Eggs poached in red wine and served in its sauce, reduced with shallots and bacon, on fried bread.
What makes it œufs en meurette
Eggs poached in the red wine itself.
The wine then reduced with shallots and bound with butter and flour.
Bacon lardons and garlic croutons.
Where it comes from
Meurette is the Burgundian name for a red wine sauce, and it goes with fish and brains as well as eggs. Eggs poached in wine were a cheap, quick meal in a wine-making house.
It's usually a starter now, served in a small dish with croutons rubbed with garlic.
How it varies
Meurette of fish
Freshwater fish — carp, eel, pike — cooked the same way in red wine.