"Tablier de sapeur"? Bring it on!
An essential dish of Lyon cuisine, the "tablier de sapeur" holds a special place on the menus of the city's traditional "bouchon" restaurants. And if it's not on the menu, you often just need to order it a few days in advance from the chef.
The “tablier de sapeur” (literally “sapper’s apron”) refers to engineering sappers. Often considered the ancestors of firefighters, these front-line soldiers took on perilous missions, clearing mines off battlefi elds and digging trenches towards the enemy lines.
To do so, they wore a leather apron that protected their military uniform. Their number included Maréchal de Castellane, a former sapper appointed as Lyon’s military governor in the 19th century, who turned out to be such a big fan of tripe that (legend has it) he influenced the name of the recipe.
Made from reticulum, i.e. the bull’s second stomach, the “tablier de sapeur” requires “carefully choosing your product” insists Cédric Garin, chef at Le Bouchon des Cordeliers: “you need to take a piece from the reticulum, then it’s very tender, not rubbery at all.”
Also called beef tripe, this piece of off al is marinated for 24 hours in a mixture of white wine and mustard then breaded, as the reticulum’s honeycomb structure holds the breadcrumbs perfectly, before being generously pan-fried in butter.
The “tablier de sapeur” is most often served with gribiche sauce and steamed potatoes or otherwise “paillassons lyonnais” (a form of potato galette), as is the case at Le Bouchon des Cordeliers. An emblematic dish to add to your bucket list !
Where to eat it?
BOUCHON DES CORDELIERS15 rue Claudia, Lyon 2
And in one of the 21 Les Bouchons Lyonnais-accredited restaurants Les Bouchons Lyonnais
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