In America we generally call my French Fridays recipe, Beef Stew. Plain and simple. In France, it’s a Daube, a stew cooked in wine in a deep casserole. Dorie suggests it could also be named Boeuf aux Carottes. That gets my vote and here’s why.
Dorie’s Go-To Beef Daube, also called Boeuf aux Carottes.
It’s already snowed twice in Aspen. Old Man Winter is knocking at my door. I’ve never found the perfect beef stew recipe, a go-to winter meal. By chance I discovered that my French Fridays colleagues made My Go-To Beef Daube, a recipe from Around My French Table, in May, 2010. Unfortunately, that was before I joined FFWD. It seemed that it was Opportunity knocking at my door this week.
What interests me most about the recipe is there are very few stars in this production. The economical beef chunk roast, which gets a lazy, three-hour braise, is the meat of choice. The only other major players are carrots and parsnips. Being from the same family, Apiaceae, they dance well together. That’s what I love about this stew. It’s simple goodness.
While beef, carrots and parsnips may be the main ingredients, it’s the flavoring and spices that pack the wallop. Oh, yes, there’s that bottle of red wine. Before the beef chunks and veggies ever hit the pot, the heady, aromatic sauce is already bubbling nicely. Bacon, onions, shallots and garlic provide rich flavor and a bouquet garni lends the spice. Did I mention the Cognac? This stew is a keeper. I posted the written recipe at the end of this post.
The star players: beef, carrots and parsnips. C’est tout.
I’ve polished off the stew these past few busy days, happy for the tasty leftovers. We leave this week for another presidential library tour, this time to Texas. You may remember that I consider the 13 presidential libraries managed by the National Archives to be the uncrowned jewels of our country’s historical tourist opportunities. Very little is written about these treasures. I hope to change that.
With the completion of this journey, I will have visited 9 of the 13 libraries. The ones I haven’t seen will be: G. Ford, Ann Arbor, Michigan; J. Carter, Atlanta, Georgia; F.D. Roosevelt, Hyde Park, New York; and J.F.Kenndy, Boston, Massachusetts. Can you figure out where I have been?
Last fall my good friend and companion in all things presidential, Donna Grauer, accompanied me on the road trip to the midwestern libraries of Eisenhower, Truman and Clinton. This year she’s game for the fly/drive to Dallas, Austin and College Station. With Donna, our resident brainiac, it’s always an adventure. Stay tuned.
My colleagues made Osso Bucco à l’Arman this week. See their efforts here.
We are an international cooking group working our way through Dorie Greenspan’s Around my French Table, more than 300 recipes from my home to yours.
Halloween 2014 – Bon Appétit
Ingredients
- 4 slices thick-cut bacon, cut crosswise into 1-inch-wide pieces
- One 3 1/2-pound beef chuck roast, fat and any sinews removed, cut into 2- to 3-inch cubes
- 2 tablespoons mild oil (such as grapeseed or canola)
- Salt and freshly ground pepper
- 2 yellow onions or 1 Spanish onion, quartered and thinly sliced
- 6 shallots, thinly sliced
- 1 garlic head, halved, horizonally, only loose papery peel removed
- 1 1/2 pounds carrots, trimmed, peeled, halved crosswise, and halved or quartered lengthwise, depending on thickness
- 1/2 pound parsnips, trimmed, peeled, halved crosswise, and quartered lengthwise (optional)
- 1/4 cup Cognac or other brandy
- 1 bottle fruity red wine
- A bouquet garni—2 thyme sprigs, 2 parsley sprigs, 1 rosemary sprig, and the leaves from 1 celery stalk, tied together in a piece of cheesecloth
Instructions
- 1. Center a rack in the oven and preheat the oven to 350°F.
- 2. Put a Dutch oven over medium heat and toss in the bacon. Cook, stirring, just until the bacon browns, then transfer to a bowl.
- 3. Dry the beef between sheets of paper towels. Add 1 tablespoon of the oil to the bacon fat in the pot and warm it over medium-high heat, then brown the beef, in batches, on all sides. Don’t crowd the pot—if you try to cook too many pieces at once, you’ll steam the meat rather than brown it—and make sure that each piece gets good color. Transfer the browned meat to the bowl with the bacon and season lightly with salt and pepper.
- 4. Pour off the oil in the pot (don’t remove any browned bits stuck to the bottom), add the remaining tablespoon of oil, and warm it over medium heat. Add the onions and shallots, season lightly with salt and pepper, and cook, stirring, until the onions soften, about 8 minutes. Toss in the garlic, carrots, and parsnips, if you’re using them, and give everything a few good turns to cover all the ingredients with a little oil. Pour in the brandy, turn up the heat, and stir well so that the brandy loosens whatever may be clinging to the bottom of the pot. Let the brandy boil for a minute, then return the beef and bacon to the pot, pour in the wine, and toss in the bouquet garni. Once again, give everything a good stir.
- 5. When the wine comes to a boil, cover the pot tightly with a piece of aluminum foil and the lid. Slide the daube into the oven and allow it to braise undisturbed for 1 hour.
- 6. Pull the pot out of the oven, remove the lid and foil, and stir everything up once. If it looks as if the liquid is reducing by a great deal (unlikely), add just enough water to cover the ingredients. Recover the pot with the foil and lid, slip it back into the oven, and cook for another 1 1/2 hours (total time is 2 1/2 hours). At this point the meat should be fork-tender—if it’s not, give it another 30 minutes or so in the oven.
- 7. Taste the sauce. If you’d like it a little more concentrated, pour the sauce into a saucepan, put it over high heat, and boil it down until it’s just the way you like it. When the sauce meets your approval, taste it for salt and pepper. (If you’re going to reduce the sauce, make certain not to salt it until it’s reduced.) Fish out the bouquet garni and using a large serving spoon, skim off the surface fat.
- 8. Serve the beef, carrots and parsnips moistened with sauce.
- 9. Storing: Like all stews, this can be kept in the refrigerator for about 3 days or frozen for up to 2 months. If you are preparing the daube ahead, don’t reduce the sauce, just cool the daube and chill it. Then, at serving time, lift off the fat (an easy job when the daube’s been chilled), reduce the sauce, and season it one last time.
Mary, that looks delicious! I just returned from 10 days in Texas for my birthday road trip. I just love Hill Country and might consider retiring there. I did not have a chance to see any of the Presidential libraries but am going back next year. The Alamo was truly amazing.
I remember this one as being really tasty too! Nice choice!
Bill didn’t believe me when I told him the parsnips were pale carrots! I do recall that he loved this recipe despite the “strange” veggie 😉 Perfect comfort food.
We are expecting our first snow this weekend. I am SO not ready. Maybe if I close my eyes….
Enjoy your trip. Next up has to be Hyde Park & Boston!!!! HINT
Oh, you just reminded me how great this was! I’ll have to make it again, soon. Lucky you with chilly weather. Our weather hasn’t changed at all yet and I’m yearning for cooler days.
John & I are going to see Dorie & Michael on Tuesday! She’s giving a cooking demonstration & signing her new book at the Westlake Culinary Institute (very close to where we met you for dinner).
Looking forward to hearing more about your trip!
Happy Halloween!
This dish was a real winner in our house! I do remember pouring in that whole bottle of wine and thinking I must have read it wrong…not! Yours looks warm and satisfying!
Enjoy your trip, Mary! Looking forward to your photos! Happy Friday!
I remember this one. With just my husband and I, we had a ton of leftovers. I am not a carrot fan, but it didn’t matter…delish!!!
I try so hard to like beef stew, but usually I don’t. I can’t remember this one, though I know I made it. You’ll love the osso buco when you get to it. It definitely keeps old man winter at bay. I hope you and Donna have a safe and fabulous trip. I’m already looking forward to your Boston/New York adventure. I didn’t realize there were 13 presidential libraries. I’ve only been to the one here in Boston.
I made the beef cheek daube but not this stew.. this looks fantastic. I love your library travels. It is a great idea for a story and a great excuse to check out our wonderful country.
My in-laws are huge fans of touring the Presidential libraries. I have to compare their progress with yours. Sounds like you have a great topic for a book – and quite the project – in your hands.
The daube is still on my to-do list. Thanks for the inspiration!
Love, love, love your Halloween costume ala Julia:) Really makes me smile! I am also a lover of the Presidential Library though you have me beat by several miles. I have not yet been to the Bush 43’s but I have been to Bush 41 and it is a fabulous one. I can’t believe I haven’t been to the LBJ but I will get there. Enjoy your trip! I can’t wait to read what you write about your experience. The beef daube is one of our favorites and I’ve made it many times!
Am thrilled to be mentioned as a brainiac (what I wanted to be when I grew up), for all the WWW to read.
So looking forward to some more wacky times on the next presidential road trip in Texas. BTW, all my exes live in Texas. None were presidents.
The stew/daube is perfect for our brisk fall into winter days. Cognac and fruity red wines as ingredients, what could be wrong.
Your Halloween costume is a KEEPER. Tell Missy she did good AGAIN.
Hugs, TTR
You had such a fun Halloween Mary. I love your costume! I just caught a glimpse of it on FB as I was scrolling through to show something to a friend. I thought to myself, I recognize that face….. but I didn’t have time to stop or to read it. I did recognize that face!!!! And the stew looks amazing, sounds a bit like a Beef Bourguignon with all that wine. I know it was really delicious!
Yes, it’s starting to get chilly around here as well and hearty, warming meals are starting to sound good. Your idea to head south for warmer weather sounds well timed. Enjoy your trip to Texas. I don’t think that I’ve ever visited a single presidential library before. You have your work cut out for you:-)
Love your halloween costume!
Great post Mary. I also made the beef daube as a make up and we enjoyed it too. It finally rained in California but we are heating up again this week. I am tired of the endless summer. Visiting the presidential libraries sounds like a wonderful goal. I will have to put that on my list. Great Halloween costume.
Mary, your photo is lovely, you make a wonderful Julia. Your stew looks perfect with all the carrots, and with wine in it
what’s not to like. When we first made this stew it was my introduction to parsnips and I have used them ever since.
As for the osso buco, I cut the recipe in half totally. Two shanks, and halved the rest. This was delicious and the orange is not overpowering, You are gonna love it. Have a wonderful tour and can’t wait to see photos. Be safe.
I loved this one. I’m going to have to find an excuse to make it again soon, perhaps with pureed celery root. Yours looks so delicious! Your Julia costume was perfect – hope you had a blast at the party. And have fun on your next Presidential library excursion, too!
I just made this stew as a make-up as well! It _is_ really good and your photos nicely capture it! I love your costume: it turned out fantastic! As for the Presidential Libraries, what a great goal. I live sort of near the Reagan one and have never made it there…they are such neat resources and I look forward to reading more from you on them!
I loved this one too. Thank you for reminding me about this one. I will have to be sure to make it this winter!