Beef baklava “bonbons”, mint honey with lavender, geranium water and Grisons meat

This recipe was inspired by the chapter on beef in the book Taste Buds and Molecules (author François Chartier), and was published in the cookbook Les Recettes de Papilles et Molécules, by co-authors François Chartier and Stéphane Modat.

Photo copyright: Studio/Kitchen_Mc2

Here, Stéphane and I literally went mad with the aromatic molecules beef generates…well, controlled madness, of course! The thing is that there are many volatile molecules in beef, and most particularly skatole. In small quantities, skatole smells of flowers. 

It is quite amusing to know that the skatole found in beef is also widely used in perfumery. It is from the “indole” family, the aromatic odor molecules that smell like orange blossom, jasmine, beet and jujube (ziziphus mauritiana), among others. 

In our minds, the leap from orange blossom to baklava was only a short one! Which we, of course, took to the finish line! Besides, the idea of combining the floral aromas of beef seemed at once schizophrenic and inspiring! 

This maelstrom of ideas led us to these beef baklava bonbons. They have amazingly balanced flavors: starting very floral, followed by a subtle hint of honey, and then interminable flavors. Have fun serving these delights as a main course! When serving your guests, simply announce "baklava", omitting to add the word "beef"... 

You think they’ll be taken aback? Ha, that’s nothing! Wait until you see the extensive list of wines we have for you at the end of this recipe!