Pièce de Bœuf à la Noailles

Ingredients

Equipment Needed

• •Heavy 5-quart (4.7-liter) cocotte with lid
• •6 mm metal skewer and narrow wooden spoon handle for larding
• •Kitchen twine
• •Fine-disk food mill or sturdy fine-mesh sieve
• •2-quart (1.9-liter) oval broiler-safe gratin dish
• •Sharp slicing knife

Instructions

1. 1

   Lard and tie

   Set the beef lengthwise on the board. Push a clean 6 mm metal skewer through the roast from one end to the other, working parallel to the grain, then widen the tunnel gently with the handle of a narrow wooden spoon. Feed in a chilled baton of fatback and withdraw the skewer, leaving the fat inside. Repeat at even intervals until six batons run through the meat, then tie the roast compactly with kitchen twine. If a strip buckles or breaks, chill it again and reopen the tunnel from the opposite end. Ça se rattrape.

2. 2

   Marinate the beef

   Combine the Cooked Marinade for Venison (No. 168), red wine, and brandy in a snug nonreactive dish. Turn the beef through the liquid, cover, and refrigerate for 1 hour, turning once; for advance preparation, it may remain there for up to 12 hours. Remove the beef and reserve every drop of marinade for the braise. Pat the meat thoroughly dry, then season it with 1½ teaspoons of the salt and all the pepper. A wet roast will simmer against the pot instead of browning.

3. 3

   Brown and moisten

   Heat the oven to 300°F (150°C). Melt 2 tablespoons (30 ml / 28 g) of the butter in a heavy cocotte over medium-high heat. When its foam subsides, add the beef and brown every surface slowly and evenly, including the ends, for 10 to 12 minutes. Aim for deep bronze, not black. If the butter scorches before the beef is ready, lift out the meat, wipe away the blackened fat without scouring off the sound brown glaze, and continue with a spoonful of fresh butter. Return the beef, pour in the reserved red-wine, brandy, and Cooked Marinade for Venison (No. 168) mixture, then add the equal quantity of veal stock. Scrape the pot floor until the fond dissolves into the liquid.

   The browned film on the pot is the foundation of the Soubise. Black is bitter, but a dark hazelnut glaze is exactly right.
4. 4

   Begin the braise

   Bring the liquid just to a simmer, cover the cocotte, and place it in the oven. Braise for 1 hour and 15 minutes, turning the beef after 40 minutes. The liquid should barely tremble. If it boils hard, lower the oven to 275°F (135°C); a quiet braise keeps the meat succulent and sliceable.

5. 5

   Soften the onions

   While the beef completes its first stage, melt 3 tablespoons (45 ml / 42 g) of the butter in a wide pan over medium-low heat. Add the minced onions and the remaining ½ teaspoon salt. Toss them in the butter for 20 to 25 minutes, stirring frequently, until they collapse into a soft, glossy mass without browning. If their edges colour, lower the heat and add a spoonful of the braising liquid. Soubise wants sweetness from patient cooking, not caramel.

6. 6

   Add onions and rice

   Remove the cocotte from the oven and arrange the buttered onions around the half-cooked beef. Sprinkle the uncooked rice evenly through the onions, pressing it beneath the liquid without piling it over the meat. Cover and return the cocotte to the oven for 1 hour and 15 minutes to 1 hour and 40 minutes. Turn the beef once and stir only the onions around it. The meat is ready when a thin skewer enters with little resistance but the piece still holds firmly enough to slice; the rice should be completely tender and beginning to dissolve. If the pot dries before that point, add hot veal stock ¼ cup (60 ml / 60 g) at a time.

7. 7

   Pass the Soubise

   Lift the beef onto a board, cover it loosely, and rest it for 20 minutes. Pour the onions, rice, and all the braising liquid through the fine disk of a food mill, or press them patiently through a sturdy fine-mesh sieve. Return this Soubise to the cocotte and reduce it over medium heat for 5 to 10 minutes, stirring across the bottom, until it falls from the spoon in a thick ribbon. If it becomes pasty, whisk in hot veal stock one spoonful at a time; if it remains thin, keep reducing. If coarse onion fibres remain, pass it once more. Cooking well is not cooking fancy, but the smoothness matters here.

   Avoid running the rice at high speed in a blender. The starch can turn gluey; a food mill or sieve gives a softer, more graceful purée.
8. 8

   Slice and rebuild

   Remove the twine and trim away only loose exterior fat or ragged edges. Cut the beef across the grain into even slices about ⅜ inch (1 cm) thick. Spread a shallow bed of Soubise in a broiler-safe oval gratin dish, then reconstruct the roast in order, spooning about 1 tablespoon (15 ml / 18 g) of Soubise between each slice. Cover the top and sides with the remaining purée. Keep the slices touching so the finished piece reads as a roast brought whole to the table, not separate portions.

9. 9

   Form the gratin

   Melt 1 tablespoon (15 ml / 14 g) of the butter in a small pan, add the bread crumbs, and toss until they are butter-gold and crisp at the edges. Sprinkle them evenly over the Soubise, then melt the final tablespoon of butter and spoon it across the surface. Apply Gratins (No. 268) as a Rapid Gratin: place the dish about 6 inches (15 cm) beneath a fully heated broiler for 3 to 5 minutes, rotating once, until the crust is deep gold and the sauce bubbles at the rim. If the crumbs darken too quickly, lower the dish one rack and let the centre catch up. Rest for 5 minutes, then serve directly from the gratin dish. À table!

Chef Tips

• •Use unsmoked fatback, not bacon. Bacon brings smoke and cure that the source never asked for; fatback melts quietly through the beef and keeps the larded slices succulent.
• •Choose a compact chuck-eye or well-marbled shoulder roast. A very lean round looks neat but dries before its connective tissue softens, while a loosely cut chuck may fall apart before you can reconstruct it.
• •The prepared veal stock must carry some natural gelatin. If yours pours like water when cold, reduce it before measuring, or dilute a good commercial veal demi-glace according to its directions. The rice thickens the Soubise, but stock gives it body and savour.
• •Serve a dry, structured red with enough acidity to meet the onions and braising wine. Use the same style in the pot, but save the more distinguished bottle for the glasses.
• •Leftovers keep refrigerated for up to 3 days. Reheat them covered at 300°F (150°C) with a spoonful of veal stock around the edge, then uncover briefly to restore the crust.

Advance Preparation

• •Prepare and cool the Cooked Marinade for Venison (No. 168) separately before beginning this recipe. The beef may be larded and refrigerated in its combined marinade for up to 12 hours.
• •The braise can be completed and the Soubise passed up to 24 hours ahead. Refrigerate the beef and purée separately, then warm both gently before slicing, reconstructing, and applying Gratins (No. 268).
• •The bread crumbs may be fried in butter several hours ahead and held at room temperature. Add them only before the rapid gratin so they remain crisp.

Frequently Asked Questions

Nutrition Information

1 serving (about 440g)