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Daube de boeuf à la Provençale  - 6/02/12

Daube de boeuf à la Provençale is a French beef stew recipe which in France is known as Daube.  Daube is a traditional family meal and the left over are simply fantastic! It is called daube because of the old earthenware container it was cooked in but since I do not have a daube, I cooked it in a large pot, which is perfectly fine. There are variations of this beef stew recipe but they are all fantastic specially with the addition of the pig's feet which thicken the broth and also gives it a rich flavor. It is best started the day before as the flavor improves with time. As it is a meal made ahead it is perfect for entertaining because of you need to do is to re-heat and serve. The daube is definitely a comfort food best eaten with white rice of a nice piece of bread.

I served this dish at my French Bistro party for 15 people and it was great dish to entertain a crowd.

 

The broth was delicious!  The addition of the orange zest, bouquet garnie, and cinnamon stick does give the broth a nice flavor.

 

Close look at the dish.

 

Preparation work..

For the stew

4 pounds boneless chuck or other stew beef

2 pig's foot

3/4 cup brined black olives

3/4 cup brined green olives (optional)

1 tablespoon olive oil

4 slabs of bacon cut into lardons and rendered until crispy

4 onions thinly sliced

1 bag of baby carrots

6 tomatoes, peeled  seeded, and chopped

4 to 5 garlic cloves, chopped

2 to 3 cup of beef broth

salt and pepper

For the marinade

zest of 1 orange, pared in strips

1 large bouquet garni

2 inch piece cinnamon stick

2 whole cloves

1 teaspoons peppercorns

1 1/2 bottle of red wine

 

Cooking the pig's foot

1 leek

2 carrots

1 bay leaves.

10 peppercorn

1 onion

salt

trim the excess fat from the beef, leaving most of the cartilage as they will gradually dissolve to become tender at the end of the stewing, contributing valuable gelatin to the cooking juices in the process. Cut the beef in large strips.

And then cut into cubes, about 1 1/2 inches cubes.

layer the ingredients on top in a large pot as the following order:

Beef, Bacon, rendered bacon, olives, onions, carrots, tomatoes, and garlic.

Make an X on the top of the tomatoes and plunge them into boiling water.  Remove from heat.

Peel the skin off..

then put the tomatoes into a ice cold bath.

throw away the seed, and chopped the tomatoes.

Put a layer of carrots, tomatoes, and garlic in the pot.

Put the zest of an orange, the cinnamon stick, cloves, bay leaves, and bouquet garnie on top of a piece a cheesecloth.  roll the cheesecloth and secure it with a kitchen twine.

burry the bag in the meats and vegetables.

Pour the wine in the pot.  Cover and refrigerate for 12 to 24 hours.

Preheat the oven at 400 degrees.  Add the beef broth until all the ingredients are submerge in.  

Put the pot in the oven and cover tightly and bring to a simmer in the oven (about 30 minutes). Once it is simmering lower the oven to 325 degrees and cook until the beef is tender about 2 hours to 2 1/2 hours.

Remove from the oven and let it rest.

clean the pig's foot and put them in a large pot filled with water.  Add the carrots, leek, onion, 1 tablespoon salt, bay leaves, peppercorns, thyme sprigs, and garlic and bring the water to a simmer. Skim away the foam that rises to the top.

It takes about 2 hours for the pig's foot to be tender.  Throw away the liquid and put the pig's foot in a large bowl.

 

Throw away the bones and cut the meat and skin into large chunks.

Pour all the pig's foot inside the pot.  Bring it to a boil and season to taste.

Filed as: Meat

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