Braised Beef With Red Wine Cranberry Food

BRAISED BEEF IN RED WINE SAUCE

Steps:

• Season beef (lightly if using salted broth).
• Heat oil in large Dutch oven over high heat.
• Add beef and brown on all sides, about 15 minutes.
• Transfer beef to platter; reduce heat to medium.
• Add onion and bacon to pot.
• Sauté until onion is golden, about 8 minutes.
• Mix in tomato paste, bay leaves, cloves and rosemary.
• Add wine.
• Return meat and any juices.
• Cover and simmer 30 minutes, turning meat once.
• M ix stock and tomatoes into sauce.
• Cover and simmer gently until meat is tender, turning occasionally, about 2 hours and 45 minutes.
• Transfer beef to platter.
• Cover with foil to keep warm.
• Strain sauce through fine sieve, pressing on solids.
• Degrease sauce.
• Return sauce to pot.
• Boil until reduced to 2 cups, about 1 hour.
• Add any beef juices from platter.
• Cut beef across grain into 1/3 inch slices (can be prepared 1 day ahead. Rewarm gently before serving).
• Arrange meat slices on a platter lined with pan-fried polenta and spoon sauce over.
• Serve sautéed spinach alongside.

BEEF BRAISED IN RED WINE

Steps:

• Place the meat in a bowl, add the wine and one-half cup of the onions. Cover and refrigerate overnight, but no more than 16 hours.
• The next day, remove the meat from the wine marinade, reserving the marinade. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Pat the meat dry on paper towels.
• Heat the oil in a heavy three-quart casserole, add the beef and brown it on all sides. Remove the meat from the casserole and add the remaining onions and cook over medium-low heat until tender and lightly browned. Stir in the garlic.
• Add the stock and the reserved marinade. Bring to a simmer, scraping the bottom of the pan. Stir in salt and pepper to taste, the bay leaf and rosemary. Return the meat to the casserole.
• Cover the casserole and place in the oven. Bake for about two hours, until the meat is tender.
• To serve at once, remove the meat from the casserole and slice it. Arrange on a platter. Reheat the sauce and check seasonings. Spoon some of the hot sauce over the meat and pass the rest alongside.
• Alternatively, the meat can be refrigerated overnight in the cooking liquid, and the next day the meat can be sliced and the sauce reheated before serving. Doing this will improve both the flavor and texture of the meat and will also allow the layer of chilled fat on the surface of the liquid to be removed and discarded.