Veau chaud – veal hot dog – impossible food-wine pairing?!?
Chef Yannick Alléno, recipient of three Michelin stars, adores New York hot dogs. According to a piece in the NYT Dining section, he loves the hot dog so much that he wanted to make a French version, out of calf heads. Instead of calling it literally a “chien chaud,” he opted for truth in labeling, going with “veau chaud” (hot calf). Site reader Caleb Ganzer writes in to see if we might try to pair it up. And to that we reply “fo sho with the veau chaud”
So here’s a bit more on the dish that can be eaten without a plate. The nine-inch sausage is made from “edible bits of a cooked calf head, or tête de veau” (brains and eyes excluded). Served on a mulitgrain (!) baguette, the dog, or calf, is topped with gribiche sauce, which is a vinaigrette with capers, cornichons, and hard boiled egg, herbs and mustard.
“I have adapted the ‘dog’ to the true ambience of Paris,†Alléno told the Times. “There is nothing more Parisian than tête de veau.â€
And there’s nothing more French than wine! So which wine would you pair with it? Or is it…impossible?!?
On February 16th, 2012 at 12:11 pm ,Natasha Hughes wrote:
You can’t take a hot dog (even one made out of tête de veau) too seriously, so there’s no point in pairing it with a ‘serious’ (read prestige) wine. The Parisians, like the Lyonnais, would probably choose a juicy, fruity Beaujolais as a match for all kinds of charcuterie, and that’s where I’d start looking. If I wanted to go upmarket, I’d aim for a Beaujolais cru, rather than an entry-level bottle – maybe a mineral-driven, sappy Côte de Brouilly.
On February 16th, 2012 at 12:46 pm ,RobinC wrote:
Rosé.
On February 16th, 2012 at 2:25 pm ,John Winthrop wrote:
What do Parisians (who cannot even make a good chacroute garni) know about sausage? Alsace is the answer Gewurtztraminer from Dom. Stirn. Or, if you don’t eat it with mustard, a Riesling from Alsace will work just fine.
On February 16th, 2012 at 4:21 pm ,Obi Wine Kenobi wrote:
Theo Minges’ riesling halbtrocken in the liter bottle. Heck make it two bottles!
On February 16th, 2012 at 5:09 pm ,Obi Wine Kenobi wrote:
Wait a tick… Just Francaise! Naturally Alsacian wines come to mind, but ones with good acid, like Bott Geyl and Ostertag… For reds, how ’bout a mondeuse?
On February 17th, 2012 at 8:58 pm ,Dave Erickson wrote:
Too easy: Any decent Edelzwicker.
On February 18th, 2012 at 8:38 am ,Entaste wrote:
An off-dry Riesling!
On February 18th, 2012 at 2:06 pm ,gabe wrote:
i like the rose suggestion. although i would go for a fancy beer with a veal hotdog. maybe a nice duvel
On February 19th, 2012 at 8:49 am ,Hans wrote:
Just plain red.
On February 21st, 2012 at 5:59 pm ,Frank wrote:
I second the Alsatian gewurztraminer. Or how about a demi-sec Vouvray?
On February 27th, 2012 at 4:29 am ,Cognac J wrote:
What about the $100 hotdog that’s been in the news recently – flavored with one of the best cognacs? http://cognac-expert.com/ did an article on it. Crazy, hey?