will try that as I still have the pots, the forks and the burner too!
And chocolate fondue with strawberries and other fruit to dip – and marshmallows and sponge fingers………….. Yummy! 🙂
LikeLike
We eat fondue several times a year. Our favorite sauce is mayo with sweet curry powder. Num Num sauce (available in the Southeast) is delicious too. We do cubed beef and small shrimps. Herb Alpert’s music always makes it feel like a proper fondue night.
LikeLike
I haven’t eaten fondue in years so this brought back memories – love cheese fondue and chocolate the most 🙂
LikeLike
Yum.. reminds me of my favourite food, Sichuan hotpot where the broth is a hot and spicy sichuan flavour and the meats are dipped into a mixture of unsweetened peanut butter, sesame oil and soy sauce. The hot oil version I have actually never tried but somehow imagine it to be messy with splattering oil (which must not be true else it would be quite dangerous).
LikeLike
There is an awesome (but expensive) fondue chain in Virginia called the Melting Pot. I always make my parents take me when I’m back in the states… but this sounds much more cost effective and requires less travel 🙂 Have you ever added wine to your brew or tried a cheese fondue?
LikeLike
I love my fondue pot. May have to try this recipe. Cheers!
LikeLike
I have a fondue pot not used for such for many years. It is great to heat up leftovers to feed your family during a power outage 🙂
My kids were too young until now for me to dare use a fondue pot, but maybe I’ll do it again. My parents had regular fondue parties and we enjoyed a large array of flavorsome dips, sauces and salads with the cubes of deep fried beef, pork, and chicken. Fresh, crackly baguette always accompanied the meal and what better way to enjoy a long drawn out dinner party with friends. I might just do that.
Thanks for the reminder 🙂
LikeLike
Thanks for reminding me to use my fondue pot! Yum.
LikeLike
Believe me I life beef a lot with Boil rice.
LikeLike