Émincé de Bœuf

Ingredients

Equipment Needed

• •Very sharp 20 to 25 cm carving or slicing knife
• •1.5 litre saucepan
• •1.5 to 2 litre shallow heatproof serving dish with a lid or second platter
• •Flexible heatproof spatula

Instructions

1. 1

   Slice the Beef Thinly

   Keep the beef cold while you cut it, because firm meat gives cleaner slices. With a long, very sharp knife, slice directly across the grain into pieces 1 to 2 mm thick, as close to translucent as the cut permits. Use long strokes rather than sawing, and keep the slices loose instead of compressing them into a stack. Spread them on a plate, cover lightly, and let them lose the hardest refrigerator chill for no more than 20 minutes while you ready the sauce.

   If the beef bends and tears beneath the knife, return it to the cold for 10 minutes. Thinness is not decoration here; it lets the sauce warm the meat before its own heat fades.
2. 2

   Begin Heating the Sauce

   Put the chosen finished Bordelaise, Piquante, Italienne, Chasseur, Poivrade, Périgueux, or Tomato sauce into a 1.5 litre saucepan. Warm it over medium-low heat, stirring along the base and corners, until it moves in slow waves and begins trembling at the edge. The sauce is already a finished preparation, so do not rebuild or season it casually here; this entry uses it whole, exactly as the classical kitchen did.

3. 3

   Warm the Serving Dish

   Fill a shallow heatproof serving dish with the hottest water available and leave it for 5 minutes. Empty and dry it thoroughly just before arranging the meat. This warmed dish is the home kitchen's service line: it keeps the sauce from surrendering its heat to cold porcelain before it reaches the beef.

4. 4

   Boil the Sauce

   Raise the heat beneath the sauce and bring it to a full boil for 15 seconds, stirring constantly. It must flow readily enough to reach every slice. If reduction has made it too tight, whisk in the hot water a teaspoonful at a time, using no more than 2 tablespoons, then return it to the boil. Only the sauce boils. Remove the saucepan from the heat immediately.

5. 5

   Cover the Beef

   Overlap the beef loosely in the warmed dish, using two shallow layers rather than a dense heap. Immediately pour the boiling sauce across the entire surface, nudging the slices apart with a flexible spatula so the sauce runs between them. Cover with a warmed lid or inverted platter and leave undisturbed for 3 to 5 minutes. Do not place the dish over heat. If the beef has accidentally gone into the saucepan and you see the first bubble, lift it out at once. Ça se rattrape: arrange it in the warm dish, boil the sauce alone, and pour again. Continued simmering is what toughens the meat.

6. 6

   Check and Serve

   Lift a slice from the centre and touch it with the back of a clean finger; it should be thoroughly warm, supple, and coated in glossy sauce. If the centre is still cool, hold the beef back with the spatula and carefully tip only the sauce into the saucepan. Boil it again for 15 seconds, pour it back over the meat, and cover for another 2 minutes. Serve immediately, while the sauce still gleams and the slices remain tender. À table!

Chef Tips

• •Use a coherent piece of cold roast beef or firm, tender beef lifted from a pot-au-feu. A braise already collapsing into threads won't make an émincé; give that meat to a hachis Parmentier instead. Change the plan, not the standard.
• •Piquante makes the sharpest budget-friendly weeknight supper, while Tomato is softer and particularly good with boiled beef. Bordelaise and Périgueux bring richer pantries to the same method. The source permits all seven sauces, but you need only one.
• •The sauce must be fully finished before this recipe begins. That separation is deliberate: the old kitchen kept its sauce formulas intact, and folding one of them into this entry would obscure the very system the canon is teaching.
• •Use beef that was cooled promptly, kept well chilled, and cooked no more than three days earlier. Once warmed beneath the sauce, serve it at once rather than holding the dish lukewarm.
• •With Piquante or Tomato sauce, pour a light, brisk Beaujolais. Bordelaise naturally welcomes a red Bordeaux. Let the sauce choose the bottle; c'est la même grammaire.

Advance Preparation

• •The beef must be fully cooked and chilled before this recipe begins. Keep it whole and tightly covered for up to three days, then slice shortly before serving; exposed slices dry quickly.
• •Prepare the chosen finished sauce according to its own entry up to two days ahead and keep it chilled. Reheat it gently at first, taking it to a full boil only when the warmed dish and sliced beef are ready.
• •Do not arrange the beef in the warmed serving dish early. The dish will cool, defeating the careful off-heat warming on which the recipe depends.

Frequently Asked Questions

Nutrition Information

1 serving (about 305g)