Oeufs à la Couille d’Âne

Dinner

Soft poached eggs with runny yolks sitting in a glossy, wine-dark sauce of red wine, butter, sweet shallots, and crispy lardons. The eggs are delicate and just-set, whilst the sauce is rich and savoury with subtle sweetness, coating everything in that gorgeous burgundy gloss. Crispy croutons and grilled lard on top add crunch and salty richness.

Pin Recipe Print Recipe

Prep Time 10 minutes mins

Cook Time 40 minutes mins

Total Time 50 minutes mins

Servings 4

Cook ModeTurn this on to keep your screen awake while cooking

Ingredients  

1x2x3x?

For the red wine sauce

• 200 gr shallots
• 500 ml red wine use something decent from Berry or Loire if possible
• 200 gr vegetarian smoked lardons
• 50 gr unsalted butter
• 50 gr vegetable stock original recipe with beef stock
• 1 l water
• 2 tbsp blackcurrant liqueur a.k.a crème de cassis
• 1 bay leaf
• 2 sprigs thyme

For the poached eggs

• 500 ml red wine
• 8 eggs

For the croutons

• bread
• olive oil

Equipment

• frying pan
• saucepan for poaching eggs
• saucepan for reducing stock
• baking tray
• knife
• wooden spoon
• slotted spoon

Instructions

1. 1. Prepare the shallots

   Peel and finely mince the shallots. You want them quite small, they'll basically melt into the sauce later.

   The original Berry shallots are a cross between shallots and onions, so they're milder and sweeter than your standard shallot. If you can't find them (and you probably can't unless you're in Berry), regular shallots work perfectly well.
2. 2. Start the sauce

   Melt the butter in your frying pan over medium heat. Chuck in the vegetarian smoked lardons and let them sizzle for a minute or two. Add the minced shallots and cook gently, stirring occasionally, until everything's soft and starting to caramelise. Don't rush this bit, you want the shallots properly sweet and golden. Takes about 10 minutes.
3. 3. Build the wine sauce

   Strip the leaves off your thyme sprigs and add them to the pan along with the bay leaf. Pour in the 50cl of red wine and turn the heat up to medium-high. Let it bubble away until it's reduced by about half. You're concentrating all those wine flavours and getting rid of the harsh alcohol edge. Should take 8-10 minutes.
4. 4. Add the blackcurrant liqueur

   Stir in the blackcurrant liqueur and let it cook for another few minutes. This adds a subtle sweetness that balances the wine's acidity. Berry's famous for its blackcurrant, so this isn't just showing off, it's regional logic.
5. 5. Finish the sauce

   In a separate small pan, dissolve your vegetable stock in water. Bring it to a simmer, then pour it into your wine and shallot mixture. Let the whole thing reduce down until it's thick enough to coat the back of a spoon. You want it glossy and rich, not watery. This takes another 10-15 minutes. Taste it and adjust seasoning, probably needs a pinch of salt and some black pepper. Keep it warm whilst you sort the eggs and garnish.
6. 6. Prep the croutons

   Cut your bread into small cubes, about 1cm. Put them on a baking tray, drizzle with olive oil, and give them a toss. Bake them at 180°C for about 5 minutes until the croutons are crisp and golden.
7. 7. Poach the eggs

   Right, you've got two options here. The traditional Berry method poaches the eggs directly in red wine, which colours them anywhere from pale pink to deep burgundy and adds flavour. If you're thinking "that sounds mad," fair enough, there is an alternative.

   Traditional method (wine poaching):

   Bring your 50cl of red wine to a gentle simmer in a medium saucepan, don't let it boil hard or the eggs will fall apart. Crack each egg into the simmering wine and poach for 2-3 minutes. The whites will set but stay tender, and they'll pick up varying amounts of wine colour depending on how long they're in there. Some might stay quite pale, others will turn a deeper burgundy, it all looks impressive. Use your slotted spoon to lift them out carefully.

   Standard method (water poaching):

   Bring a pan of water to a gentle simmer and add a splash of white wine vinegar. Create a gentle whirlpool with a spoon, then crack each egg into the centre. Poach for 3 minutes until the whites are set but the yolks are still runny. Lift out with a slotted spoon.
8. 8. Plate up

   Ladle the warm wine sauce into deep plates, you want a good pool of it. Place two poached eggs on top of the sauce in each bowl, and scatter the crispy croutons. If you're using parsley, sprinkle a bit over now.

   The whole point is the contrast: soft, wine-touched eggs against the rich, glossy sauce, with those crispy bits on top for texture.

   Serve immediately whilst everything's still warm and the yolks are runny.

Notes

• Wine choice matters. Use something you’d actually drink, cheap cooking wine will make the sauce taste harsh and vinegary. A decent Loire or Rhône red works well. Doesn’t need to be expensive, but it should be drinkable. Avoid anything too tannic or oaky.
• Can’t find échalotes-oignons? No one can outside Berry. Regular shallots work perfectly fine. If you want to get closer to the original milder sweetness, use a mix of shallots and a small red onion.
• Vegetarian lardons work brilliantly here, but if you’re not vegetarian, use smoked or unsmoked bacon lardons. The vegetarian ones from most supermarkets crisp up nicely and absorb the wine flavours well.
• Timing the sauce. The reduction takes longer than you think. Don’t rush it, a thin, watery sauce won’t coat the eggs properly. You want it glossy and thick enough to cling to a spoon. If it gets too thick, add a splash of water or wine.
• Poaching in batches. Unless you have a massive pan, poach the eggs in two batches of four. Keep the first batch warm in a low oven whilst you do the second lot.
• The sauce can be made a few hours ahead and reheated gently. The eggs need to be done fresh, they go rubbery if you try to reheat them.
• No blackcurrant liqueur? Use a good blackcurrant jam thinned with a tiny splash of water. Won’t be quite the same, but it’ll give you that hint of sweetness.
• This is rich enough to be a main course, especially for brunch or lunch. Serve with a simple green salad dressed in vinaigrette to cut through the richness. You don’t need much else.

About this recipe

Gather round for a proper Berry tale, because if there’s one French dish guaranteed to raise eyebrows and spark a bit of dinner-table mischief, it’s Oeufs à la Couille d’Âne. Now, before you spit out your drink, let’s clear up the name. Translated literally, it’s “Donkey’s Bollocks Eggs.” Yes, really.

But don’t worry, no donkeys were harmed in the making of this recipe. The “couille d’âne” in question is actually a rather plump, rustic shallot-onion, once grown in the Berry region of central France. Where exactly in Central France? The old province of Berry now sits across the départements of Indre and Cher, with the lovely city of Bourges as its historic capital.

The name’s a bit of local cheek, and if you ask me, the French do love a culinary double entendre, just try ordering this in a Berry bistro with a straight face.

This dish has its roots in the rural kitchens of Berry, where resourcefulness was key. Farmers and villagers would make use of what was on hand: fresh eggs from the coop, cured bacon or ham, stale bread, a splash of red wine, and, of course, the local shallot. The recipe was traditionally passed down through families, with each adding their own little touches, but always staying true to the spirit of hearty, unfussy country cooking.

Today, the Oeufs à la Couille d’Âne remains a symbol of Berry’s culinary heritage, simple, generous, and full of character. It is a dish that celebrates the land and the ingenuity of its people, and continues to be cherished for its comforting, earthy flavours and its authentic sense of place.