Siege Horse Pot-au-Feu
A long, flavorful broth simmering a piece of horse meat with available root vegetables. Robust and nourishing, it was the possible luxury of a starving city.
A long, flavorful broth simmering a piece of horse meat with available root vegetables. Robust and nourishing, it was the possible luxury of a starving city.
You want to know what a feast was like, while shells rained on Paris? It was a piece of horse in the pot. Beef had long disappeared, we queued for hours for a bone, and we blessed the beast that kept us standing. I put it to simmer with what was left of leeks and turnips, and the smell of the broth, believe me, was worth all the feasts of the Tuileries. We held on with that, and with hope.
- •Horse meat (shoulder, leg) — a piece (centerpiece)
- •Leeks — whatever is available (aromatic)
- •Turnips and carrots — a few (garnish)
- •Onion — one, studded with a clove (flavor)
- •Salt, coarse salt — to taste (seasoning)
Siege Horse Pot-au-Feu
A long, flavorful broth simmering a piece of horse meat with available root vegetables. Robust and nourishing, it was the possible luxury of a starving city.
Why this dish? During the Siege of Paris (1870-1871), where Louise Michel served as an ambulance nurse and fighter, beef disappeared and horse meat was eaten, becoming almost a festive commodity due to its scarcity. A horse pot-au-feu was then a festive meal wrested from famine.
You want to know what a feast was like, while shells rained on Paris? It was a piece of horse in the pot. Beef had long disappeared, we queued for hours for a bone, and we blessed the beast that kept us standing. I put it to simmer with what was left of leeks and turnips, and the smell of the broth, believe me, was worth all the feasts of the Tuileries. We held on with that, and with hope.
Ingredients (period version)
- Horse meat (shoulder, leg) — a piece (centerpiece)
- Leeks — whatever is available (aromatic)
- Turnips and carrots — a few (garnish)
- Onion — one, studded with a clove (flavor)
- Salt, coarse salt — to taste (seasoning)
Ingredients
- Beef for pot-au-feu (chuck, shank) or horse — 800 g (centerpiece)
- Leeks — 2 (aromatic)
- Carrots — 4 (garnish)
- Turnips — 3 (garnish)
- Onion studded with 2 cloves — 1 (flavor)
- Bouquet garni (thyme, bay leaf) — 1 (aromatic)
- Coarse salt, peppercorns — to taste (seasoning)
Method
- Put the meat in a large pot, cover with cold water, bring gently to a simmer and skim.
- Add the clove-studded onion, bouquet garni, coarse salt, and peppercorns.
- Simmer covered on very low heat for 2 hours 30 minutes.
- Add carrots, turnips, and tied leeks, continue for 45 minutes.
- Serve the sliced meat and vegetables, with the broth separately in a bowl with stale bread.
How it was made : Hippophagy, already legal in France since 1866, became widespread during the siege: for lack of beef, carriage horses and then those from the Jardin d'Acclimatation were slaughtered. Pot-au-feu, the Sunday dish of the people, was then made with horse—and its broth nourished the sick in the ambulances run by women like Louise Michel.
The contemporary twist : Serve the clarified broth as a 'consommé of memory' in a cup as an aperitif, then the shredded meat in a shepherd's pie the next day.
Sources : Louise Michel, Mémoires (1886) · Témoignages du siège de Paris (1870-1871)
Louise Michel · Charactorium