Breaking Some Eggs - The Art of Making Aioli

In addition to writing and selling books, I also work as a chef, which many of you already know. I love the craft, and while there are no new ideas, the glory of cooking at this level is that there are always ideas that are new to you. What I hate, however, is mucking through Penelope's recap of her trip to Tuscany...Conner's grandmother's history, favorite color and full astrological chart breakdown, as I try to get to the recipe I came to the blog for. It's a particular kind of seething rage most of us who make our living by cooking experience each time we pop onto a recipe blog, which is made doubly frustrating when the recipe either doesn't make sense or doesn't yield consistent results.

Lucky for you, I've been doing this for years. I've had good teachers, some of them prominent in their respective cities, and at least one of whom was my head chef when the restaurant owner won a Beard. So, when I explain to you how to do something, you know you can trust the directions I'm giving you.

Today, we're going to focus on aioli. A mix of just four ingredients at its most basic, aioli is a technique driven staple you'll see featured on most restaurant menus. What you'll need is eggs, a source of acid, salt, and fat. The variety of fat doesn't matter that much, but I would recommend sticking to plant based oils like canola, olive oil...generally just something that stays liquid at room temperature. That said, it is possible to make a similar product using animal fats if they are liquefied over low heat, and this is ultimately how Hollondaise and its offshoots are approached. The striking difference being that the eggs are also tempered in those recipes, but we'll get there when we start digging into the Mother Sauces later.

There are also some terms you should know at the top end of this, as I use them frequently:

Brunoise: a 1/8 in. to 1/16th in. fine dice.

Radial cut: a uniform dice most often used for onions in which one adjusts their angle as they slice across the onion, resulting in crescent wedges. Please note, this is also how a proper julienne is done with onions.

Mince: similar to a brunoise, the offending material is rough chopped repeatedly until the individual pieces are very fine or begin to resemble a paste (as with garlic).

Steep: to allow material to sit in suspension in a liquid over time in order to diffuse its flavor into the liquid.

TT: To taste.

So now we have that out of the way, let's get into it.

Aioli - For Basic Bitches

What you'll need:

4 eggs, separated

1 qt (4 cups) of oil [Again, I recommend using canola oil for a neutral flavor and consistent results]

Roughly 1 tbsp dijon mustard

Salt TT

1 mixing bowl

A damp towel

A whisk

Something to put that oil in for easy pouring, such as a measuring or drinking cup, quart storage container, etc.

1. take opposite corners of your towel and roll it up like you're going to snap it at someone's ass. Make a tidy wreath with the rolled towel on the counter or wherever you're working. Place the bowl on top. This will prevent it from sliding or spinning, allowing you to use both hands when making the aioli itself.

2. Separate your yolks from the whites. This will feel kind of gross if you're not used to it, but the easiest way to handle it without breaking the yolks is to crack them open, drop the entire egg into your cupped palm and open your fingers slightly to allow the egg yolk to ooze through. With it held like this, carefully work the fingers of your other hand around the egg yolk and lift slightly while sliding it out of the white. Let the white drop into a container and remove any egg white that might by pinching the white gently and pulling away from the yolk now resting in your palm. Now drop the egg yolk into your bowl, leaving the egg white behind.

   1. An important note: You can make aioli using the egg whites as well, but doing so will require much more vigorous whisking. You'll end up feeling like the only active hand at a circle jerk and we don't want that. So, dispense with the egg whites if you value the structural integrity of your dominant arm. You'll thank me later.

3. Drop your dijon mustard into the egg yolks and start whisking. When the egg yolks and dijon have become indistinguishable from each other, start streaming in your oil. Just do a little bit at this early stage, maybe a tablespoon at a time, and don't add any more until the oil is well incorporated. Continue adding oil like this until your aioli starts to thicken. When it begins to show a ribbon that doesn't stay upright, you can start adding more oil, but do so in a thin stream and continue whisking (constantly and vigorously). You'll notice the aioli increasing in volume and thickness as you do this. If it hasn't started to ribbon at this stage, looks shiny and/or becomes fluid after having solidified, you've broken your aioli and need to start over.

   1. Another note: Well, a couple of them. You can thin your aioli at this stage by adding lemon juice or water and it will still come back together as you incorporate more oil, but don't add too much as it will be much harder to get back to the appropriate thickness (whatever that means to you. I like mine dummy thick...thick with three "c's", if you will.). If adding water, don't be alarmed! No one is really sure why this happens, at least not to my knowledge, but your aioli will indeed turn white. It's normal and (probably) natural. If not adding water, expect the color to remain a rich yellow.

   2. If you do break your aioli, don't discard it. Instead, clear out yoru bowl and make sure its both clean and dry, add more egg yolks to it and stream in the broken mess as you would canola oil. If you continue whisking, again vigorously and constantly, the aioli should come back together.

4. When aioli has reached desired thickness, salt TT. Congratulations, you now have aioli.

But let's take it a step further...

Flavor Infused Aiolis

A kind of impressive trick to add some color to your plates and wow your dinner guests is adding flavored oils to your aioli instead of just plain canola or olive oil. You can do this with peppers for a kick and an angry red or orange color, or you can use herbs like chives and parsley for a little more subtlety. In either case, the method is the same.

What you'll need:

1 qt neutral flavored oil such as canola.

2 bunch chives

1 bunch parsley

Salt

OR

1 qt neutral oil

1 pt (2 c) arbol or birds eye chilis, or any other variety of peppers you prefer.

A pot for boiling water (not necessary for peppers)

(if making green oil by blanching, a bowl or deep Tupperware container full of ice water.)

Method:

1. Prepare your peppers/herbs)

   1. If using herbs, you'll need to blanch them or flash fry them in order to bring out the color in the finished product.. Using the blanching method, just bring heavily salted water to a rolling boil and drop your herbs into it. Let them sit in the water until the color turns bright green. Remove immediately and drop them into the ice water to stop the cooking process. If you don't remove them from the boiling water immediately and put them directly in the ice bath (a process called shocking), they will oxidize and turn more or less the same color as baby poop. You don't want that. If using the flashing method, get your oil hot. You want it to get close to smoking without actually smoking. You can do this in a wide mouthed pot on the stove. When the oil reaches the right temperature, drop your herbs directly into it. Step back and witness the violence, but try not to revel in it for more than a few seconds, then remove the oil and the herbs immediately.

   2. If using peppers:

      1. Using dried peppers will require different preparations to be made than using fresh or pickled peppers. In the former case, you'll need to rehydrate them. Just stick them in a bowl with some water until they get soft again.

      2. In both cases, make sure to cut off the stems before you blend them.

2. In a blender (a high powered one like a ninja or a vitamix works best, but your Oster blender will do just fine, add the oil and greens or peppers, whichever you're using, to the blender immediately after blanching and shocking, flashing, or rehydrating, depending on which route you're going here. Savagely and utterly pulverize them first on the blender's low setting and then on increasingly aggressive settings until you begin to question whether you should talk about this with your therapist. Drain into a Tupperware container and let steep overnight in the fridge.

   1. Please note, overnight is the bare minimum you want to go when you're doing this. You can realistically leave the herbs in the oil for a few days or even weeks,. In the case of the peppers as long as the container is air tight, The veggies won't go bad, I promise. Oil has been used as a preservative for millennia in various capacities. In this case,, though, the length of time you leave them in the oil is going to correlate directly to how potent the flavor is. My recommendation is not to exceed three days for herbs, and two weeks for peppers.

3. Strain the oil through a fine mesh sieve or colander lined with cheese cloth. You can use coffee filters if you don't have cheese cloth but expect it to take much longer.

4. Now, replace the oil in the Aioli for Basic Bitches Recipe.

5. Salt and Lemon Juice or Vinegar TT

To be honest, you can use these in all kinds of things. As a base for chicken, tuna or potato salad, an accompaniment for crudos, carpaccio or ceviche, on up to serving them on sandwiches for lunch.

Cheddar Aioli

What you'll need:

1 c grated cheddar (You can use whatever cheese tickles your pickle)

1 tbsp dijon mustard

1 shallot, brunoised

3 medium cloves garlic, minced

4 egg yolks

1 qt canola or neutral flavor oil

Salt

Lemon Juice

1. Add egg yolks, cheddar, dijon mustard, shallot and garlic to a bowl or food processor (the food processor is preferred for textural reasons here, but isn't really necessary. If not using, make sure to grate your cheese fine. Not like you would for tex mex style tacos). Start whisking or turn the food processor on.

2. Stream in oil slowly. Remember, a tablespoon at a time at first if you're doing this by hand. If not, just keep the stream thin and stop every few seconds until a ribbon starts to form. Once at that stage, you can add oil more liberally.

3. When the aioli reaches your desired thickness, add salt and lemon TT. Incorporate more oil, whisking vigorously, as needed to compensate for the added liquid.

   
   

   This condiment goes well with French fries, as a shmear for sandwiches, and is particularly good with BBQ pulled pork or chicken.

Time For Some Black Magic Fuckery Before I Go

What you'll need:

700 grams Olive Oil (when choosing an olive oil, make sure to look at the press date on the package. Good olive oils will always include this detail. If it isn't within a year, the oil is probably rancid and should be avoided. Also consider going for a non-Italian variety as many of those oils are blended these days. You'll get more consistency with Greek, Spanish, Portuguese or even Moroccan varieties.)

100 g trimoline, glucose syrup, or simple syrup that has been heated to soft ball stage. (235-240 degrees)

8 egg yolks

Salt TT

This is a recipe I picked up while I was working at a restaurant something like ten years ago and it's still one of the strangest things I've seen. It tastes lovely, but attempt this and you'll see what I mean pretty much immediately. You see, trimoline is a very dense invert sugar syrup with a cloudy appearance when cool. Tt's made by breaking down Sucrose or table sugar into its component parts, Glucose and Fructose, something you can achieve at home by adding a very small amount of citric acid or lemon juice to melted sugar. I'm sure we'll get there, too, eventaully.

If you don't have access to trimoline, which most people don't, you can feasibly use a simple syrup that has been taken to softball stage, which is the stage you want it at for making meringue or fudge. If you are using simple syrup, just know you'll need to let it cool to body temperature or cooler before using it. Ideally, your syrup shouldn't be hot.

1. Add your egg yolks to your mixing bowl, or a food processor. If you have a food processor, it'll make this process a million times easier, so please use it if you do. Heat your syrup on low heat just until you can see through it clearly. Remove from heat.

2. Start whisking or turn the food processor on and let it do its magic. Stream clarified syrup into egg yolks, continuing to whisk like your life depends on it. Or watch that food processor work with lustful satisfaction because your arm isn't going to feel like it's going to fall off.

3. When trimoline has been added, start streaming in oil very slowly so as not to break this stuff. Because there is no acid in this to stiffen the egg proteins and help them trap air, the aioli will be much more prone to breaking. With this recipe, you won't get the desired results if you attempt to reincorporate the broken aioli into a new batch of egg yolks.

4. Now here's where it gets interesting, right. If you've gotten this far, you've probably started to notice something very odd happening in the bowl or the food processor. Your aioli is thickening like it's supposed to, but it's also see through. That's the black magic fuckery behind this particular variety of aioli. You should feasibly be able to take this aioli to the point that a spoon or knife once inserted leaves a permanent dent in the aioli and it stands on its own, without it breaking; but go any farther than that and you'll end up with soup. Believe me, I've done this a hundred times and more and the failure rate has not been pretty. Don't be a hero. Now, I don't know why this happens, but my best guess is that the added sugar syrup changes the way the end product refracts light, thus allowing light to pass through unimpeded. If you've done the work correctly, though, you should be able to see pretty much right to the bottom of your vessel, be that the bowl or the food processor, through your golden, dew-like aioli.

5. Salt TT

Goes very well with fresher flavors. Think scallions, young cheeses like mozzarella, etc. Also works well for charcuterie boards.

So the thing about aioli is it can be as simple or as complicated as you want it to be, but the technique and not a kaleidoscopic array of ingredients is what's important here. As long as you have that down, you'll be fine. And once upon a time, when I was working in that James Beard award winning kitchen, we had a little competition in which one aspect was making an aioli as fast as we could. The fastest time was around 1.5 minutes. Now, that was a very small amount, but it did highlight just how easy this can be if you put in the practice, exercise a little bit of patience, and focus. I'd expect that your first attempt probably doesn't go well, if you have no cooking experience, but keep at it. Making aioli is one of those skills everyone should have, because it opens the door to countless permutations and descendant sauces that can improve your dinner in eclectic and inspiring ways.