Pièce de Bœuf à la Bourguignonne

Ingredients

Equipment Needed

• •5 to 6-quart snug oval cocotte or Dutch oven
• •Narrow boning or paring knife
• •Clean chopstick or metal skewer for larding
• •12-inch heavy skillet
• •Fine-mesh sieve
• •Pastry brush
• •Kitchen twine

Instructions

1. 1

   Lard the Beef

   Toss the chilled fatback batons with the parsley, nutmeg, ¼ teaspoon of the pepper, and 1 tablespoon of the brandy. With a narrow knife, make eight evenly spaced tunnels from alternating ends of the beef, running parallel to the grain. Widen each gently with a clean chopstick or metal skewer, then push in a fat baton. This replaces the larding needle without changing its purpose: the lean roast receives fat through its centre rather than merely wearing it on top. Retie the beef if its shape has loosened.

2. 2

   Marinate Three Hours

   Season the larded beef with 2 teaspoons of the salt and another ¼ teaspoon of pepper. Place it in a snug nonreactive dish with the wine and remaining brandy. Follow the cold handling set out in Cooked Marinade for Venison (No. 168): the liquid and vessel stay refrigerated, and the meat is turned several times. For this entry, keep the specified red-wine and brandy marinade and stop at exactly three hours. Longer marinating can give the surface a cured, slightly chalky texture.

3. 3

   Brown to Mahogany

   Lift the beef from the marinade and let it drain for 30 minutes, reserving every drop of liquid. Pat the meat completely dry. Heat the clarified butter in a snug 5 to 6-quart cocotte over medium-high heat, then brown the beef on every face until it is deep mahogany and the pot floor carries a rich brown fond. Work patiently and turn only when the meat releases. If the fond races toward black, pull the pot from the heat and loosen it immediately with a spoonful of reserved marinade. Ça se rattrape before it burns; black fond is bitter and must be wiped away.

   Dry meat browns. Wet meat boils in its own marinade, and no amount of later reduction can replace the missing fond.
4. 4

   Build the Braising Liquor

   Transfer the browned beef to a plate. Lower the heat, add the carrot and yellow onion, and cook them in the remaining fat until coloured on several surfaces without scorching. Pour in the reserved marinade, scrape the fond from the pot, and boil briskly until the liquid is reduced to a syrupy glaze. This is Ordinary Braisings (No. 247) brought down to home scale. Add the bouquet garni, mushroom parings, 3 cups of the veal gravy, and the Espagnole sauce. If the stock is loose rather than gelatinous, bloom the optional gelatin in a little cold stock and whisk it in. Return the beef and bring the liquor to a full boil, skimming any grey foam. In this snug pot the liquid should reach the top of the meat; add a little reserved stock only if needed.

5. 5

   Braise the First Phase

   Cover the cocotte and place it in a 300°F / 150°C oven. Hold the sauce at the barest tremble for about 1 hour 45 minutes, turning and basting the beef every 30 minutes. The first phase is complete when a narrow knife enters the outer portion readily but still meets definite resistance near the centre. Do not wait for full tenderness yet, because the meat must finish among its garnish.

6. 6

   Prepare the Garnish

   While the beef braises, prepare the three garnishes separately. Treat the bacon according to Blanchings (No. 273), then drain and dry it thoroughly before tossing it in 1 tablespoon of butter until its edges colour. Sauté the mushrooms in 2 tablespoons of butter over high heat until browned and dry at the edges. Put the pearl onions in a small pan with 2 tablespoons of butter, the sugar, a pinch of the remaining salt, and enough reserved stock to come halfway up their sides; cover and cook gently until half-tender, then uncover and roll them through the reducing butter until glossy. Keep everything separate until the sauce has been strained.

   Crowded mushrooms shed water and turn grey. Brown them in two batches if your pan cannot hold them in one loose layer.
7. 7

   Finish the Braise

   Lift the beef onto a plate and discard the bouquet garni. Strain the braising liquor through a fine sieve without forcing the spent vegetables through, then skim the surface fat. The old service transferred everything to a second clean saucepan; wipe the cocotte and reuse it. Set the beef back inside, arrange the mushrooms, lardons, and onions around it, and pour over the strained sauce. Cover and return to the oven for 45 to 60 minutes, basting every 15 minutes, until a knife passes through the centre with almost no resistance. If the meat becomes tender before the sauce is ready, lift it out. Never dry the beef merely to save the sauce; the sauce can finish alone.

8. 8

   Glaze the Beef

   Transfer the beef to a rimmed heatproof platter. Raise the oven to 450°F / 230°C or heat the broiler, the home equivalent of a salamander's concentrated top heat. Brush the meat with a thin coat of sauce and expose it to the heat for about 2 minutes, just until the coating adheres and shines. Repeat two or three times, watching closely so the glaze darkens without burning. Rest the finished beef for 10 minutes.

9. 9

   Reduce and Serve

   Lift the garnish into a warm serving dish with a slotted spoon. Boil the sauce briskly until it coats the back of a spoon in a glossy, wine-dark layer. If it is thin, keep reducing; if it tightens too far, loosen it with a spoonful of reserved stock. If fat gathers at the edges, let the sauce settle for a minute and skim it rather than whisking the grease back in. Taste for salt and pepper. Set the glazed beef whole among the mushrooms, lardons, and onions, pour over enough sauce to make everything gleam, and serve the rest alongside. Carve across the grain at the table. À table!

Chef Tips

• •Choose top round or a compact rump roast because the finished piece must remain sliceable. Chuck is more forgiving, but it already carries abundant internal fat and tends to separate into strands, which changes the purpose of the larding and the final service.
• •Ask the butcher for unsmoked fatback cut into long batons. If only salt pork is available, blanch a small piece, taste it, and reduce the seasoning accordingly. The inserted fat should enrich the meat, not leave salty white seams.
• •Use a dry red Burgundy with fresh acidity and little obvious oak. The wine reduces almost to a glaze before the stock enters, so harsh bitterness or sweetness becomes more pronounced, not less.
• •The old stockpot supplied both flavour and gelatin. If your veal stock does not set softly when chilled, the optional gelatin restores its body without changing its taste. Wateriness is the problem, not modest sourcing.
• •Prepare the Espagnole sauce before the beef goes into its marinade. It keeps well and freezes neatly in small portions, which is how one home cook replaces the saucier who once kept it ready.
• •Serve with pommes purée, buttered noodles, or plain boiled potatoes to collect the sauce. Pour the same style of red Burgundy used in the pot, and don't clutter the table with another elaborate side.

Advance Preparation

• •The Espagnole sauce and veal gravy can be prepared up to two days ahead and kept refrigerated. Warm them before they enter the braising pot so the cooking does not stall.
• •The completed braise can be cooled in its strained sauce and refrigerated for one day. Reheat it covered at a bare simmer, then lift and glaze the beef immediately before serving.
• •Keep the book's three-hour marinade rather than leaving the roast overnight. You may lard and tie the beef earlier the same day, but add the wine and brandy only when the three-hour clock can begin.

Frequently Asked Questions

Nutrition Information

1 serving (about 630g)