Bouquet Garni

What the heck is a bouquet garni?

I asked myself the same question when I saw it in a recipe book. It is a collection of herbs tied up to give the dish flavor without mixing the stems and pieces of the herbs in with the dish. A way to flavor without having to incorporate the herb, basically. Ingenious. Now, a new favorite technique.

Cooking tips at the table

This is going to be the first of many ‘cooking tips’ or ‘cooking what is that’ at the table.
I want to help you all understand things about cooking that I also didn’t know and had to teach myself. Super happy to teach you!

I feel cooking recipes can be so challenging because people make it confusing. But I want to simplify everything if I can, I want to make life easier for my people here. So, starting with the Bouquet Garni.
I will go into more detail later on and how to make it!

With all that to stay, let’s move on to my links and where you can find me (more below).

I am now an Amazon affiliate, so I want to disclose that I do have links to products I use in case you guys are curious! Now here’s the part where I drop all my links to my socials for you. Appreciate you!

The first stop is always IG. I am there most often to talk on my stories and respond to DMs and comments. So, if you ever want to get in touch with me, my DMs are a great place to go! Also, if you have a question, hit me up.

Pinterest is the best place to save these recipes. You can put them in a folder and keep it all organized!

The final spot where big things are happening… YouTube. I am starting long form content on there and will be doing tutorials on cooking. Super excited about this and would love to see you over there.

Hope you enjoy this recipe!! Happy eating!

What recipe made you find the bouquets garni?

I was making a Coccote De Boeuf recipe, one that inspired this recipe, actually. And the recipe called for the bouquet de garni. The first place I go is to my French Husband and ask what the heck that is. He explains, and I’m like, ahhhhh.

As I said above, it is wrapping herbs up in a kitchen string or putting all the herbs in a cheesecloth and cooking it with the dish. But the purpose is not to get a bunch of pieces of the herb in the dish. You just want the essence of the herbs.

Different recipes call for different herbs in the bouquet. In this stew recipe, I used Italian Parsley, Bay Leaf, and Thyme. Lovely flavors for a savory dish.

Frequently Asked Questions:

What herbs are often used in a bouquet garni?

• Rosemary (adds a piney flavor)
• Sage (earthy and slightly peppery)
• Tarragon (subtle licorice-like flavor)
• Oregano (robust and slightly bitter)
• Basil (sweet and fragrant)
• Chervil (mild, anise-like flavor)
• Marjoram (similar to oregano but milder)
• Lovage (adds a celery-like taste)
• Celery Leaves (mildly bitter and aromatic)

What If I don’t have kitchen twine, and I need to make this now?

First off here’s some good kitchen twine I will link for you that’s great to have on hand! You never know when you’re going to need it.
But also an AMAZING HACK. I also used this method in the pictures you see in this blog because I indeed did not have kitchen twine when I made my own recipe is…… FLOSS.
Stop it, I know. Insane. So, you can indeed use floss, but it has to be wax-free and flavor-free. Which can easily be found at a store or in your bathroom cabinets. A million times easier to find in a pinch.

What kind of recipes use this?

• Soups & Broths (stocks and all kinds of soups)
• Stews (coq au vin, boeuf bourguignon)
• Sauces (bechamel, tomato sauce)
• Braised Dishes (braised short-ribs, pot roast)
• Legumes & Grains (lentils, risottos)
• Seafood Dishes (fish stew)
• Poached Dishes (poached chicken/fish/eggs)

Do I use Fresh herbs or Dried Herbs?

Fresh herbs have more flavor and depth and are easier to tie together. But you can use dry and what you have more readily available.
I used fresh and dry in this one because I didn’t have fresh bay leaves.

As you can see, I did my best to tie it up, but with the dried bay leaf, it easily wanted to fall apart. Next time I will 100% be using fresh!

Questions/Comments

I hope this was helpful and gave you more insight into what a ‘bouquet garni’ is and how to use it! If you have any more questions, please let me know. I would be happy to answer them!

Thank you all for being here and reading this blog! So happy to share it with you.

Recipes you could use a bouquet garni:

Beef & Carrot Stew – Instead of putting the thyme in loose you could use a bouquet garni and add other herbs!
Coq Au Vin Blanc – You could put on in there if you have a deep pot you are using for the recipe!
French Garlic Soup – This is the perfect recipe to use the bouquet garni because it’s a pain to chop the herbs so small when you are in a rush!

One-Pot Stew Recipe – With Potatoes, Butternut Squash & Beer

Leek & Ginger Soup Recipe