Recipes for the Ultimate Fondue Feast

We love fondue. It is the meal we enjoy having to celebrate, to bond, and to spend time over a multi-course meal. We are a big fan of The Melting Pot, but I’m fundamentally cheap so I had to come up with an at home version of our favorite meal.

We enjoy having all three courses throughout the day. I generally do all the prep work the day before. It seems like a lot of work, but really it isn’t too hard. We had this meal this Thanksgiving because we wanted a slow, relaxing, and delicious meal.

You will need a fondue pot. I have the Cuisinart Electric Fondue Maker that I purchased years ago. There are less expensive ones and more expensive ones on the market, but this one has held up really well for at least a decade of multiple fondue meals.

Cheese Course Recipes and Recommendations

This recipe is perfect for either 2 cheese lovers or 4 average cheeses eaters.

Cheese Fondue Recipe

1/2 cup Pale Beer
2 tsp. chopped garlic or 2 cloves of garlic
1 tbsp. dry mustard powder
2 tsp. Worcestershire sauce
4 ounces medium cheddar cheese
4 ounces Emmentaler Swiss cheese
2 tbsp. all-purpose flour

1. Grate cheese. Toss cheese in all-purpose flour and dry mustard. Set aside.
2. In fondue pot add beer, garlic, and Worcestershire sauce and allow to start bubbling on medium.
3. Turn down the heat and put coated cheese in bit by bit.
4. Stir.
5. Recommendations to serve with your cheese fondue: granny smith apple chunks, Rosemary sourdough bread from Whole Foods, pumpernickel bread, beef brats, or whatever your heart desires. It’s your fondue pot, you can personalize your dipping material for your family.

Meat Course Recipes and Recommendations

We used to make this course with beef and shrimp, but now we’ve moved to just bison. It is our favorite and I’ve become allergic to shrimp. You can chose any meet of your liking but I highly recommend trying bison steaks for it. I highly recommend the bison steaks from NorthStar Bison. With this link you can get $10 off your first order for $150 including any meat that NorthStar carries. The list is long but you can get all the traditional meats plus some of the hard to find meats.

Meat Portion

6-8 ounces of Bison Bison Filet Mignon (or New York Strip Steak or Bison Tenderloin Tips) per person

1. Cut up into bite size pieces. You can use the bison naked or marinate it in teriyaki sauce.
2. Meat should be cooked in boiling Coq Au Vin Broth for 30 seconds – 1 minute for red meat, 1-2 minutes for seafood, 1 minute for pork and lamb, and 2 minutes for chicken.

Coq Au Vin Broth for Fondue

4-5 cups bison, beef, or chicken broth
¼ cup orange juice; fresh-squeezed
¼ cup Red Wine
¼ cup cilantro; chopped
1 tbsp. cumin; ground
2 tbsp. jerk seasoning
1 tsp. black pepper; cracked
2 tbsp. lime juice; fresh-squeezed
1 tbsp. garlic; minced

1. Place all the items in the fondue pot and heat to boiling.
2. You can toss in veggies like potatos, mushrooms, or carrots to cook for several minutes.
3. Using a fondue fork pierce a piece of meat and put it into the pot. Make sure not to touch the raw meat with your fingers and do not place the meat raw onto the dish you are eating from. Cook 30 seconds – 1 minute for red meat, 1-2 minutes for seafood, 1 minute for pork and lamb, and 2 minutes for chicken.

Dipping Sauce Recipes

I make all the dipping sauces the day before. You can make them on the same day if that works better for you.

Blue Cheese Sauce (for Fondue)
3/4 cup sour cream
1/3 cups Duke’s mayonnaise
1 cup heavy cream
4-8 ounces of high quality Blue cheese
1 teaspoon Worcestershire sauce
1/2 teaspoon dry mustard
1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon ground black pepper

1. In a large bowl, whisk together sour cream, mayonnaise and Worcestershire sauce.
2. Season with mustard, garlic powder, salt and pepper.
3. Stir in blue cheese.
4. Cover, and refrigerate for 24 hours before serving.

Ginger Plum Sauce
1 teaspoon dry mustard
1⁄4 cup orange juice
1 1⁄2 tablespoons tamari or soy sauce
1 jar of Kikkoman Plum Sauce
1 tablespoon balsamic vinegar
1-2 teaspoon ginger, finely grated
1 teaspoon lemon juice
1 tsp. brown sugar

1. Whisk all ingredients together and allow to simmer on the stove for 15-30 minutes.

Chocolate Course Recipes and Recommendations

Chocolate Fondue

12 ounces of Ghirardelli milk or dark chocolate chips
6 ounces of heavy cream

1. Warm the cream over medium until tiny bubbles show and begins to lightly and slowly boil.
2. Add the chocolate and whisk until smooth and full incorporated. Turn down the heat.
3. Serve with delicious dippables such as strawberries, bananas, marshmallows, rice crispy treats, angel food cake, pound cake, and/or cheese cake.