**The Art of Cooking: A Journey Through Flavors and Techniques**

As we embark on this culinary journey, it's essential to understand that cooking is not just about following a recipe, but about understanding the techniques, flavors, and ingredients involved. In this article, we'll delve into the world of haute cuisine, exploring the intricacies of preparing a delectable meal worthy of The Continental Hotel.

**Confited Frozen Duck Fat Potato Logs**

The preparation begins with confited frozen duck fat potato logs. To start, we need to thaw the potato parcel and trim off any rough edges. Once trimmed, we can begin slicing it into quote unquote fries. It's crucial to make sure the potato is extremely cold when slicing, as this will prevent it from falling apart. We'll arrange the potato prisms on a parchment paper-lined baking sheet and place them in the freezer for at least two hours or up to a few days. This step allows us to achieve the perfect crispiness.

**Bordelaise Sauce**

Next, we have a viscous sauce in our plates, which we assume is a classic French mother sauce called Bordelaise. To create this sauce, we'll combine six ounces of dry red wine, one small finely diced shallot, two springs of fresh thyme, and one bay leaf in a medium saucepan. We'll bring the mixture to a simmer and cook it down to a syrup consistency over about six to eight minutes. Once reduced, we'll add a cup of demi-glace and cook for an additional five minutes until it reaches a syrupy enough consistency to coat the back of a spoon.

**Asparagus with Anchovy Butter**

While our fries are in the freezer, we can prepare our asparagus dish. We'll combine one softened stick of butter with two finely minced anchovies to create a flavorful sauce. This anchovy butter will be used to mount our Bordelaise sauce later on. Meanwhile, we'll heat up some vegetable oil in a cast-iron skillet and sauté the asparagus over medium-high heat, tossing it around to achieve a nice sear.

**Sous Vide Steaks**

Our steak is cooked using the sous vide method, which ensures that it's cooked to perfection every time. We'll sear the steaks in a hot pan with some high smoke point oil and add a sprinkle of salt. The koji fermentation process used for the steak causes it to brown more quickly, making it ideal for this cooking method.

**Finishing Touches**

With our fries frozen solidified, we can start frying them using a small amount of duck fat. We'll gently heat up our Bordelaise sauce in a small pan and reduce its heat to allow the flavors to meld together. Once cooked through and lightly browned, we'll whisk in some butter to create a rich and creamy sauce.

**Presentation**

Finally, it's time to plate our dish. We'll arrange our fries on top of the steak, followed by a generous spoonful of our Bordelaise sauce. The anchovy butter will be used to mount the sauce, adding an extra layer of flavor and texture. Our asparagus will be placed alongside the steak, garnished with some finishing salt.

**The Result**

And there you have it – a delectable meal worthy of The Continental Hotel. The potatoes taste amazingly crispy and richly flavored, despite using only a fraction of duck fat. This dish is perfect for those who enjoy high-end cuisine but don't want to break the bank. By mastering these techniques and flavors, we can create an unforgettable dining experience that's both elegant and delicious.

**Special Thanks**

We'd like to extend our gratitude to Lionsgate for sponsoring this episode. We're huge fans of the John Wick movies, not only for their world-building but also for introducing us to new dishes to recreate at home. The practical effects and stunt coordination in these films are truly awe-inspiring. So, be sure to check out John Wick Chapter 4 in theaters now.

**Conclusion**

Cooking is an art form that requires patience, practice, and attention to detail. By mastering the techniques and flavors outlined in this article, we can create a meal worthy of The Continental Hotel. Whether you're a seasoned chef or a culinary novice, these recipes are sure to inspire and delight. Happy cooking!

"WEBVTTKind: captionsLanguage: en- Thank you to Lionsgatefor sponsoring this episode.I was excited about John Wick Chapter 4coming out this monthand that's why I wanted tomake this dish from Chapter 2,steak and fries cooked in duck fat,a fitting final meal forvillains and henchman alike.You can see John WickChapter 4 in theaters now.To find showtimes near you,head to the link in the video description.- Duck fat, makes all the difference.- Jonathan.- Have you seen the menu here?Lot of options.- Jonathan, listen to me.- A man can stay here a long timeand never eat the same meal twice.- Hey, what's up, guys?Welcome back to Binging with Babishwhere this week we're taking a lookat the steak and duck fatfries from John Wick 2.Now, you might notice thatI have one of the gold coinsused as currency in the John Wickaversebut look a little bitcloser and you'll noticethat it is emblazoned with thePeter Luger Steakhouse logo.That's because this isin fact a chocolate coinfrom a quintessentialNew York City steakhouse.So I think we can allagree this is a funny jokeand/or observation of some kind,one that I definitely didn't just filmthinking that I wouldcome up with somethingwhen recording the voiceover.So now that we've establishedthat that's definitely not what happened,we can get down to cooking.First up, I wanna test the best potatoesfrom which to make duck fat fries.The classic and ubiquitousIdaho russet potato,the less starchy and more waxy Yukon Gold,my personal favorite for virtuallyevery potato application,a golden potato from whichthe Yukon Gold is derived,a red potato whose onlyred quality is its skinand an Eastern potato, potatoI've never heard of before.These guys are all gettingthe same treatment.I'm peeling them, cuttingthem into uniform friesand parboiling them in saltedand vinegar spiked waterto help them keep theirshape for 15 to 20 minutesor until they're verynearly falling apart.I'm then allowing them to cool completelyon a wire rack set in a rim baking sheetbefore engaging in atwo-step deep frying processin duck fat, a frankly unfortunate amountof which needs to be usedin order to deep fry.First, we're heating itto 275 degrees Fahrenheitfor a low and slow initial fry.If you wanna see moreabout the three-step gourmetfrench fry making process,click the link in the upperright hand corner right nowbut we're basically confiting the potatoesat this temperature until they'veturned just golden blonde,no browning whatsoever.These guys are thendrained on paper towelsand allowed to cool theroom temperature once more.We're then raising thetemperature of the duck fatjust shy of its smoke point,360 some odd degrees Fahrenheit,frying the potatoes one lasttime until golden brown,about five minutes and drainingonce again on paper towels.After rinsing and repeatingwith all the varietals of potatoes,we can determine which onemakes for the best fries.The eastern, red andgolden potatoes were a bustturning floppy after only afew minutes out of the oil.The russets were decentbut the real winners were the Yukon Goldsretaining a shatteringly crisp exteriorand devastatingly creamy interiormany minutes after cooking.So those are gonna be our fries of choicefor our baseline first crack at this dish.Next up, it looked like the steakwas definitely a filet mignonwhich when they're this thick,your best bet for cooking athome is gonna be sous vide.I'm pre-mixing together kosher saltand freshly ground black pepperso that I do not cross-contaminatemy salt pinch bowlgenerously seasoning them on all sidesand preparing their bath bagwhich I'm front-loadingwith a couple clovesof crushed garlic, freshrosemary and thyme,our steaks and several pats of butter,all of which I'm placingto the sides of the steakso that when we vac seal things down,the herbs and garlic don'tleave a permanent impressionon the surface of the steaks.Next up, we're droppingour pretty little parcelinto a preheated 130 degreeFahrenheit water bathwhere it's gonna hang out for two hours.Any longer than that, youbetter call Kenny Loggins'cause you're gonnahave spent too much timein the danger zone.Then we're removing the steaksand thoroughly patting themdry on some paper towelsbefore heading over to the stove topwhere we've got a preheated cast iron pangenerously lubricatedwith high smoke point oillike vegetable or canola at the ready.Because the steaks arealready cooked throughto our desired doneness,we wanna sear them as quickly as possiblebut because they're so thick,we can also engage in theselfless act of butter bastingadding four tablespoons of fresh butterplus the garlic and herbsfrom the sous vide bag,reducing the heat to mediumand spooning it over the steaksuntil the butter is lightly brownedand the steaks areburnished and glistening.Pour the brown butter over the steaksto keep them warm and because it's awesomeand then I'm gonna simplysaute the asparagus spearsfor three to five minutes inthe remaining fat in the pan.Once those guys are tendercrisp, it's time to plate up.It looked like a prettysimple presentationof steak, asparagus spearsand symmetrical fries.So there you have it,steak with duck fat fries.Now, this is normally thepart where I say it's goodbut can we do better?And it's definitely goodbut I feel like I kind of half-assed thisso the question is, can I do better?Let's start with the steak.It's very, very difficultto dry age meat at homebut an interesting substituteis the use of koji rice,a malted sweet rice used for making miso.I'm processing a handful of itand passing it through a fine mesh sieveto make some koji rice dustwhich I'm going to use to thoroughly coatall sides of my steak.The enzymes in this rice powderare basically gonnafast ferment our steakscreating what some say is an equivalentto a 45 day dry age andflavor and tendernessafter only 48 hoursuncovered in the fridge.First, we're gonna rinse off all the kojiand pat the steaks dry.As you can see, they'veeven darkened in colorjust like they would'veif they were dry agedand from here they can bevac sealed and sous videdfor two hours beforesearing, same as last time.Next up, the potatoesand this time, I wanted to try a methodthat much more efficientlyutilizes duck fat,the so-called potato pavé.So I've got two and ahalf pounds of Yukon Goldsthat I'm peeling and slicingthinly on a mandolinethen I'm melting about a cup of duck fat,adding a pinch of kosher salt,a half teaspoon each garlicpowder and onion powder,tiny whisking to combineand pouring over thepotatoes in a large bowlthen I'm gently tossingeverything togetherto make sure that each slice of potatois generously coated in duck fat.Then I'm rubbing down a small loaf panwith the excess fat on my glovesand lining the loaf pan witha sheet of parchment paperpressing down in the sides and cornersto make sure that it's flushand then beginning to shingle the potatoeslayer by layer into the loaf panuntil it just can'tsupport any more potatoes,pressing them down to make surethat they're as tightlypacked as possible.Greasing down the parchment paper overhangand folding that overtopthen this guy's headed into a preheated225 degree Fahrenheit oven for three hourseffectively confiting the potatoesand creating a loaf of delicate layers.As soon as it comes out of the oven,to ensure loaf cohesion,we gotta weigh it down.Place it on on a rimmed baking sheetto catch any errant overflow.Place the same size loaf pan overtopand fill that guy with the heaviest stuffyou can get your hands on,rice, fermentation weights, boththen we're letting this guycool at room temperaturefor at least an hourbefore fridging overnight.The next day we can retrieveour potato fat log thingand begin slicing it upin preparation for frying.Use the parchment to pullout the potato parceland once you've trimmedoff any rough edges,we can start cutting thisthing into quote unquote fries.Make sure this thing isextremely cold when you slice itotherwise it might fall apart.Take a moment to admire thelovingly layered cross-section.Trim off the rough edgesand break down into rectangular prismswhich we're going to arrangeon a parchment paper lined baking sheetand place in the freezerfor at least two hoursup to a few days.We want them totally solidifiedso they don't fall apart in the oil.Next up, there appeared to bea viscous sauce in the plateso I'm going to assume it's a Bordelaise,a classic French mother sauceachieved by combining sixounces of dry red wine,one small finely diced shallot,two springs of fresh thymeand one bay leaf in a medium saucepanbringing to a simmer and cookingdown to a syrup consistencyabout six to eight minutesat which point we're gonnaadd a cup of demi-glacecooking for about another five minutesuntil syrupy enough tocoat the back of a spoon.Now, Bordelaise is apretty harsh acrid sauceso after straining and setting aside,I'm probably gonna end upmounting it with butterwhen we serve.Speaking of butter,that's gonna be my oneupgrade for the asparagus,combining one softened stick of the stuffwith two finely minced anchovies.Set that asidebecause it's time tobring everything together.Over on the stove top,I've got some vegetable oilheated to 375 decrees Fahrenheitinto which I'm going togently lower my confitedfrozen duck fat potato logs.Now, these are pretty delicateand they love stickingto the bottom of the panand to each other butthe rewards are great.Just look at this thing whenit comes out of the fryer.So I'm gonna continue cooking these guys,draining them on paper towelsand keeping them warm while searing steaksand sauteing asparagus.A couple tablespoonsof high smoke point oilin the cast iron and oliveoil in the saute pan,adding the asparagusover medium high heat,tossing things around andadding two tablespoons of water,covering and allowing to steamfor about two minutes in the panin this method inspiredby America's Test Kitchen.Meanwhile, the steaksare getting simply searedand sprinkled with salt.One great side effect of the kojiis that it causes thesteaks to brown more quicklywhich is great when you'redealing with sous vided steaksand you're trying to putas much color on themas quickly as possible.Once our fries are done,I'm gently heating up ourBordelaise in a small pan,reducing the heat under the asparagus,uncovering and allowing therest of the water to evaporateso that it can saute.Once cooked through and lightly browned,I'm killing the heat andadding the anchovy buttertossing around quickly toemulsify into a glossy sauce.Likewise, into the warm Bordelaise,I am rigorously tiny whiskingtwo to four tablespoons ofbutter, lightning its colorand making it richer andmuch more deliciouser.I'm hitting the potato pavéswith big flakes of finishing saltand plating things up just like beforealbeit with a rich red wine sauce.And there you have it, steak,asparagus and duck fat friesworthy of The Continental Hotelbut do the potatoes tasteas amazing as they look?And the answer is a big time hardcore yes.They're ultra crispy andtaste distinctly of duck fatdespite using a fraction of the amount.It's fussy and labor intensivebut no more so than ourgourmet French fry method.Next up, the steak is fantastic.It doesn't taste exactly like dry agedbut it's got the same funky,nutty, sweet complexityand for a fraction of the time and cost.The basic iteration is certainly goodbut this one's really andtruly clean plate club worthyand for a last meal, youcould certainly do worse.Maybe just as a general rule of thumb,don't put out a $7 million contracton John Wick's head before eating.Thanks again to Lionsgatefor sponsoring this episode.I love the John Wick moviesfor their world buildingand the way each filmintroduces something newto the John Wick universe.The practical effectsand stunt coordination is unbelievable,not to mention there'susually a dish or twothat I can take a stab at recreating.Go see John Wick Chapter4 in theaters now.For more info, head to thelink in the video description.(calm music)\n"