Boeuf en Daube

One might wonder what do these three words mean. I, for example, thought it was a city or village this dish comes from, yet, only after making this dish and writing the recipe did I realise that it is another name for beef casserole since daube means stew. Until the 20th century, it was common to have many kinds of daube dishes named the same way, yet only sometime in the 20th century, this stuck more with the beef dishes, and all the other types of meat got their own titles.


marinade:
700 g beef, cut into pieces
400 ml wine
1 stalk of celery
1 small onion, peeled
3 garlic cloves, peeled and crushed
4 cloves

next step:
200 ml mild extra virgin olive oil
450 g pig trotter
600 ml beef or vegetable, or chicken stock
1 rosemary sprig
6 parsley sprigs
sea salt to taste
freshly ground black pepper

to finish:
20 g caramelised butter
20 g all-purpose wheat flour


About 24 hours before cooking or, if no time, a few hours before cooking, place all of the marinade ingredients in a bowl, cover, and let them marinate. If you are doing it for 24 hours, then place it in the fridge. If just for 2-3 hours and there is a decent temperature in the kitchen, leave outside.

When ready to cook, take out and pat dry the meat pieces. Heat oil in a casserole dish and fry the meat from all sides until a bit golden. If your casserole is small, do it in batches, lifting the ready ones out before adding the next.

When the entire meat has been browned, place the meat in the casserole. Add trotter, stock, marinade, rosemary, parsley, as well as salt and pepper. Boil on high heat until it starts to bubble, leaving it to bubble for a minute or two. Lower the heat, cover, and simmer on the stove for 3 h or in the oven (170 degrees).

About 15 minutes before the end of the cooking time, add small carrots and leave to simmer. When ready, lift out the meat and carrots and keep them warm.

Strain the liquid, saving it. Pour it back into the casserole and boil on the highest heat until reduced by 2/3.

In the meantime, in a small pan, on medium-high heat, melt the butter, and when melted, add flour and mix it until it starts to get a bit browner and smells of nuts. At that moment, add one ladle of cooking liquid and mix in, so there are no lumps. Then, only then, add another ladle. When you have a thick cream consistency, it is ready. Now wait until the liquid in the casserole has reduced, add the sauce you just made, and boil for additional 1-2 minutes. Add back the meat and carrots and warm for 1–2 minutes. Serve.