Saucisson brioche with Beaujolais sauce recipe

Lyon at its best. This dish is a little more complex than most to make, but is well worth it.

Timings

Prep time: 40 minutes, plus proving time and overnight resting

Cook time: 1 hour 10 minutes

Serves

4

Ingredients

For the saucisson brioche

• 250g strong bread flour, plus extra for dusting
• 35ml whole milk
• 15g caster sugar
• 10g fresh yeast
• 3 eggs, beaten
• 85g unsalted butter, diced, plus extra for spreading
• 1 Morteau sausage, approx 600g, or other straight, smoked sausage

To assemble

• 1 egg, beaten, plus 1 yolk for an egg wash
• 30g plain flour
• 50g pork fat, melted (optional)

For the Beaujolais sauce

• 1 litre veal or beef stock
• 20ml vegetable oil
• 250g finely sliced shallots (approx 10)
• 3 garlic cloves, unpeeled, lightly crushed with the palm of your hand
• 1 thyme sprig
• 1 bay leaf
• 250ml port
• 500ml Beaujolais or similar light red wine (not too tannic) 
• 50-80g salted butter

Method

1. Place the bread flour and 1½ tsp salt in the bowl of an electric stand mixer fitted with a dough hook (or a large mixing bowl).
2. In a small pan, warm the milk and sugar to about 30C. Add the yeast and mix until dissolved.
3. Mix the eggs with the milk and add this to the flour. Run the machine on slow for 10 minutes. Alternatively, mix and then knead by hand.
4. Slowly add the diced butter piece by piece to the bowl. Once it has been incorporated, let the machine run (or knead) for 10 minutes.
5. Cover the bowl with a damp tea towel or cling film and let it prove for about 20 minutes, until it has doubled in size.
6. Knock it back by kneading it a few times in the bowl and leave it to rest (covered again) in the fridge overnight.
7. The next day, preheat the oven to 180C/160C fan/gas mark 4.
8. Simmer the sausage whole for 10 minutes, then place on a baking tray and roast for 10 minutes. Take out of the oven and leave to cool to room temperature.
9. Turn the brioche dough out on to a lightly floured work surface and roll it out into a rectangle four times the width of and a little longer than the sausage.
10.  Coat the sausage in the beaten egg and then in the flour and place it in the middle of the dough. 
11. Bring up the sides to enclose the sausage so the two edges meet in the middle, then turn it over to hide the join, ensuring that the dough is not overlapped too much. Press the ends of the dough together to enclose the sausage.
12. Place in a terrine mould or dish that’s about 18cm x 8cm and 7cm deep. Let the brioche prove again for about 45 minutes or until almost double the size.
13. Meanwhile preheat the oven to 200C/180C fan/gas mark 6. Brush the brioche with the egg yolk. Bake for about 40 minutes; if you have pork fat, brush a little over the brioche after 10 minutes, repeating every 5 minutes or so. The brioche will be golden by the end.
14. Meanwhile, to make the Beaujolais sauce, put the stock in a pan. Heat to reduce it to 200-300ml (8-10 minutes). 
15. At the same time, heat the oil in a pan over a high heat, then add the shallot, garlic and herbs. Season and put the lid on, letting them sweat slowly until soft (about 20 minutes).
16. Add the port and wine, continuing to heat until the liquid has reduced to a glaze (about 5-10 minutes), then add this to the pan of simmering reduced stock. 
17. Continue to reduce it a bit if necessary (so you can’t taste the alcohol) then pass through a fine sieve, pressing down well with a ladle, into a bowl or jug.
18. Once the sausage is cooked, leave it to cool in the terrine mould or dish for 15 minutes. 
19. To serve, cut into slices 3cm thick. Spread each slice with a little butter on both sides. Fry in a non-stick pan until coloured well on each side.
20. Meanwhile, bring the sauce back to a simmer and whisk in a generous knob of butter and more seasoning if needed. 
21. Serve the slices of saucisson brioche on plates surrounded by the Beaujolais sauce.