Daube French Style Food

DAUBE PROVENCAL (FRENCH BEEF STEW)

Steps:

• Cover mushrooms with 1 cup hot tap water in small microwave-safe bowl; cover with plastic wrap, cut several steam vents in plastic with paring knife, and microwave on high power for 30 seconds. Let stand until mushrooms soften, about 5 minutes. Lift mushrooms from liquid with fork and chop into 1/2 inch pieces (you should have about 4 tablespoons). Strain liquid through fine-mesh strainer lined with 1 paper towel into medium bowl. Set mushrooms and liquid aside.
• Adjust oven rack to lower-middle position; heat oven to 325 degrees. Dry beef thoroughly with paper towels, then season with salt and pepper. Heat 2 tablespoons oil in large heavy-bottomed Dutch oven over medium-high heat until shimmering but not smoking; add half of beef. Cook without moving pieces until well browned, about 2 minutes on each side, for total of 8 to 10 minutes, reducing heat if fat begins to smoke. Transfer meat to medium bowl. Repeat with remaining oil and remaining meat.
• Reduce heat to medium and add salt pork, carrots, onions, garlic, and tomato paste to now empty pot; cook, stirring occasionally, until light brown, about 2 minutes. Stir in flour and cook, stirring constantly, about 1 minute. Slowly add wine, gently scraping pan bottom to loosen browned bits. Add broth, water, beef, and any juices in bowl. Increase heat to medium-high and bring to full simmer. Add mushrooms and their liquid, orange zest, 1/2 cup olives, anchovies, thyme, and bay, distributing evenly and arranging beef so it is completely covered by liquid; cover partially and place in oven. Cook until fork inserted in beef meets little resistance (meat should not be falling apart), 2 1/2 to 3 hours.
• Discard salt pork, thyme, and bay leaves. Add tomatoes and remaining 1/2 cup olives; warm over medium-high heat until heated through, about 1 minute. Cover pot and allow stew to settle, about 5 minutes. Using spoon, skim excess fat from surface of stew. Stir in parsley and serve.

DAUBE

Steps:

• The evening before, cut the beef into large chunks and place in a large bowl.
• Add the onion, cut into 4, and with the cloves inserted. Add the carrot, 2 garlic cloves lightly crushed with the flat side of a knife and 2 pressed garlic cloves. Add bouquet garni and orange peels. Season with salt and pepper. Cover with red wine. Mix well.
• Cover with plastic wrap and let stand for at least 8 hours in the refrigerator. Mix the marinade two or three times during this time.
• Drain the pieces of meat with a skimmer and place on paper towels. Reserve the marinade.
• In a cast iron pot, Dutch oven or an electric slow cooker, heat the olive oil and sweat the shallots and onion over medium heat.
• Add the smoked pork belly, and sauté for 3 minutes over medium heat. Add the meat, and brown the pieces of beef on each side.
• Pour the flour gradually and stir with a wooden spoon.
• Add the tomatoes, season with salt and pepper and mix again.
• Remove the celery and leek from the marinade and add the marinade to the pot. Cook 1 minute over high heat and simmer over very low heat for 5 to 7 hours or more.
• Two hours before the end of cooking, add the carrots and black olives. Ensure that the sauce does not completely evaporate during cooking.

DAUBE FRENCH STYLE

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.

DAUBE A LA PROVENCALE

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.

DAUBE DE BOEUF PROVENCAL

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.

PORC EN DAUBE - FRENCH PORK STEW

Steps:

• For the overnight marinade:.
• Put the pork pieces in a casserole with a lid.
• Chop the onions roughly, and add half to the pot.
• Put in 2 bay leaves and and distribute the twigs of thyme around the pot.
• Pour 3/4 (about 1 1/2 pints) of a bottle of red wine (best option is an inexpensive fruity red wine!) over the meat etc in the pot. Put the lid on it, and leave it until the following day.
• The following day, lift out the meat with a slotted spoon, and put it in a colander over the casserole, to drain a bit. Lift out the other ingredients and discard them. Keep the wine.
• If you will be using the same pot, just drain off the wine into a bowl, rinse the pot, dry it, and heat it over medium heat.
• Add a little oil.
• Put the other half of the roughly chopped onion into the oil. Add the chopped garlic, and cook both till a little bit golden. Lift out with a slotted spoon.
• Dry the meat with paper towels.
• Put the meat into a bag with 1 cup of flour, and shake the bag till the meat is coated.
• Begin to brown the meat over medium high heat. Don't do all at once, because if you do they won't brown, they will begin to stew in juice. Brown them in small batches, and lift out with a slotted spoon as they brown.
• When all have been browned, return all the meat and the onion and garlic to the pan.
• Add a little of the flour (1 tablespoon) to ensure a somewhat thick sauce.
• Add 2 bay leaves.
• Pour the reserved wine over the meat. Pour the rest of the wine (this will be about 1 1/2 pints) over the meat.
• The liquid should cover the meat. If it doesn't, add some water or bouillon.
• Cook this covered over low heat for at least two hours, or until tender, stirring occasionally.
• Add more thyme if desired. The sauce will thicken and become reduced.
• You can cook this on the stove over low heat or in an oven at 325F or less.
• I like to cook meat slowly over low heat, so I cook this for almost 4 hours!
• Prepare dried, thick sliced toast: Take a clove of fresh garlic, and just scrape the garlic lightly over both sides of the toast.
• Ladle the meat and sauce over the toasts.

BEEF DAUBE

Steps:

• Combine first 9 ingredients in large bowl. Cover and let stand at room temperature 2 hours.
• Remove beef from marinade; pat dry. Reserve marinade. Cook pancetta in large pot over medium-low heat until fat is rendered, 5 minutes. Add chopped onion and garlic. Sauté until onion is translucent, 6 minutes. Transfer to large bowl.
• Heat oil in same pot over high heat. Sprinkle beef with salt and pepper. Working in batches, add beef to pot; cook until beginning to brown, about 5 minutes per batch. Transfer to bowl with pancetta mixture. Reduce heat to medium-high. Add flour to pot. Whisk until flour browns, about 4 minutes. Gradually whisk in reserved marinade. Bring to boil, scraping up browned bits. Add beef mixture and any accumulated juices to pot. Cover tightly; simmer until meat is tender, about 2 hours. Uncover; simmer until meat is very tender and liquid is reduced to sauce consistency, about 45 minutes longer. (Can be prepared 1 day ahead. Cool slightly. Refrigerate.)
• Spoon fat off top of daube. Remove carrots, quartered onion, herb sprigs, bay leaves and peel and discard. Bring daube to simmer, stirring frequently. Season with salt and pepper. Sprinkle with parsley.

BOEUF EN DAUBE - FRENCH BEEF BURGUNDY IN THE CROCK POT

Steps:

• Marinade the beef with the herbs, shallots & garlic over night in the bottle of red wine.
• Drain and put the wine to one side.
• In a large skillet or fryng pan, sear & brown the beef pieces over a high heat in the olive oil until nutty & brown. Do not overcrowd the pan!
• Place browned beef into the crock pot or cast iron Le Creuset Casserole Dish.
• Fry the lardons or chopped bacon pieces until crispy & golden brown. Drain & add to the beef.
• Brown the shallots & garlic in the bacon fat & add to the beef & bacon.
• Add all the other ingredients, except the cornflour, to the crock pot including the reserved wine.
• (Add the tinned tomatoes & sun dried tomatoes at this stage too if you are using them.).
• Cook on automatic or High for 4 hours and Low for up to 6 hours.
• (For conventional cooking - pre-heat oven to 175 degs C or 325 degs F or gas mark 3 and cook SLOWLY for approximately 4 to 6 hours; check towards the end, the meat should be extemely tender - you MUST not be tempted to cook it quicker, it will be tough!).
• Towards the end, blend & mix the cornflour with a couple of spoons of the stock in the crock pot & add to the beef, stirring well. It should not be TOO thick but just like a glaze or thickened jus. Add the cognac at this stage as well - sirring into the daube.
• Serve with Green Beans, Mashed, Steamed or Pureed Potatoes during the colder months OR with a selection of salads, crusty French bread & Pasta during the warmer months. The excess sauce can be used or saved as a fantastic gravy or stock later!
• THIS IS BETTER MADE 24 HOURS BEFORE EATING!
• Freezes beautifully - I always make a large batch and then freeze some.
• NOTE:If you cannot buy sun dried orange peel, make your own, it's VERY easy! Peel some oranges with a swivel head vegetable peeler or parer, be careful not to peel the pith. Spread outside on a rack in the full sun and leave to dry for about 2-4 hours. Weather permitting of course - otherwise dry in an airing cupboard or a very LOW oven overnight.Store in an airtight jar for up to 2 years.
• If you are really stuck - just grate some fresh orange peel into the daube, it will not have the same intensity as dried peel, but it will work!

BOEUF EN DAUBE - CLASSIC FRENCH BEEF BURGUNDY STEW (BOURGUIGNON)

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.

BEEF DAUBE PROVENCAL

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.