Fondue Night
I know that we are an anomaly but throughout the Fall, Winter and even early Spring seasons, my family sits around the family room coffee table to enjoy fondue at least once a month. Generally, I make two pots of cheese fondue (our favorites being Traditional Swiss; Brie, Roquefort and Mushroom; and Cheddar and Beer, all linked here). At a minimum, I serve the cheese fondue with cubes of baguette and a green salad with vinaigrette (to cut through the richness of the cheese). If I’m feeling ambitious I’ll throw in some quickly sautéed l’il smokies and sliced apple.
During the month of January, when Gary is laser-eyed focused on becoming lean and mean, I replace one of the pots of cheese with bubbling broth to cook thinly sliced beef, shrimp, vegetables and new potatoes. I pour a bunch of dipping sauces into bowls and everyone is super happy. Traditionally, I believe that beef fondue is oil-based and the broth is likely more akin to a Japanese Hot Pot or Shabu-Shabu but it works and is a healthier, less messy alternative to sputtering oil.
So here I give you my recipe for Beef Fondue along with what I most recently used as our dippers and sauces. There’s lots of wiggle room here, so feel free to substitute your favorite flavors. But bottom line, give Fondue Night a try. Valentine’s Day would be the perfect opportunity! If you have to borrow a fondue set (or two) for your first attempt, please do because it will be worth the memories and fun you will have around the table with your date, family or friends. Mine will be in use this Friday night and I’m already looking forward to it. Enjoy!
Beef Fondue
Ingredients
- 1 quart low-sodium Beef Broth
- 1/2 c water
- 1 Tbls low-sodium soy sauce
- 1 head garlic, cut in half crosswise
- 1 tsp freshly ground black pepper
- 1.5 lbs beef sirloin thinly sliced across the grain
- 1/2 lb shrimp, peeled and deveined optional or more, if desired
- 1 lb small new potatoes, slice the larger ones in half par boiled
- 1 head broccoli separated into florets
- 1 pint mushrooms, cleaned and large ones sliced in half
- 1 yellow squash, sliced into thick rounds
- dipping sauces, such as Mustard, Sweet and Sour Sauce, Steak Sauce, Peri Peri (hot) sauce, Miso Dressing, Mayonaisse, etc.
Instructions
- Combine the first five ingredients, broth through pepper in a medium stockpot. Set aside until all of your ingredients are prepped and you are ready to eat.
- Prepare all of your dippers (beef through squash), being sure to par boil the potatoes in salted water so that they don’t take to long to cook in the broth.
- Pour your sauces into small bowls and set a kettle on the stove to boil water to put in the lower half of your fondue pot.
- Set your table with small plates, forks, fondue spears, salad (if desired), dippers, dipping sauces and fondue pot stand with lit votive candle or sterno.
- Set your stockpot with the broth mixture over medium-high heat. Heat until boiling and then pour into fondue pot.
- Pour boiling water into the lower half of your fondue pot and then set the broth mixture on top. Place the combination on top of the fondue pot stand (over the open flame).
- Start dipping, keeping the fondue spears with protein or vegetable in simmering broth until it is cooked to your liking. Remove item to your plate and dip into desired sauce to enjoy.