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Today I’m going to discuss gastrique, an old-school sauce that you hardly see anymore but one that has a ton of potential uses, from sauces to vinaigrettes even for some desserts!

Back in Dijon France I once cooked for a group of 17 people some of who were restaurant critics and food photographers. I made a tarragon gastrique to serve over a melon salad as a second course…this blew away the guests who were not expecting this at all, especially at this point during this 7-course meal.

The only potential problem with this sauce is that it uses quite a bit of sugar or similar sweet ingredients in its composition. However, you need so little to make such a huge impact I feel it’s a valid thing to consider making.

I think it’s the perfect accompaniment to duck, pork, chicken even some beef dishes. To make it you need to consider the components:

1. Sugar or similar; honey, maple syrup, coconut sugar, palm sugar, etc.

2. The vinegar; sherry, apple cider, red wine, champagne, balsamic, etc.

3. The aromatics; fruit, herbs, onions, shallots, garlic, ginger, lemongrass, etc.

The methods could not be easier; start with a light caramel- basically, dump the sugar and water in a sauce pot, wait for it to start caramelizing a touch, then add vinegar (carefully) and aromatics or add everything at once, cook until starting to thicken, strain, serve.

Either method will yield a similar sauce however the caramel version is better for a sweeter more intense version. Some suggested uses:

• Duck breast seared and served with a blackberry or raspberry gastrique.

• Pork tenderloin w a maple sage gastrique

• Chicken thighs with a coconut curry gastrique

As you can see or hear in this case, the gastrique is a forgotten sauce with major potential to add the ZING to your cooking, what not give it a try?

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