Meat and Chicken Fondue, Brazilian style sauces

When I moved to the US, I was surprised by the number of people who thought Fondue had to be cheese, and cheese only.

I do not know why, but we love meat fondue in Rio. You have to turn your air conditioner at the highest setting, or wait for the 2 days a year where the temperature reaches 65F to eat it, but we even have "medieval" style restaurants (with cold stone walls and a killer air conditioning system) so we can enjoy it.

When a couple gets married in Brazil, you can be sure they will get about 10 fondue sets, go figure.

If I have less than 15 people for Christmas Eve dinner, I always have a fondue—Brazilian traditional Christmas food is very similar to Thanksgiving, and I just had turkey 3.5 weeks ago.  

I set up a very colorful table, with 1 fondue set per 3/4 people (the picture here was for the leftovers the following day, just our own family and to meet my daughter's new "boyfriend").  I always forget to take pictures at my own parties, ARGH.

Anyway, it's always a very festive meal. Here is how it goes:

The day before, I do all my shopping and cut the meat and chicken, and try to get most of the sauces ingredients chopped, so the day of the party i do not have to worry.

If you can afford filet mignon (beef tenderloin) it is the best meat you can use. I refuse, East Coast prices make it impossible. As a good Brazilian, I know there is always a "jeitinho" (way around it), so I buy sirloin steaks from Costco at 2.99 lb, and, after cutting it in bite size cuber (1" x 1"), I marinate it overnight in olive oil, salt, pepper, sweet paprika and large slices of onions. The next day, your sirloin will magically turn into beef tenderloin.

What you'll need:

• A Fondue set (including fondue forks) - I like the metal ones because of the temperature it reaches.
• Fondue Fuel
• Fondue Plates (I just found these great ones), or you can just use regular plates
• meat and chicken (details below)
• dipping sauces (details below)

Ingredients :

• 1/2 pound (total) of meat per person, that can be a combination of:
• Beef tenderloin or Beef Sirloin (with the above marinade)
• Skinless Chicken breasts
• Vegetable oil
• Garlic cloves (1 peeled/1 with skin per pot) 

1. Trim the fat from the mean; cut into bit-size cubes. Keep refrigerated until 20 minutes before cooking. 
2. Rub a garlic clove inside the fondue dish.
   
3. Fill a metal fondue pot about 1/2 full .Leave an unpeeled garlic clove in the oil as well. Heat the oil on the stove until the garlic clove starts frying (do not remove it from the oil, it avoids burning and darkening)
4. Set the fondue pot on the stand over a moderately high direct heat and maintain the heat. 

To Serve:

1. Dry the meat and chicken pieces (take the onions out of the meat if you are doing the marinade). Serve them on the table in various bowls (from one per person to one per 2 fondue sets, whatever fits best).
2. Each guest spears a cube of meat with a fondue fork, leaves it in the hot oil until cooked to the desired doneness usually 1 to 3 minutes.
3. Serve with any kind of “oven” potatoes (scalloped, daphinoise, or the best of all, rotis potatoes- see recipe here) as well as the dipping sauces below (my favorites, you can always create your own), and dipping sauces.
   

Dipping Sauces: 

Vegetable Pickes sauce

• 2 cups of mayonnaise
• 2 teaspoons of chopped onion
•  4 teaspoons ketchup
• 2 tablespoons chopped vegetable pickles (known as Giardinera, has carrots, cauliflower, onions, etc)
• 1 teaspoon of mustard
• 1 teaspoon Worcester sauce
• ½ tablespoon chopped parsley
•  ½ teaspoon chopped chives
• 1/2 cup of chopped cornishons
•  pepper (no salt needed)

Mix everything together  and refrigerate

Green Apple Sauce

• 1 1/2 cup (tea) of mayonnaise
• 1 cup of whipping cream, lightly whipped –
• 1 green apple finely chopped –
• parsley chopped –
• salt & pepper

Mix everything together  and refrigerate

Strawberry sauce

• 2 cup of mayonnaise
• 2 tablespoons ketchup
• 3 tablespoons of strawberry jam
• 2 tablespoons celery finely chopped

Mix everything together and refrigerate

Aioli

• 2 cups of Mayonnaise
• 4 garlic cloves, peeled
• 2 egg yolks
• salt and pepper 

Blend then refrigerate for the minimum of 2 hours

Warm Celery sauce

• 250 g whipping crème
• 4 tablespoons chopped (very small) celery
• 1 tablespoon of butter
• 1 small onion, grated
• salt
  

Heat the butter in a saucepan, add the onion and let it get “golden”. Add the celery and mix for 1 minute

Add the whipping cream and as soon as it starts to boil, add the salt and turn it off. Should  be served warm.

Sour Cream Mustard Sauce

• 1/2 pint sour cream
• 1/2 mayonnaise
• 1/4 cup prepared mustard
• 1 tablespoon finely chopped onion
• Dash of Hot Pepper Sauce, such as Tabasco

Mix and refrigerate  

Prune sauce

• 1 small jar prune jam
  
• Whipping cream (slightly whipped)
  

Mix and refrigerate