Food – Beef Daube From Provence

When we hear Beef Stew we usually think of bowls of potatoes and vegetables with hunks of inexpensive meat cooked for a long time.  A simple family meal.  In Provence a slightly different approach was taken to produce a big pot of delicious beef that has been slowly cooked, or stewed, for tenderness and rich taste over several days.  This approach to a daube would use several different pieces of left over meat as the basis and this recipe recommends using at least three different cuts to get different tastes and textures. 

I really enjoy making slow cooked dishes and this one is a three-day process.  Several my food blogs will be about slow cooking, smoking, and sous vide recipes.  Marinating the two primary ingredients in wine for at least 24 hours in wine is the start.    

The freshly ground nutmeg in the marinade perfumes the dish and brings out sheer animal essence of the beef.  The best cooking vessel is enamel potbellied casserole, or Dutch Oven, with a lid.  Suggested beef cuts – short ribs, top or bottom round, Shoulder blade or arm, neck, heel of round.  This beef marinates for 24 hours in wine and then slow cooks for 2 days so the result will be tender regardless of what cut is used.  Using 3-4 different cuts is highly recommended. 

The daube then slowly simmers for hours the second day and then cools down and is refrigerated overnight. As shown in the picture, that allows the fat to rise to the top and congeal so you can remove it the next day.

On the third day the final ingredients are added, and the daube simmered for a few more hours before serving.   As good as the dish looks sitting on the table, the comments your guests make about the aroma when they walk in the house will make the long effort very worthwhile.  Serve over some pasta in a bowl with a slice of crusty artisan bread.  I used one of our favorite table wines, the Chateau Segries Cote du Rhone for the marinade. It is only about $12 a bottle but has all the Cote du Rhone flavor and body. I served it with a $35 Chateau Raspail Gigondas and got rave reviews from everyone.

RECIPE

Monsieur Henny’s Three-Beef Daube

Adapted From Patricia Wells “At Home In Provence”, 8-10 Servings

Ingredients:

Marinade

• 6 medium onions peeled and chopped (or 4 large onions)
• 6 cloves
• 5 lbs beef (at least three different cuts to give different flavor and texture, see note below)
• 2 bottles Cote du Rhone red wine (a good basic table wine like Chateau Segries is perfect)
• A handful of fresh thyme
• 5 fresh bay leaves
• 1 teaspoon ground nutmeg

Daube

• 3 Tbs EVOO
• 2 Tsp sugar
• 3 Tbs tomato paste
• 2 lbs. carrots
• 14 oz can peeled plum tomatoes in juice (can use diced or crushed tomatoes as an alternative)
• 3-4 beef marrow bones
• 4 oz bacon
• Grated zest of one medium orange (or ½ large orange)
• 4 oz imported black olives, pitted
• Sea salt and freshly ground black pepper

Preparation:

1. Cut the beef into 1” cubes
2. Cut 5 of the onions in half lengthwise and slice them into thin strips. Halve the remaining onion and insert three cloves in each half
3. In a large bowl combine the meat, onions, wine, thyme, bay leaves, and nutmeg.  Cover and set aside at room temperature for 24 hours.   Can also put the marinade mixture in your cooking vessel with the cover on for the 24 hours. You can also put the mixture in two large zip lock bags in the refrigerator if you want them to marinate for more than 24 hours. 
4. When you are ready to make the Daube, peel the carrots and thinly slice them into rounds. 
5. Browning the meat in that vessel takes about 4 batches since the individual pieces need to have space around them to turn them on all sides for browning and each batch takes about 10 minutes.  I suggest also using a stainless steel or no stick fry pan to do two batches at the same time.  Since each side only takes about two minutes to brown, you will be very active turning the pieces if you have batches in two different pans going at the same time.  That fry pan will be deglazed with some of acidic wine marinade so recommend not using cast iron or carbon steel pans for this.  If you are using two pans to brown the meat, add the remaining oil to the fry pan and start the first batch of meat while the onions are browning.  Regulate the heat to avoid scorching it.  Do not crowd the meat in the pan and be patient.  Each batch should take about 10 minutes with equal time on each of the 6 sides of the beef cube.  Good browning is essential to allow the beef to retain its full flavor.  Use tongs to remove the browned meat from the pan to a platter, do not pierce the meat.  Put a second batch in the primary cooking vessel after the onions are removed and use both pans until all the meat is browned.  
6. Immediately season the meat on the platter with salt and freshly ground pepper.  Deglaze each pan with some of the marinade liquid using a wooden spoon to scrape up the residue from the browned meat.  Add the liquid from the deglazed fry pan to the primary cooking vessel.  If you want to just do it all in the primary cooking vessel then just ignore the comments related to the second pan.
7. Add the browned onions, meat, tomato paste, and remaining marinade liquid to the cooking vessel.  Bring to a bare simmer, cover, and cook for an hour.  Season with salt and pepper to taste.
8. Add the marrow bones, bacon, tomatoes, and carrots, stirring to distribute all the ingredients and have the marrow bones fully covered by the liquid.  Return to a bare simmer and cook, covered, for at least 2 hours.  Check the tenderness of the meat and simmer for another hour or so if needed to make the meat fully tender. 
9. Let cool and then refrigerate overnight.
10. Remove the cooking vessel from the refrigerator and skim the fat off the top.  This is important to let the full richness of the slow cooked beef stand out without being clogged by the fat.  Slowly bring the daube to a simmer, covered.  Remove the marrow bones and the onion halves with the cloves and add the black olives and orange zest.  If you want you can pull out the cloves, and slice the cooked onion up and put it back in the pot. 
11. Simmer for at least 2 hours before serving.  Leave the cover off if you want to reduce the liquid a little but you want lots of liquid in each serving so don not reduce it too much.  The daube can sit for several hours at low heat before serving and only get a little richer in taste.  Should be at a full simmer before serving.
12. Serve over some pasta in a bowl with a slice of crusty artisan bread.
13. Any full bodied red wine like a Zinfandel or Shiraz would be good with the daube but a rich Cote du Rhone like a Gigondas or Chateauneuf-du-Pape would be ideal since the marinade was done with a Cote du Rhone wine and having the wine you drink consistent with the entre is always good.