Beef Carrot Daube

French cops who investigate crimes committed by other cops are nicknamed les boeuf-carottes [beef-carrot], because "When they catch you, they let you simmer forever", as a corrupt cop explains in the movie Les Ripoux. An apt comparison indeed, as this dish, one of the many daubes, used to be left in the hearth to simmer for an entire day. Nowadays, one can prepare amazing daubes in modern eletric ovens. Just lute (seal) your Dutch oven's lid and cook it in the oven for 4 hours slightly above water's boiling point. Let me show you how to prepare this French classic properly.

Daube de beu saintongeaise
Braised beef with carrots
1.5kg beef blade, chuck or arm clod
2kg carrots
20 shallots
200gr bacon
200gr butter
half a bottle red wine
1 glass cognac
1 calf's foot
1 bouquet garni (sage, parsley, thyme)

The proper way to prepare lardons (bacon sticks) like a French chef is to put them in a saucepan, cover with water and slowly bring to the boil. I confess I don't remember why exactly that is done but the explanation was very convincing, something about this process ridding the lardons of a substance that would contaminate the sauce. It only takes a couple minutes and as you'll see below, we will get all the taste we want from those lardons by frying them.

Ah those lovely piggy trotters. Every ham you have ever bought in your life came with a trotter attached, but nobody buys them anymore. Same for calfs' feet (picture). Just ask for your butcher and they'll give them for free and tell their wife at night some guy actually asked for one. The trotters bring gelatin to the sauce. Ask the butcher to cut the trotters in half lengthwise and boil it in hot water for a couple minutes.

Wash a clean cotton cloth under water until it does not reek of washing powder any longer. We'll use this bag to tie every flavoring ingredient that's not eaten - sprigs of thyme, peppercorns, cloves, bay leaves, sage leaves, parsley and the blanched trotters.

This is much more elegant than having to fish them out before serving. There is much poetry in this bag and the evanescence of the ingredients who contribute to the show but are never seen by the guests.

Braised dishes make use of lesser cuts which are very affordable. The long braising in my black cauldron turns these mundane cuts into delicious morsels like an alchemist who puts lead into his athanor and through a long process transforms it into gold. For this daube use beef blade, chuck or arm clod. Cut into large cubes.

Sauté in a large pan with a little oil until browned all over. Reserve.

In a very large ovenproof pot sauté the blanched bacon and add the peeled shallots.

Add the reserved meat.

Peel the carrots and slice them 1.5cm thick.

Mix well.

In a small saucepan heat the red wine and cognac until it boils, then light it up with a match. The alcohol will burn with a blue flame. It may sound like defeating the purpose of adding cognac and good wine, but in fact alcohol has a strong taste that would ruin the delicate balance of flavors in the pot. It is best burnt off.

Place the cotton bag in the center of the dish and pour the wine over.

Add enough broth so as to almost cover the meat.

This dish will cook for nearly 4 hours. If the pot was leaking, much of the aromatic molecules we have taken so long to prepare would escape, leaving a lessened dish. We need to guarantee that as little as possible will escape. The traditional solution is to lute the pot. This is a magical moment. Just mix a little flour with just enough water to obtain a thick paste.

Roll the past with your hands to as to obtain a long snake, and cover the edges of your pot with the dough. As it heats up, the dough will form an impenetrable seal that will trap the flavor in the pot. A hundred years ago cooks used large square copper pots called braisière with a tight fitting lid. These pots where placed in the fireplace and left to cook for half a day in the hot embers...

... but with today's oven this is no longer necessary. Just place your luted pot into the oven and cook for 4 hours at 120C° (just above water's boiling point).

That's it. Now the alchemist opens up his crucible to see how care and slow cooking transformed cheap beef cuts into a dish fit for a king.

We remove the sack and set it aside. Nobody will see that yet everybody will taste and smell the spices that were int the sack. (Take a peek inside).

This dish is best served with potato purée, a very simple dish to make. Unless you are a character from Lost or live in a bunker, there is just no excuse for using dehydrated purée. Just wash waxy potatoes and boil them unpeeled in salter water until a knife can easily pierce them - about 30 minutes. Peel your potatoes (my fingertips prefer I do this under running water), crush them and mix with a little milk and butter.

Braised dishes such as chili con carne, boeuf bourguignon or this delicious daube are often better when reheated the next day. The meat becomes even softer and gorges itself of the sauce's flavor. The home chef new to piggy trotters is in for a surprise when he opens the fridge the next day and discover his sauce totally jellyfied. But no alarm, after a few seconds of heating its takes back its liquid consistance. Here I let the sauce reduce a little, then thickened it with a beurre manié (butter mixed with a little flour) and a drop of cream.

Most people in France in a home setting will want to make a little mound of potato purée in their plate and make a hole on the top to put the sauce inside like lake or little volcano.

This is the top of French confort food. If you do this for yourself or happen to reheat some a couple days later, feel free to eat it with a spoon. No need to bother with forks or knives if you're alone. I ate this 4 nights in a row and it kept getting better every night!