Authority: PROFOUND TECHNOLOGIES Issued at: CHESTER SPRINGS P<JOHN<DOE<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<< CHESTERSRPINGS<<<USA<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<
Name: JOHN/JANE Last Name: DOE Place of Birth: EARTH Gender: YUP Date Issued: TODAY
2.5 hours from start
Traditional Classic French Dish of an intensely beefy flavor but extremely tender beef and veggies.
Serve over Mashed potatoes or Roasted Potatoes and a nice French Bread, with GOOD French or Irish Butter. (Good Fat = Good Flavor)
Materials needed for cooking: Dutch Oven type Pot, Wood Spoon, Large Spoon, Whisk, strainer. This dish will be MOST successful in a Dutch oven. If you don’t have one, you can get something reasonably priced at stores like Home Goods or Marshals. If you want the best, look for Staub or Le Cruset.
You will do some of your prep on the stovetop and then transition your covered pan/dutch oven into the oven to bake for hours to get super tender and intensify the flavors. Time needed: 2 hours prep, 3-4 hours cook. Will feed 6-8 people.
Rules to live by…you cannot mess up so have fun cooking. Taste your broth along the way, and always season every step(as defined below) lightly with salt/ pepper. Salt helps allow things like the veggies to break down and cook, but also it builds flavor along the way. Don’t Skip these steps. The BROWNING of the meat and the Brown bits that build up on the Pan are part of what builds flavor. The Flour throughout will act as a method to create flavor by capturing Beef and Veggies to make flavor, but it will as well Thicken the sauce. Prep ahead will make your job easier at the time of cooking(Cutting Veggies, etc) Marinating the meat will add a depth of flavor if you have the time. (24 hours is best)
. 8 slices of bacon, roughly chopped . 3 pounds (1 1/2 kg) beef brisket, trimmed of fat (Brisket, chuck steak or stewing beef work too) cut into . 2-inch chunks (Brisket recommended)
. 2 large carrots peeled and roughly cut into 2” long pieces
. 1 large white onion, diced
. 6 cloves garlic, whole (peeled and left whole)
. 2 tsp of coarse {FRENCH} sea salt and freshly ground pepper and to taste at end
. ¼ cup flour
. 35 small pearl onions-skins removed -fresh, jarred, or frozen (Seasonal, frozen works)
. 750ml (Bottle) red wine like Bordeaux, Pinot Noir, Chianti, or Merlot(in that order)
. 3 cups of Low Sodium beef stock
. 2-3 Medium Roma Tomatoes cut in 8’s.
. 3 tablespoons tomato paste
. 1 pack of More than Gourmet Beef or Veal Demi. (beef bouillon cubes if you can’t find)
. 2 teaspoons (large bunch) fresh thyme, finely chopped
(Substitute with Herbs De Provence in recipe)
. 2 tablespoons fresh parsley, finely chopped (For Finishing)
. 2 bay leaves
. 1 pound fresh small white or brown mushrooms, quartered
. 4 tsp of butter
. 2 tsp cornstarch(ONLY if needed)
. 2 oz of quality dark chocolate Bar or Pieces (Optional)
1. Trim the excess fat (Optional) from the Beef of choice and make sure it is cubed in 1.5”-2” square chunks.
2. 4-24 hours in advance, place Onion, Cubed Beef and Carrots, Bay Leaves, Herbs De Provence, and Garlic in a large bowl and cover with wine, let marinate for as long as you can. (You can keep on the counter if marinating for 4 hrs, more than that, place in the fridge overnight.
3. When ready to start cooking, strain wine from the bowl and set aside then dry off beef with paper towels, and let sit out to air dry till needed.
4. Preheat your oven to 325F degrees, and be sure to make sure your shelves are set up to accommodate the Dutch oven (with lid on) on the shelf.
5. On a stovetop, in a large Dutch oven, cook the diced bacon over medium heat to render the fat and cook the bacon.
6. In a Bowl, put DRY cubed meat, and Mix in 4 tablespoons of flour, 2 tsp sea salt, and pepper. Mix. This should coat the meat. (Add more flour if needed)
7. Remove the bacon when crispy and set aside for finish when serving.
8. In small batches of approx 15-18 pieces at most (Depending on the bottom surface area of your pan), Brown the cubed beef slices on ALL sides - using tongs flip each piece to all sides, and when all sides are browned remove and set aside in a clean bowl (to capture any liquids that may leach out. You don’t
want to crowd the pan, 1/2;” apart per piece.
9. Continue to cook the remaining beef pieces till all are browned. Add more Olive oil if needed.
10. The pan WILL get brown bits all over it, that is part of this recipe. Don’t let it BURN, but allow it to cook. This is called the FOND. it will come off once you put in the Wine. DO NOT CLEAN THE PAN BETWEEN COOKING items, it will build up flavors.
11. In the empty pan, (temp-high) add the marinated veggies ( Carrots, Diced Onion, Garlic, etc), and diced tomatoes, Season lightly with Salt and pepper, cook for approx 7-8 minutes until the veggies are softened, mixing periodically.
12. Add tomato paste and mix to cook for 3-4 min
13. Add the browned beef back into the pan and mix
14. Pour in the reserved (Marinate) wine that you set aside. (750ml of Red Wine) and mix. With a wooden spoon to scrape the FOND off the bottom & let boil for 20 min.
15. While Red wine is cooking down, Add the More than Gourmet or Beef Bullion in.
16. After the wine has cooked for 20 min, (it should have cooked off the alcohol and reduced by approx 1/2), add 2-3 cups of low-sodium Beef Stock and mix and bring back mix to boil.
17. WITH Oven Mits, Place ENTIRE pan with Lid on to the Oven. (This will be Heavy at this point)
18. Cook in Oven for 3.5-4.0 hours, (thoroughly mixing every 30 min)
19. Prep Potatoes of your choice (I recommend Buttery Garlic Mashed)
20. Prep the Pearl Onions by trimming skin from the outside and place in a buttered saute pan, add 1/2 cup of water and 5 tsp of sugar, simmer for 20 min covered to soften, then remove lid and mix carefully as the water dissolves and they start to brown and glaze, pay close attention to stirring them towards the end as they will burn easy. Removing from Pan when done(Or it will continue to burn). Should be golden brown and glazed with syrup.
21. At 3 hour min from the start of the cook, place 1 tsp of butter and olive oil in a saute pan on high heat, add mushrooms and season with salt and cook Mushrooms to get some color on them. Will take approx 10-15 min. When done set aside in a bowl.
22. After 3 hours, open oven, remove a piece of beef and check for beef done-ness (Should pull it apart with a fork). If not done, continue.
23. As well, as taste for salt level and add as needed.
24. Add the Chocolate and gently mix in.
25. Be careful at this point not to mix TOO aggressively, so you do not break apart the meat.
26. At this point, you can evaluate if the broth is too thin or too thick. You are looking for it to coat the back of a spoon with a gloss of broth when dipped. If too thick, add some additional Beef broth (Not likely). If too THIN, you can mix 2 tsp of cornstarch into 2 tsp of softened butter, add 1 tsp at a time, and whisk into the broth. This will both thicken the broth and add a Glossy-ness. Be careful, AS the mix heats up, it will react with the cornstarch and thicken, don’t add too much. *If thick enough, but you need a gloss, just whisk in the butter ONLY.
27. Scoop Potatoes and Serving of Beef, Broth and veggies on each plate/bowl. Add 8-10 Glazed onions, sprinkle bacon and mushrooms, and fresh chopped parsley to the TOP of the dish when serving.
28. I like to serve with a soft French bread and GOOD quality Butter.
