Aye Chef - Cooking with style

Café de Paris sauce is a complex butter-based sauce served with grilled meats. When it is served with a beef rib or sirloin steak, the resulting dish is known as entrecôte Café de Paris.

The sauce was first popularized in the 1940s by the Café de Paris restaurant in Geneva, then owned by Arthur-François (Freddy) Dumont, and entrecôte Café de Paris remains the restaurant's specialty. The Café de Paris attributes the origin of the sauce to Mr Dumont's father-in-law, one Mr Boubier. Today the restaurant also ships the sauce to several other restaurants which serve it under license: the Café de Paris in Lausanne, the À l'Entrecôte in Sion (Switzerland), the Brasserie L'Entrecôte in Lisbon, and the Entrecôte Café de Paris restaurants in Dubai, Kuwait, and Riyadh.

While researching the subject, I've stumbled upon many variations of this recipe, most listing ketchup as one of the ingredients. I have complete and utter confidence that no self respecting French recipe will EVER use ketchup as an ingredient, therefore, I went with the version presented below. It is worth mentioning that the actual recipe is trade secret and therefore unknown to the public. While I have never tasted the actual sauce, from the results of this recipe I can presume it comes quite close. And if not, I like the result all the same. Enjoy :)


Ingredients (Yields 32 servings)
500g unsalted Butter
3 tsp Dijon mustard
Salt
Pepper
3 tsp Capers
60g French shallot Onions
1 tsp Garlic
2 Anchovy fillets
1.5 tbsp Parsley
1.5 tbsp Chives
0.25 tsp Marjoram
0.25 tsp Dill
0.25 tsp Thyme
0.25 tsp Tarragon Vinegar
0.25 tsp Rosemary
2 tsp Paprika
1 tsp Curry powder
0.25 tsp Cayenne pepper
0.5 Orange
0.5 Lemon
0.5 tsp Worcestershire sauce
1.5 tbsp Madeira
1.5 tbsp Cognac
2 eggs

Directions

1. Cut the butter into 1cm cubes and place into food processor or mixer with the mustard and seasoning.
2. Chop the capers, shallots, garlic, anchovies and herbs and add to the butter.
3. Zest the orange and lemon, then juice the lemon.
4. Add the spices, zest and juice to the butter and blend until it is light and aerated.
5. Work in the Worcestershire sauce, Madeira and Cognac.
6. Separate the eggs and add the yolks to the butter to emulsify it.
7. Place the mixture onto a greaseproof paper or tinfoil, roll it into a log or sausage shape and refrigerate.

Notes

• I didn't have Madeira or Cognac, so I've used a bit of Irish Whiskey instead, in my case, Jameson.
• You can substitute the Tarragon Vinegar for a Balsamic Vinegar and add a bit of tarragon as herb, if you like its flavor. I do not.
• Be careful with anchovies, if you put too much, even a little, the end result will be too salty. You can balance with a bit of white sugar, or some liquid honey, if you want to go sugar free.