Pot-au-Feu. Heritage recipe

Made from a recipe I found in the book La Cuisinière de la Campagne et de la Ville, this staple in French cuisine (with so many variations) is not only healthy (the collagen there is in unbelievable amounts) but also very, very intense and tasty. The stock made like this is incredibly flavorful, full of richness, and utterly delicious.

1 kg of beef meat
500 g beef bones
500 g beef shank
5 l water
sea salt to taste (in the book, it says "handful")
2 large onions pricked with 8 cloves each
2 bay leaves
2 large garlic cloves
6 large carrots, peeled
6 small turnips
5 small leeks (white part)
10 sprigs parsley
5 sprigs thyme
1 tsp black peppercorns


Put the meat in a large kettle and cover with water. Heat on medium-high heat (not high) to warm. When the water gets hot, a foam (scum) will start floating on top. Ladle it off and discard. When you’ve removed all the foam (this will take some time), and the water is clear, add everything else except the pepper. Wait again, because sometimes this also "produces" more foam. If that’s the case, ladle it off. Only when the water is clear, add the peppercorns (if you add them earlier, you’ll lose most of them while skimming off the foam). Cover, leaving it partly open, and simmer on low heat for 4 hours without touching. The less you disturb the meat, bones, and stock, the clearer it will be.

When ready, serve. There are two ways to do it. In the book, it says to place all the meat and vegetables on a serving plate and add crispy bread to a soup terrine, then pour over the stock and serve right away. The other way is to place the meat, vegetables, and stock in a soup terrine and serve. I prefer the second method, but both are good.