Pig trotters à la Sainte-Menehould () is a French cuisine dish of pig's trotters that is simmered for hours, breaded, and pan-fried; the bones are soft enough to eat. The dish is a delicacy of Sainte-Menehould, dating to at least the 15th century.
History
The dish was first attested to during the reign of Charles VII of France, where he was served the dish in Sainte-Menehould in 1435. The dish began to be prepared with "sauce à la Sainte-Menehould" in the 17th century; the sauce was later documented by August Escoffier.
According to Camille Desmoulins, during the 1791 Flight to Varennes, Louis XVI and the French royal family stopped in Sainte-Menehould and partook in pig trotters à la Sainte-Menehould. The royals were ultimately arrested in Varennes-en-Argonne, having been recognized and reported to revolutionary authorities from their stop in Sainte-Menehould.
Alexandre Dumas popularized the dish when it was published in the 1873 .
Preparation The trotters are trussed to hold their shape and simmered with onion, carrots, shallots, garlic, bouquet garni, cloves, and white wine for at least four hours; some recipes call for twelve or 24 hours. The cooked trotters are cut lengthwise, breaded with breadcrumbs and eggs, and pan-fried before serving.
Pig's trotters à la Sainte-Menehould are traditionally served with "sauce à la Sainte-Menehould", a butter-based sauce including onion, white wine or champagne, vinegar, , bay leaf, parsley and thyme.
Variants In 1784, wrote that the Polish count August Fryderyk Moszyński was served sheep's trotters à la Sainte-Menehould at an inn in Avignon. In the short story The System of Doctor Tarr and Professor Fether by Edgar Allan Poe, a dish of veal à la Sainte-Menehould is described.
References