Outbreaks | All fire all flames

Outbreaks are experiencing a revival. Press went to meet specialists from the ITHQ in order to learn all about this spectacular technique, with a delicious Alaska bomb as a guinea pig, the recipe of which we are revealing to you.

Cooking drama

The tension mounts with delight as the host performs his staging: a few meticulously prepared gestures under a dim light. Then he takes his rabbit out of the hat – a match -, and the viewer holds his breath. The dish ignites, the flames dance. The hypnosis is fleeting – a few seconds before the alcohol vapors burn off – but the spectacle will be unforgettable.

Outbreaks never go unnoticed. “In the room, we see it. Customers are silent and take out their phones to immortalize the moment, says Thierry Pelven, professor at the International Training in Service and Sommellerie of the Institut de tourisme et d’hôtellerie du Québec (ITHQ). We give them an experience and that’s what customers want: to be dazzled beyond the food. ”

The technique is not a flash in the pan. The English have been blazing their plum-pudding for centuries; the Germans, their spicy mulled wine. The merit of the flambage, as we know it today, would however go to the chef Auguste Escoffier who, in 1895, would have made flambé pancakes for the visit to Monte-Carlo of the future sovereign of England Edward VII, then accompanied by ‘a certain Suzette.

Since then, the buckling has had its ups and downs. Popular in the early twentieth^e century, it became more discreet thereafter, before coming back in force in the 1970s and falling back into oblivion two decades later with the rise of a new genre of cuisine, more refined. “There was also a question of costs. Flambéing in the dining room requires equipment and know-how, ”says Julie Faucher, expert in food discovery. The teaching of buckling, long perceived as a basic technique, she says, has been gradually abandoned.

However, the outbreaks are experiencing a revival. “For several years now, we have felt a craze for cooking and good spirits. We are interested in local drinks, we take time to eat well, we like to host and we make it an event. COVID-19, with its cocooning aspect, has accentuated this interest, ”said the teacher at the ITHQ. The movement arouses, in the wake, the attraction for the outbreaks.

Beyond the show

No process makes it possible to obtain the same taste combinations as flambé, according to Julie Faucher. “They say that alcohol, when it is flamed, will give the food the same taste as a spice could. The food then becomes like a tofu which absorbs the flavors. If we served a flambéed pepper steak and one that isn’t to a less savvy customer, he would notice the difference. ”

The buckling allows to approach the 240 ^oC, ie a temperature below carbonization. This gives a complementary caramelization to the cooking, which seals all the flavors included in the food and adds the aromas of alcohol. Indeed, the sugars contained in the food – or the juices, in the case of meats – are like small pincers which trap these perfumes.

Usually two tablespoons of alcohol are used per person. It is best to flambé one or two individual portions at a time to avoid there being too much liquid in the dish. Alcohol burns at 78 ^oC and the water boils at 100 ^oC, points out Julie Faucher, which constitutes a very important chemical difference. “If I dilute the alcohol too much, I won’t be able to flambé anything,” she says.

Choosing the right alcohol

The alcohol vapors burn, but its taste remains. Hence the interest in making a good food-alcohol combination. An outbreak requires a drink containing at least 40% alcohol. The sweeter it is, the longer the flames will last.

The classics are the liqueurs: eaux-de-vie, Cointreau, Prunelle de Bourgogne, Grand Marnier or rum will often be used with fruit, while cognacs and brandies also accompany meat. The French also work with pastis for seafood and bisques.

In the case of meat, flambing is always used at the start of cooking, after having seared it. Because fish flesh is delicate and crumbly, it will burn and fall apart if exposed to alcohol for too long. We then apply the technique of flambing to the accompanying sauce, which is first reduced in order to concentrate the flavors. Crustaceans and round fish (merlin, sturgeon, tuna, salmon), more robust, can be flambéed on the finish. This is also the case for fruit, Alaska bombs and crêpes Suzette.

A question of know-how

For a fire in the dining room, we bring the pedestal table – a small sideboard on which we put a burner, alcohol and accessories – to the customer’s table. The copper gravy boat is heated over the flames before adding alcohol. As the portion of alcohol used is minimal, it will then heat up in a few seconds on contact with hot metal. At home, however, the safest way to proceed is on the stove, specifies Thierry Pelven.

We usually flambé hot food with hot alcohol. The Alaska bomb, whose recipe we reveal to you in the following tab, is one of the exceptions. Its center is frozen, but the meringue which envelops it is cold. The alcohol, poured hot over the meringue, burns all the same, but the flames will be shorter.

The alcohol is heated in a saucepan to speed up and amplify the flaming process, then ignited with a long match or long-range lighter before pouring it over the food. We prefer instruments made of copper and pewter, or cast iron: materials which conduct heat particularly well. We forget the non-stick coatings that do not withstand such high heat.

Fire is a capricious element that we do not want to treat lightly. Once the alcohol is on fire, you have to act quickly and carefully: the show lasts only 7 to 12 seconds. “You have to be able to pay in a fair and precise way,” insists Thierry Pelven. Prepare a damp cloth or cover to smother the fire if necessary. »Surrounding surfaces should be kept clear and spectators kept at a distance. Never light the hood, which would cause the flames to rise. We also make sure that there is nothing flammable within range of fire – including hair!

“However, there is not too much to worry about since it is only the alcohol vapors that flare up and the effect only lasts a few seconds”, reassures Julie Faucher. The flames will subside on their own. Once all the precautions have been taken (and ideally by having practiced a little before), we can invite the guests to gather around the island and start the show without risking setting the curtains on fire!

Alaska, a spectacular dessert

“I always tell my students to create from what generates emotions in them”, indicates the new pastry chef of the ITHQ restaurant, Éric Champagne, who puts this approach into practice with a modern Alaska bomb, imprinted with sweet nostalgia. “This dessert is a compendium of memories associated with my Christmas as a child in Val-David. My grandmother made an assortment of desserts for us, while my grandfather tasted his brandy. To these scents are added the odors of fir trees that accompanied the walks in the forest.

“If you don’t have a fir, put larch or rosemary in it. Pas d’Avril, a Quebecois amaretto from Louiseville? Take cognac or another amaretto. Make the recipe your own! He says.

Gourmet, elegant and fresh with its notes of fir mixed with the tangy side of cranberries, the Cranberry Alaskan Bomb is a flamboyant and unifying dessert that is sure to fuel conversations. “To be served with an alcoholic coffee with amaretto or cognac, suggests Éric Champagne, to add to the pleasure! ”

Cranberry Balsam Fir Alaska Bomb

Yield: 12 individual servings, depending on the size of the mussels or ramekins used

Ingredients

Cranberry Bomb

350 g 35% cold whipped cream
150 g cashew nuts
300 g cranberry puree (see recipe)
90 g of honey
60 g of white sugar
50 g of water
90g egg whites
150 g of loose yogurt (the chef uses buffalo yogurt)
A pinch of fleur de sel

Cranberry puree

300g frozen cranberries
40 g of honey
80 g of white sugar
40 g of water

Biscuit

454 g eggs
454 g unsalted butter
454 g brown sugar
454 g ground almonds
10g all-purpose flour
6 g of sea salt
6 g of baking powder
10 g of dried balsam fir

Meringue

90g egg whites
126 g white sugar

Buckling

About 2 tbsp. tablespoons per individual bomb of a mixture of Avril Quebec amaretto and cognac

Preperation

Cranberry puree

In a saucepan, cook all the ingredients over medium heat for 7 minutes. Cool, then pass the preparation in a blender to obtain a puree.

Bomb

1. Whip the very cold cream in the previously cooled bowl of the mixer. Reserve in the fridge.

2. Put the cashews in the oven at 150 ° C for 20 minutes. Cool and finely chop.

3. In a small saucepan over low heat, combine the honey, white sugar and water to make a syrup. When the liquid reaches 100 ° C, start whipping the egg whites on high speed in another bowl. Pour the syrup over the eggs when it reaches 123 ° C. Whisk until the preparation cools.

4. Gently add the yogurt to the whipped cream.

5. Incorporate the cold cranberry puree and cashew nuts into the preparation, folding gently.

Biscuit

1. Preheat the oven to 170 ° C.

2. In a saucepan, heat the butter with the balsam fir for 3 minutes. Filter through a fine sieve or with a coffee filter.

3. Whisk all the ingredients in a food processor or by hand.

4. Bake the cookie for 30 minutes on a parchment-lined half baking sheet, or until golden brown.

5. Once cooled, cut the biscuit so that it can line the bottom of the molds or ramekins available to you.

Meringue

1. Heat the sugar and the egg whites in a double boiler, stirring constantly, until the sugar has dissolved and the liquid reaches 60 ° C.

2. Remove from double boiler and whisk meringue until stiff peaks form.

Assembly

1. Place the cookies at the bottom of the molds, add the bombe mixture. Freeze for 12 hours.

2. Unmould the jelly bomb and cover with meringue with a plastic pastry bag and the nozzle of your choice.

3. Use 2 tbsp. of the mixture of Avril amaretto and cognac per serving to individually flambé the bombs, using the technique explained in the previous tab. Wait 15 minutes before tasting them so that the nougat is still glazed, but the biscuit is tender.