Daube French Style Recipes

Steps:

• In a large skillet, heat oil over medium-high heat. Sprinkle meat with 1/2 teaspoon salt and 1/4 teaspoon pepper; brown meat in batches. Transfer beef to 4-qt. slow cooker. , Add carrot, onions, garlic and remaining salt and pepper to skillet; cook and stir until golden brown, 4-6 minutes. Add tomato paste; cook and stir until fragrant, about 1 minute. Add wine, stirring to loosen browned bits from pan; bring to a boil. , Transfer meat mixture, tomatoes, broth and seasonings to slow cooker. Cook, covered, on low 5-7 hours or until tender. Discard bay leaf. Serve with hot cooked pasta or mashed potatoes. If desired, sprinkle with fresh thyme.

Steps:

• Make a bouquet garni: Put thyme, bay leaf, cloves, peppercorns, and zest on a piece of cheesecloth; tie into a bundle. Combine onion, garlic, celery, carrots, bouquet garni, and wine in a large non-reactive bowl. Add beef, and toss to coat. Cover, and marinate in the refrigerator 12 to 24 hours, stirring occasionally.
• Preheat oven to 300 degrees. Remove beef from wine mixture; pat dry with paper towels. Set aside. Transfer wine mixture to a heavy pot; bring to a boil. Reduce heat; simmer 5 minutes. Set aside.
• Heat 2 tablespoons oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat. Cook half of the beef, turning, until deeply browned, about 2 minutes per side. Transfer to a plate. Repeat with remaining oil and beef.
• Stir tomato paste into stock; add to the skillet, scraping up browned bits with a wooden spoon. Add to wine mixture. Stir in olives and beef. Season with salt. Bring to a simmer over medium-high heat.
• Cover daube; transfer to oven. Cook 2 hours. Reduce oven temperature to 275 degrees if daube starts to boil. After 2 hours, stir in orange juice. Cook until beef is very tender, about 30 minutes more.

Steps:

• Marinate the beef in the red wine, vinegar, carrots and 1/2 of the onions for 6 hours or overnight.
• Preheat the oven to 325 degrees F.
• Remove the beef from the marinade (reserving the marinade) and dry gently with paper towels. Heat 1 tablespoon of the oil in a heavy Dutch oven over medium heat and cook the bacon lardons until crisp. Remove the bacon and set aside, reserving the fat. Add the remaining 1 tablespoon oil to the bacon fat in the Dutch oven and brown the beef on all sides. Once the beef is browned, add in the reserved marinade, bacon lardons, the remaining onions, rosemary, thyme, garlic and bay leaves. Add 2 cups water and sprinkle with salt and pepper. Bring to a simmer, then cover tightly and cook in the oven for 3 to 4 hours. Check the daube every hour and add a little more water if needed. Remove the herbs and serve the daube (be sure to reserve the sauce) with the Macaronade.
• Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Grease a gratin dish.
• Cook the pasta in salted water according to the package's instructions for al dente. Drain and toss with the cheese and daube sauce. Place the pasta in the gratin dish, and top with the breadcrumbs, sprinkle with salt and pepper and dot with the butter. Bake 15 minutes and serve with the daube.

Steps:

• In a large non-reactive bowl, combine beef, Cognac, cloves, garlic, onions, carrots, celery, bay leaf, sage, thyme, parsley, 1/4 teaspoon coarsely ground black pepper, orange peel, wine, and mushrooms. Cover and refrigerate overnight or for up to 2 days, stirring from time to time.
• Bring the meat and vegetables to room temperature. Drain, reserving the marinade.
• Blot the beef and veggies dry with paper towels.
• Preheat oven to 325F/175°C.
• In a large heavy oven proof dish (such as a cast iron dutch oven or Le Creuset), fry the bacon over medium heat until it renders its fat, about 3-5 minutes. Using a slotted spoon, remove the bacon to paper towels and reserve.
• Working in batches so as not to overcrowd the pan, add the meat and vegetables to the fat in the pan, and brown them on all sides over medium heat, seasoning with salt and pepper as they brown, about 7 minutes per batch.
• Transfer to a platter. Add the marinade to the pot, and bring to a boil over high heat. Reduce to medium heat and simmer until the liquid is reduced by one-third, about 8 minutes. Skim off the foam from the surface. Add the stock or consomme, and simmer another 8 minutes, until reduced again by one-third. Stir in the pinch of sugar and the tomato paste, (and add the diced tomatoes and green olives now, if using).
• Return the meat, vegetables and reserved bacon to the pot. Cover and bake in the oven until the meat is tender, 2 1/2-3 hours. -OR- alternately, at this stage you can cook in the crock-pot on LOW heat 8 to 10 hours, or on HIGH heat 4 to 6 hours.
• Serve with a rustic bread for mopping the juices, along with a green salad and a platter of cheeses.
• Freezes and reheats beautifully. Leftovers will make a lovely Cottage-Shepherd's Pie a la Provencale, see my recipe #355446.

Steps:

• Heat oil in a large heavy pot, with a tight fitting lid, such as a dutch oven over medium heat. Trim the large pieces of fat from the roast and apply salt and pepper to taste. Brown on all sides in hot oil. Turn down the heat to low. Add the rest of the ingredients to the pot and mix lightly. Turn roast over. If the liquid does not cover the roast, add water to cover. Cover and cook for 1.5 hours. Uncover and check liquid level and turn roast over. If liquid is low, add a bit of water, enough to reach 1/2 way up the roast. Cover and continue to cook for 1.5 hours. Uncover and check for doneness. The meat should be very tender. If not, cover and cook for 1/2 hour more.