Lamproie à la bordelaise

Checking that the lamprey. Verify that the lamprey has been legally sourced, commercially dispatched, professionally cleaned and supplied as ready-to-cook pieces with the food-grade blood in a separate sealed chilled container. Tool: clean tray and labels/packaging. Time: 5 minutes. Temperature: chilled. The lamprey arrives ready to cook with no home slaughter or cleaning step required, and the blood container is sealed, chilled and labelled for food use. The defining blood ingredient must be commercially handled rather than collected at home. If either the fish preparation or food-grade blood supply is not lawful and documented where you are cooking, stop and do not improvise.

Chilling the prepared lamprey. Refrigerate the prepared lamprey pieces with 300 ml of the red wine in a covered non-reactive dish. Tool: non-reactive covered dish. Time: 180 minutes passive refrigeration. Temperature: 4 °C or below. The pieces are evenly wetted with wine and remain fully chilled throughout the marination. Cold marination flavours the fish without creating a room-temperature holding period. Keep the sealed blood container separately refrigerated at 4 °C or below.

Draining the lamprey, reserving. Drain the lamprey, reserving the wine marinade, and prepare the leeks, onion, carrot and garlic on a clean board. Tool: sieve, clean board and knife. Time: 15 minutes. Temperature: chilled to room temperature. The vegetables are evenly cut and the reserved marinade is kept separate for cooking. Even vegetable sizes support steady braising.

Softening the cured ham. Sweat the cured ham, leeks, onion, carrot and garlic in the olive oil until softened without hard browning, then stir in the flour for the final minute. Tool: heavy casserole. Heat: medium-low heat. Time: 20 minutes. Temperature: stovetop. The leeks are softened and glossy, and the flour has lost its raw powdery appearance without scorching. The flour lightly structures the sauce before the wine is added.

Adding the reserved 300. Add the reserved 300 ml marinade and the remaining 450 ml wine; simmer to reduce and cook the alcohol-rich liquid before the fish goes in. Tool: heavy casserole. Heat: medium-low simmer. Time: 30 minutes. Temperature: gentle simmer. The wine mixture has reduced visibly and smells rounded rather than sharply alcoholic. Reducing the wine concentrates the sauce base; some alcohol may still remain.

Adding the 150 ml. Add the 150 ml fish stock and lamprey pieces and braise gently until thoroughly cooked and tender. Tool: covered heavy casserole. Heat: low simmer. Time: 75 minutes. Temperature: gentle simmer. The thickest lamprey pieces reach at least 63 °C and feel tender without disintegrating. Gentle braising softens the fish while preserving the pieces. Use a clean food thermometer in the thickest piece; beware hot sauce and slippery fish skin.

Tempering the chilled food-grade. Temper the chilled food-grade lamprey blood with several spoonfuls of hot sauce, then stir it gradually into the casserole and heat gently without a rolling boil. Tool: bowl, whisk and casserole. Heat: very low heat. Time: 10 minutes. Temperature: below a hard boil. The blood is fully dispersed and the sauce coats the spoon without curdling. Gradual tempering prevents the blood proteins from seizing into lumps. The blood is a perishable raw animal product; keep chilled until this step and cook it thoroughly in the hot sauce.

Finishing only after the. Taste only after the sauce is fully cooked, adjust with the measured salt, and remove any remaining cartilage before serving. Tool: serving dish and clean tongs. Time: 5 minutes. Temperature: hot. The sauce is dark, glossy and cohesive, and no large cartilage pieces remain in the serving portions. Final cartilage removal reduces an unpleasant hard bite at the table. Do not taste the sauce before the blood has been cooked.