INGREDIENTS
112g rendered bone marrow, divided
1065g shallots, peeled and halved, divided
6g thyme, divided
8g salt, divided
15g sugar, divided
22oz beef stock, divided
15 cracks black pepper
1 recipe 50/50 dough
20 cloves garlic confit, skins removed
1 wheel cremont cheese, at room temperature
To make 50/50 crust:
Makes enough for one 12-inch pie crust or 6 individual pies
1 cup plus 2 tablespoons flour
2 tablespoons sugar
1/4 teaspoon baking powder
1 1/2 teaspoons salt
1 cup butter, finely chopped, cold
1 1/3 cup beef suet, finely chopped or ground through a medium die, cold
3/4 cup water
DIRECTIONS
To make the 50/50 Crust: Prep Time: 10 minutes; Total Time: 20 minutes plus 30 minutes to chill dough
Combine flour, sugar, baking powder and salt in a food processor and pulse to mix. Add the butter and suet and pulse until mixture has a cornmeal texture. Slowly stream in cold water and continue pulsing until dough just comes together.
Turn dough out onto a floured board and knead, adding flour as necessary, until it has a silky texture, 50-60 turns.
Wrap tightly in plastic wrap and chill in the refrigerator for at least 30 minutes before rolling out. Dough can be kept, wrapped, in the refrigerator, for up to two weeks.
Instructions to knead dough: Kneading any dough will activate the gluten in the flour. This works great for breads which need structure to hold the air/gas from yeast, but will make a pie dough tough and dense.
Preheat to 350°F.
In a large saute pan over medium high, melt half of the bone marrow. Add half of the shallots, cut side down, and cook until golden brown, 10-12 minutes. Flip the shallots over and brown their other side, 5-7 minutes. Add half of the thyme, season with salt and half of the sugar, and allow to caramelize, 5-6 minutes. Deglaze with half of the beef stock, adding about 4 ounces at a time, and allowing the liquid to reduce all the way down between additions, 5-6 minutes per ladle. Add liquid and deglaze until the shallots are totally caramelized and almost syrupy. Set mixture aside and repeat the process with the second half the shallots. Combine both batches, pick out thyme and discard, and set aside to cool.
Roll the dough out to a round 1/4 inch thick. Place into a 12-inch fluted tart shell with a removable bottom, pressing the dough into the sides. There will be some overhang—roll a rolling pan over the top to remove it evenly.
Fill the pie dough with the cooled shallot mixture and its juices, and dot with garlic confit all around.
Bake until the crust cooked through and shallots are burnished and bubbling, 35-40 minutes. Remove from the oven and set on a wire rack to cool to room temperature.
To serve, cut the tart into wedges and serve with a wheel of cremont on the side for people to garnish with as they wish.
