Cooking 101: Mirepoix

October 25, 2008

This post is part of a series called Cooking 101, which introduces the basics of cooking. The series follows the book Culinary Fundamentals, with supplements from The Professional Chef by the Culinary Institute of America. Check out the previous posts here.

Unit 13: Basic Mise en Place

Part 4: Mirepoix

What It Is:

Mirepoix, like the sachet d’épices and bouquet garni, is an aromatic flavoring tool used in stocks, soups, and sauces. Standard mirepoix is chopped two parts onion (by weight) to one part carrot and one part celery.

How to Use It:

To make your mirepoix, begin by trimming and rinsing your vegetables. Normally you’ll want your onion peeled, as it can add a yellow tint to your final product, but if you’re not concerned with that then you can leave it on. With regards to peeling your carrots, some people peel them so flavor can be extracted more easily, while some do not to save time (assuming the carrot will be strained out at the end). It’s up to you.

The size of the chop of the mirepoix is related to how long you’ll cook it. For my chicken stock, I planned on simmering it with the mirepoix for a little under two hours. With this much time, I cut it into a medium chop, around a 1/2 inch in size. Uniformity was not vital for me since it was all being strained out at the end (though you still want them close, for correct flavor extraction). You can cut the pieces larger for stocks or soups that simmer even longer. Naturally, smaller slices are key for quick simmering soups or pan sauces.

Mirepoix is generally added to support and improve the natural flavors of the dish, which is why you see it often in soups, stocks and sauces.

How to Modify It:

There are all sorts of variations on standard mirepoix, so don’t be afraid to improvise.

• Standard Mirepoix: Two parts onion to one part carrot and one part celery.
• White Mirepoix: Two parts onion or the white of leeks, one part celery root or hearts, one part parsnips. Used for pale soups or white stocks.
• Asian Aromatics: Two parts ginger, two parts garlic, one part green onion. Used for Asian stir fries, soups and sauces.
• Cajun Trinity: Two parts onion, one part green bell pepper, one part celery. Used for Creole and Cajun dishes.
• Matignon: 3 1/2 oz. ham, 4 1/2 oz. onion, 4 1/2 oz. carrot, 2 oz. celery, one sprig of thyme, one bay leaf, with the ham and veggies cut into an even dice. This is usually not removed from a dish before serving. Sweat in butter and deglaze with wine.

Sweating, Smothering, and Browning Mirepoix

If you want to change and/or intensify the flavor of the mirepoix, you’ll want to sweat, smother or brown it before adding it to your dish. To sweat mirepoix, you want to cook it over low to medium heat in some butter or oil, stirring it frequently to prevent browning. They should start to release their juices.

Smothering mirepoix is simply sweating it but with the pan covered. This helps the vegetables release their juices.

Browning the mirepoix, also known as a pinçage in French, adds a “robust, sweet flavor,” and is used frequently in brown stocks and sauces. To brown mirepoix, you want a little bit of fat and pretty high heat. Supposedly you have to add the onions first, then the carrots, and finally the celery, though it doesn’t explain why. When the celery has softened a bit, add some tomato paste and continue to cook it until it turns a rusty brown color.

My Take:

At this point I’ve only used a standard mirepoix for my chicken stock.  I will, however, frequently see combinations of aromatics in different recipes, though they are never called mirepoix. Hopefully by recognizing these combinations, I can improve my ability to improvise in the kitchen.

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