Buffalo Salisbury Steak with Roasted Shallot Glace Viande and Parsnip Scallion Creme Potato

     This style of cooking and presentation came from the days when I was working in a high rated French restaurant.  We cooked unbelievably great Michelin star rated French comfort food for a post 9/11 menu.  The comfort menu design had a theme that was meant to "ease the tension in the air" after the traumatic events of 2001.
     My interview for hire date at that resort was on 9/11.  Over 2500 employees were laid off at that gulf coast resort within 2 hours after the events of 9/11 took place, because so many business convention banquets were cancelled.  Three hours later, I was hired at that resort as the tournant (roundsman) because of my experience.  I was told that I would be taking the place of many cooks in several kitchens.  I have handled situations like that in the past, during economic slow downs.
     I worked in every major kitchen at that resort.  My main job was at the 3 Star Michelin rated French restaurant, where I was the entremetier which is the vegetable cook and the plater of finished entrees. I was also the aboyeur or expediter.  The other cooks were recent school graduates and the executive sous chef wanted me to prepare the vegetables, because he wanted high quality consistency.  Every plate had vegetables on it and it was important to make sure that every plate was correct, especially since the business took an overnight nose dive.
     The comfort menu was a great success!  Customers wanted comfort food, after disastrous events.  In fact, we set an all time sales record of nearly $100,000 in one night's business on New Years Eve!  We were rated as the 7th best restaurant out of 35,000 restaurants in the state.  We were simply serving food that the high end clientele wanted eat!
     The style of that French comfort cuisine inspired me to create this modern buffalo salisbury steak recipe.  If you ever had to endure those really awful school cafeteria salisbury steaks, then this recipe will change your outlook of the reputation of salisbury steak.  If you have ever thought that the flavor of aluminum foil was part of a salisbury steak recipe, because you got stuck with a salisbury steak frozen TV dinner that a baby sitter cooked for you as a child, then you will see just how good salisbury steak can be!  Salisbury steak deserves a better reputation!
     Ground lean buffalo (American Bison) was my top choice of meat to raise the limits of salisbury steak to the level of being a much sought after entree!
   
     Glace Viande Recipe:
     Place 4 pounds of veal bones, lamb bones, beef bones, pork bones and meat scraps into a roasting pan.
     Add 5 ounces of tomato paste.
     Add 8 to 10 ounces of rustic un-peeled mirepoix of carrot, celery and onion.
     Stir the mixture together.
     Roast the mixture in a 350 degree oven, till the bones and vegetables caramelize to a deep brown color.  (Stir the ingredients occasionally.)
     Place the roasted bones and mirepoix into a stock pot.
     Deglaze the roast pan with water and add the jus to the stock pot.
     Cover the bones with water and bring to a boil over high heat.
     Turn the temperature to medium low heat and simmer for 4 hours.
     Add water occasionally to cover the bones.
     Strain the stock through a fine sieve.
     Discard the bones and vegetables.
     Skim off the grease.
     Reduce the meat stock by a little more than half.
     This is a very rich unseasoned thin glace viande that can be frozen in portions for later use.
     The glace should be able to thinly coat and glaze the back of a spoon.
     When the glace viande is used in recipes, it will be reduced to a slightly thicker glace consistency to order.

     Parsnip Scallion Mashed Potato Recipe:
     Boil 1 peeled Russet potato in water over high heat, till it becomes soft.
     Place 1/4 cup of peeled small chopped parsnip in a small sauce pot.
     Add 2 pats of unsalted butter.
     Add enough water to cover the parsnips.
     Simmer the parsnips over medium low heat and allow the water evaporate in the parsnip pan.
     The butter and parsnips will be sizzling in the pan at this point.
     Saute and toss the parsnips, till golden color highlights appear.
     By now the parsnips should be very tender.
     Drain the water off the boiled potato, after it becomes soft.
     Add the braised parsnips to the potato.
     Add 3 tablespoons of cream.
     Add 2 pats of unsalted plugra butter.
     Add sea salt and white pepper.
     Mash and whisk the parsnip potatoes, till they become creamy and smooth.
     Add 2 tablespoons of thin sliced green onion top.
     Place the parsnip scallion creme potato into a star tipped pastry bag and keep it warm on a stove top.

     Green Beans:
     Trim 6 long green beans.
     Blanch the green beans in salted boiling water, till they are a little bit more than halfway cooked.
     Drain the water off of the green beans.
     Add 1 pat of unsalted butter.
     Season with white pepper and sea salt.
     Set the pan aside away from the heat.
     Reheat and finish cooking the green beans shortly before the entree is served.
  
     Buffalo Salisbury Steak and Roasted Shallot Recipe:
     Peel 1 whole large shallot.
     Brush the shallot with vegetable oil.
     Place the shallot on a roasting pan.
     Roast the shallot in a 350 degree oven, till it becomes lightly caramelized.
     Set the roasted shallot aside on a stove top and keep it warm.
     Use a ring mold to shape 6 to 8 ounces of ground buffalo (American bison) into a round salisbury steak patty.
     Heat a saute pan over medium heat.
     Add 2 pats of unsalted butter.
     Add 1/2 tablespoon of blended olive oil.
     Add 1 whole garlic clove.
     Add 6 mushroom caps.
     Place the buffalo salisbury steak in the pan.
     Sear the buffalo salisbury steak in the hot pan on both sides, while cooking the mushrooms.
     Cook the buffalo salisbury steak, till it becomes medium rare to medium at the most, or the meat will become dry!
     Place the buffalo salisbury steak on a dish and keep it warm on a stove top.
     Deglaze the pan with 3 ounces of dry white wine.
     Reduce the wine by half.
     Remove the mushroom caps and set them aside with the salisbury steak.
     Add 1/2 cup of the glace viande.
     Add 1 pinch of sea salt and white pepper.
     Simmer and reduce, till the glace viande can easily coat the back of a spoon.
     Remove the pan from the heat.
     Add 2 pats of unsalted butter, while gently whisking, to finish the glace viande.
     Strain the glace viande through a fine mesh strainer into a small bowl.
  
     Buffalo Salisbury Steak with Roasted Shallot Glace Viande and Parsnip Scallion Creme Potato:
     Select a ring mold that is the same diameter as the buffalo salisbury steak and set it on the center of a plate.
     Use the pastry bag to pipe the parsnip scallion creme potato into the ring mold.
     Remove the ring mold.
     Place the buffalo salisbury steak on top of the parsnip scallion creme potato.
     Place the roasted shallot on top of the buffalo salisbury steak.
     Arrange the six buttered green beans on the plate.
     Place the six cooked mushroom caps between the green beans.
     Generously spoon the glace de viande over the buffalo salisbury steak and onto the plate.
  
     This is the epitome of salisbury steak evolution!  The buffalo salisbury steak is medium rare, juicy and full of great wild west flavor.  This is an exceptionally nice comfortable classy presentation of a buffalo salisbury steak.
     I chose a classy "tacky" wine to pair with this salisbury steak.  French Bicyclette Rose' is a light blush wine that is a perfect for the theme of this entree.  Yummy!  ...  Shawna