12400 Crushed Beef Daube for Early September Serves 6 Wed Aug 06 01:06:19 -0700 2008 Thu Feb 05 12:19:47 -0800 2009 Licensed http://www.chow.com/recipes/12400 Thu, 05 Feb 2009 20:19:47 GMT This daube, traditionally eaten in early September during the first cold days of autumn, employs farmhouse methods that result in a melting, delicious, flavorful stew that can be eaten hot or cold. The original recipe calls for very thin slices of beef cooked in a red wine sauce overnight in the fireplace, degreased, cooked again, and degreased again. Then the meat was crushed with a fork into the sauce so that the dish became, in effect, a very rich, thick meat sauce. Its appearance was similar to that of a Georgia Brunswick stew. I cut my meat into ½-inch-thick slices so they remain intact. Traditionally, wine at least five years old was used for this recipe, but these days, that would be prohibitively expensive, so use a soft red wine.

In the old days, this type of crushed meat stew was served with the cornmeal and flour–based fried cakes called armottes, for which I offer a recipe on pages 357–358 (Fried Cornmeal Porridge Cakes in the Style of Gascony.

Begin 1 day in advance.

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  • A day in advance, preheat the oven to 225°F. Rub the meat with pepper and very little salt
  • Make the ventrèche blend: Cut it into small pieces and pulse in a food processor or put through the medium blade of a meat grinder. Mix the ground ventrèche with the parsley, shallots, garlic, a little pepper, and a pinch of salt to make a loose paste.
  • Layer the beef slices with alternate layers of the ventrèche blend in a 3- or 4-quart casserole, preferably stoneware or enameled cast-iron. In a nonreactive saucepan, bring the wine to a boil, reduce the heat, and simmer for 15 minutes to evaporate the alcohol. Pour over the meat. Add the onion half stuck with clove, bay leaf, thyme, sugar, and Quatre Épices. Cover with a sheet of parchment and a tight-fitting lid. Set in the middle of the oven to cook very slowly for 6 hours. Uncover and let cool, then cover and refrigerate overnight.
  • The following day, preheat the oven to 250°F. Carefully degrease the liquid in the casserole. Cover again and cook for 1 hour in the oven. Let cool completely, then skim off all the fat.
  • Lift out the slices of meat and arrange, overlapping, in a shallow baking dish. Strain the cooking juices to remove any debris. If there is too much cooking liquid, reduce by boiling until flavorful and lightly thickened, skimming often. Pour over the meat. (The dish can be prepared to this point several hours in advance.)
  • Reheat gently before serving. If desired, crush the meat slices in the cooking juices. Serve in a wide soup bowl with slices of cornmeal cake.
    • ]]>     http://www.chow.com Paula Wolfert 50 Main 3 pounds bottom or top round of beef, trimmed of all fat, cut against the grain into ½-inch-thick slices

    ]]>     Freshly ground pepper and salt

    ]]>     1 pound thick-sliced lean ventrèche or pancetta

    ]]>     ¼ cup chopped fresh flat-leaf parsley

    ]]>     ¼ cup chopped shallots

    ]]>     1½ tablespoons chopped fresh garlic

    ]]>     2 cups soft red wine, such as Merlot

    ]]>     ½ onion stuck with 1 whole clove

    ]]>     1 imported bay leaf

    ]]>     1 sprig of thyme

    ]]>     ½ teaspoon sugar

    ]]>     Pinch of Quatre Épices (page 231)

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