Beef Daube

We had a roast in the freezer and wanted to try something new. We had all of the ingredients for this (except for the orange, which Veronica ran out to get while I got this started)... Oh, and we had some cubed pancetta in the fridge, so I used that rather than bacon. It was pretty good... but we decided we'd probably not repeat this too regularly.

After I started cooking this, I looked online to find that there wasn't much consistency between recipes. I'm trusting Bittman on this one. Some others coated the beef in flour before cooking it (sounds like a good idea, but I don't know that this needs any thickening)... Others had you put the vegetables in in large pieces and then fish them out before serving (seems a bit wasteful to me... if you're going to cook them, why not eat them)... Others changed up the seasonings a bit.

Bittman suggests a Beef Daube with Olives and Dried Fruit as a "superior" recipe, but Veronica and I don't really dig olives and didn't have dried fruit in the house, so...


Beef Daube (France)
Makes 4 servings
Time: at least 2 hours, somewhat unattended

1 T. extra virgin olive oil
1/2 pound good-quality slab bacon, cut into 1/2-inch cubes
2 pounds boneless beef chuck or brisket, cut into 1 1/2 to 2-inch cubes
Salt and black pepper to taste
2 large onions, chopped
2 celery stalks, chopped
3 carrots, chopped
5 garlic cloves, peeled and lightly smashed
3 or 4 fresh thyme sprigs
1 fresh rosemary sprig or 1 teaspoon dried
2 or 3 strips orange peel
1 cup rough red wine, preferably from the south of France-something like Cahors or Cotes-du-Rhone
1 T. red wine vinegar
Stock or water as necessary

1. Put the olive oil in a Dutch oven or flameproof casserole with a lid and turn the heat to medium. Add the bacon and cook, stirring occasionally, until it is crisp and has given up most of its fat, about 10 minutes. REmove with a slotted spoon, add hte meat, and raise the heat to medium-high. Cook, turning the cubes as they brown and sprinkling them with salt and pepper, until the meat is brown and crisp all over, at least 10 minutes. Remove with a slotted spoon.

2. Reduce the heat to medium and add the onions, celery, carrots, garlic, thyme, rosemary, and orange peel, along with some more salt and pepper, and cook, stirring occasionally, until the onions soften, about 5 minutes. Add the wine and vinegar and let them bubble for a minute, hten return the meat to the pan.

3. Cover and adjust the heat so the mixture simmers gently for about an hour, then add the bacon. Re-cover and continue to cook until the meat is tender, adding a little more liquid if the mixture threatens to dry out. Depending on the meat, the dish could be done in as little as 30 minutes more or in three times as long.

4. Taste and adjust the seasoning, then garnish and serve or cover and refrigerate for up to 2 days before reheating.

Rating:
Veronica - 7 overall (10 as far as beef stews go)
Jason - 6.9