Sauce Bigarrade

Ingredients

Equipment Needed

• •4-quart (3.8 L) wide, heavy saucepan
• •2-quart (1.9 L) light-colored saucepan for the caramel
• •Fine-mesh sieve
• •Clean lint-free kitchen towels or fine muslin
• •Fat separator
• •Vegetable peeler and sharp chef's knife
• •Heatproof liquid measure

Instructions

1. 1

   Prepare the citrus

   Use a vegetable peeler to remove the reserved strips of orange and lemon rind without digging into the bitter white pith. Trim away any pith that remains, then cut both rinds julienne-fashion, into fine, regular matchsticks. Scald the julienne in gently boiling water for exactly five minutes, drain it, and reserve. Juice the oranges and lemons, strain out seeds and heavy pulp, and combine the juices. Measure out 1/2 cup (120 ml / 120 g) and hold it separately for the finish.

   Regularity matters more than extreme thinness. Even pieces soften together; ragged rind gives you some threads tender and others leathery.
2. 2

   Degrease the duck stock

   Inspect the poëling stock from Poëlings (No. 250) before it reaches the heat. If cold, lift away the entire firm fat cap; if warm, pass it through a fat separator, let it settle, and draw off the clear stock from beneath the butter. Line a fine-mesh sieve with a damp, lint-free kitchen towel and strain the stock into a clean wide saucepan. Wick away the final beads of fat with the corner of a fresh towel. A few beads are not harmless here: reduction magnifies them, and citrus laid over grease tastes blunt.

3. 3

   Reduce until dense

   Bring the stock to a controlled boil in the wide saucepan and reduce it to about 4 1/2 cups (1.1 L), roughly half its starting volume. Skim any grey froth and watch the sides of the pan as the level falls. The stock is ready when its bubbles look close and glossy and a spoon drawn through it emerges with a definite coating. If it turns sticky before reaching the measure, remove it from the heat and loosen it one tablespoon at a time with the measured citrus juice, deducting each spoonful from the main portion. Ça se rattrape. Do not scrape up anything scorched from the pan floor.

4. 4

   Make the gastrique

   Put the sugar in a clean, light-colored saucepan and melt it over medium heat. Once the edges liquefy, swirl the pan instead of stirring, and cook until the caramel is a deep amber, never black. Remove the pan from the heat and add the wine vinegar gradually, standing back because it will spit. This is the gastrique, the vinegar caramel that gives clear-stock Bigarrade its bittersweet edge. The caramel may seize into a hard sheet. It will look alarming, but it is exactly right: return it to low heat and stir until it dissolves. If stubborn crystals remain, add one tablespoon of the measured citrus juice and warm gently. Ça se rattrape.

5. 5

   Join and strain

   Pour the hot gastrique into the dense duck reduction and simmer for two minutes, stirring until the two become one glossy sauce. Pass it through a fine sieve lined with a fresh damp kitchen towel into a clean saucepan, pressing gently with the back of a ladle. The original twisting of hot muslin belonged to a staffed kitchen; patient pressing gives the home cook the same clear result without wrestling a scalding cloth.

6. 6

   Restore with citrus

   Add all but the reserved 1/2 cup (120 ml / 120 g) of combined orange and lemon juice in three additions, whisking after each. Bring the sauce back to a lively simmer and reduce until it reaches about 7 1/2 cups (1.8 L) and lightly coats the back of a spoon, about five to ten minutes. Whisk in the reserved juice and taste. The finish should be bright, bittersweet, and unmistakably savory. If the sauce is still loose, simmer it briefly; if it has tightened too far, the last spoonfuls of reserved juice are your rescue.

7. 7

   Finish with julienne

   Fold in the blanched orange and lemon julienne and warm it for one minute without a hard boil. The finished Bigarrade should pour in a continuous glossy ribbon, not sit like jam, and the citrus threads should remain distinct. Spoon it beside braised or poëled duckling, or serve it in a warmed sauceboat so each guest can be generous. À table!

Chef Tips

• •The 32 small sugar pieces preserve the original proportion of four pieces for every half pint of clear stock. Granulated sugar is the honest home equivalent because it weighs consistently and caramelizes evenly.
• •Choose oranges and lemons that feel heavy for their size, then peel the needed rind before juicing. Bottled juice has no usable rind and its flattened flavor cannot carry a sauce this exposed.
• •For the thickened braising-sauce version, strain and completely degrease the duck's braising liquor, reduce it until very dense, then restore its pouring consistency with the same ratio of six oranges and one lemon per quart. Omit the sugar and vinegar; the gastrique belongs to the clear poëling-stock version.
• •Bigarrade needs the richness of duck beside it. It is not a general sweet orange glaze. Serve it with braised duckling, poëled duckling, or wild duck, and pour a dry red with fresh acidity, such as Loire Cabernet Franc or red Burgundy.
• •If holding the sauce for dinner, keep it barely warm and covered. Do not let it boil repeatedly after the citrus and julienne enter, or the fresh edge dulls and the rind becomes firm.

Advance Preparation

• •Prepare the poëling stock a day ahead if possible, then chill it. The butter rises and sets into a solid cap, making complete degreasing considerably easier.
• •The citrus julienne can be cut and blanched up to one day ahead. Dry it well, cover it, and keep it cold until the sauce is finished.
• •The stock can be reduced, joined with the gastrique, strained, cooled quickly, and refrigerated for up to two days. Reheat it gently, then add the citrus juice and julienne shortly before serving so their brightness remains intact.

Frequently Asked Questions

Nutrition Information

1 serving (about 60g)