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Oeufs en meurette
Poached eggs in red wine sauce
Burgundy's poached eggs in red-wine sauce with lardons and mushrooms
In Burgundy, between Dijon and Beaune, a meurette is any dish cooked in red wine sauce, and oeufs en meurette is the one served as a starter in village restaurants and at weekend lunches. Eggs are poached in a reduced, glossy sauce of red wine, shallots and stock, then served with crisp smoked pork lardons, button mushrooms and garlic-rubbed croutons to dip into the yolks. The sauce is deep, winey and savoury; the eggs make it rich. The dish uses red wine, and an alcohol-free version is in the notes. The yolks stay runny, so use pasteurised eggs for pregnant women, young children, older people or anyone with a weakened immune system, or poach the eggs until the yolks are set. Chef's tip: poach the eggs in water with a dash of vinegar rather than in the wine itself, so the whites stay white.
- Total time
- 55 min
- Difficulty
- medium
- Serves
- 4
Ingredients
For the sauce
- 5 ½ oz smoked pork lardons
- 1 oz butter
- 3 shallotsfinely chopped
- 1 garlic clovecrushed
- 7 oz small button mushroomshalved
- 2 cups red Burgundy (pinot noir)or 450 ml beef stock + 2 tbsp red wine vinegar + 1 tsp sugar
- ¾ cup beef or chicken stock
- 1 bay leaf
- 1 tbsp plain flour
- ⅔ oz cold buttermashed with the flour
For the eggs and croutons
- 8 very fresh eggspasteurised for vulnerable people (see intro)
- 2 tbsp white vinegarfor the poaching water
- 8 baguetteslices, cut on the diagonal
- 1 garlic clovehalved, for rubbing
To serve
- 1 tbsp flat-leaf parsley (optional)chopped
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Method
0/8 doneStep 1: Fry 5 ½ oz smoked pork lardons in a dry saucepan over a medium heat until golden and crisp. Lift them out and keep the fat.
6 minStep 2: Add ½ oz butter to the fat and fry 7 oz small button mushrooms over a medium-high heat until golden. Lift them out.
5 minStep 3: Add the rest of ½ oz butter, then 3 shallots and 1 garlic clove, and soften over a medium heat for 3 minutes.
3 minStep 4: Pour in 2 cups red Burgundy (pinot noir) and ¾ cup beef or chicken stock, add 2 thyme sprigs and 1 bay leaf and boil over a medium-high heat until reduced by about half.
15 minStep 5: Whisk in 1 tbsp plain flour mashed with ⅔ oz cold butter in small pieces and simmer until the sauce is glossy and coats the back of a spoon. Strain, season and return the lardons and mushrooms. Keep warm.
4 minStep 6: Toast 8 baguette until golden and rub with 1 garlic clove.
Step 7: Bring a wide pan of water to a bare simmer and add 2 tbsp white vinegar. Crack each of 8 very fresh eggs into a cup, slip them in one at a time and poach until the whites are set and the yolks still soft, about 3 minutes; poach 5 minutes if you want set yolks. Don't let the water boil: that's what tears the whites into rags.
6 minStep 8: Lift the eggs out with a slotted spoon and drain on kitchen paper. Put two eggs in each warm bowl, spoon over the sauce, lardons and mushrooms, and serve with the croutons and 1 tbsp flat-leaf parsley.
Nutrition per serving
- Calories
- 470 kcal
- Protein
- 24 g
- Carbs
- 24 g
- Fat
- 26 g
- Fibre
- 2 g
Nutrition values are estimates.
KrazyBadal
Good to know
- How long does oeufs en meurette take?
- About 55 minutes in total: 15 minutes to prepare and 40 minutes to cook.
- How many people does it serve?
- 4 as written. Change the servings above the ingredients and every amount scales to match.
- What can I use instead of butter?
- The same weight of ghee or coconut oil (for frying and most baking).
- What can I use instead of shallots?
- Half an onion per 2 shallots.
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