Beef cheeks/ Daube de joue de boeuf

Tags

Beef, beef cheeks, cheeks, comfort food, daube, joue de boeuf, Pasta, stew

When it is cold and grey and wet outside, there is nothing better than a hearty stew cooking for several hours in wine and infusing your kitchen with the most tantalizing aromas. Now, you could do a Boeuf Bourgignon but you could also try something different – tender, melt in the mouth morsels of succulent meat bathed in a rich, deep sauce and served with pasta. Perfect.

Serves 6

Ingredients:

1.2kg / 2 1/2 lbs beef cheeks (about 3 cheeks)
5 carrots, peeled and chopped
1 branch of celery, finely chopped
1 leek, finely chopped
2 shallots, finely chopped
2 cloves garlic, crushed
1 bouquet garni
grated zest of 1 lemon and 1 orange
1 bottle of red wine
Salt and freshly ground black pepper
60g / 4 tablespoons butter
15ml / 1 tablespoon olive oil
1/2 teaspoon piment d’Espelette
30g / 2 tablespoons flour
225g / 8oz chopped tomatoes
30g / 1oz good quality dark chocolate (at least 80%) , optional
1 to 2 cups beef stock (as needed)
Fresh parsley, chopped for garnish

Preparation:

Place the beef cheeks,, carrots, celery, leek, shallots, garlic, bouquet garni, lemon and orange zest and red wine in a large bowl and refrigerate for at least 4 to 6 hours, even overnight
Preheat the oven to 150C / 300F
Drain the meat and the vegetables, reserving the liquid
Pat dry the beef and season with salt and pepper and the piment
Melt the butter and oil in a large dutch oven , I use a Le Creuset, over medium heat
Add the meat and sear it, until browned on all sides, then leave to one side
Add the vegetables and cook for about 1 minute
Return the meat to the pan
Add the flour and cook for 2 minutes
Pour in the reserved wine from the marinade
Add the tomatoes
Grate in the chocolate if using
Pour in enough stock to just cover the meat and bring to the boil
Cover the dish and place in the oven for 4 hours, stirring once or twice
Remove from the oven and place on the stove top
Remove the cheeks from the dish, then place the dish over a high heat
Cook rapidly until the sauce reduces and thickens
Return the meat to the pan to warm it and coat with the sauce
Sprinkle with parsley
Serve with pappardelle or tagliatelle pasta
Enjoy!

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Melt in your mouth beef shin

Tags

Beef, beef shin, red wine, stew, Veal

 

Beef shin is one of the cheaper cuts of beef yet is without a doubt one of the favourites used in long, slow cooked dishes.Also known as the shank, this is a cut of beef taken from the lower leg of a steer. The shin is a highly worked muscle that is supported by high levels of connective tissue. This connective tissue is broken down through slow cooking over a low heat and results in a moist, tender meat with rich flavour.

This dish has very few ingredients and very few steps to it but the end result is an intensely tender and fragrant stew. No knife needed here, the meat can be eaten with a fork.

Serves 4 to 6

Ingredients:

2kg / 4lb 8oz shin of beef, bone in (ask your butcher to cut it into 3cm / 1¼in slices)
3 tablespoons flour
Salt and freshly ground black pepper
2 Tablespoons olive oil
2 to 3 Tablespoons butter
1 large onion, diced
4 cloves of garlic, crushed
4 medium carrots, peeled and cut into chunks
3 tablespoons tomato paste
1 1/2 bottles full-bodied red wine
1 bouquet garni

Preparation:

Preheat your oven to 160ºC/325ºF
In a heavy-bottomed ovenproof pot or dutch oven, heat some olive oil and 2 tablespoons butter over medium high heat
Put the flour on a plate and season with salt and pepper
Coat the beef in the seasoned flour and shake off any excess flour
Fry the beef, in batches, for 1 to 2 minutes on each side until browned all over
Set aside
Add the onions, garlic and carrots and sauté for a few minutes until softened
Stir in the tomato paste
Return the meat to the pan
Add the bouquet garni and the wine
Add salt and pepper
Gently bring to the boil, cover and place in your preheated oven for 3 hours or until the beef is meltingly tender and can be broken up with a spoon
Taste and check the seasoning, remove the bouquet garni and serve
Serve with a creamy mash or pasta
Enjoy!

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Boeuf Bourguignon

Tags

Beef, boeuf bourgignon, burgundy beef stew, classic french recipe, mushrooms, pearl onions, red wine

Boeuf Bourguignon – this is my trademark recipe, my go-to dinner recipe, my all time favourite dinner recipe. It is a stew of surpassing richness and complexity — a stew to impress a date, celebrate a winter birthday, or even serve for Christmas or New Year or just for yourself because you deserve it. The aroma alone — that deeply savory aroma of bacon, onions, slow-cooked beef, and red wine — is enough to make your eyes roll skyward and your knees go weak. Make boeuf bourguignon once and you’ll wonder why anyone ever bothers making anything else.

As the beef is combined with braised onions and sauteed mushrooms, all that is needed to complete your main course is a side of pasta or rice and lots of good bread for the sauce. The stew reheats well and is one of those dishes that tastes even better the second or third day.

Serves 4 to 6

Ingredients:

2 tablespoons butter

200 g / 8 oz lardons or smoked bacon, diced

1 kg / 2 lb chuck beef cut into 2.5 cm /  1-inch cubes

300 g / 10 oz small frozen pearl onions

3 garlic cloves, crushed

1/4 cup Cognac

600 ml / 1. 2 pints good dry red wine (preferably Burgundy or Côtes du Rhône)/ pinot noir

150 ml / 1/3 pint beef broth

1 tablespoon tomato paste

1 bouquet garni

2 tablespoons all-purpose flour

350 g / 12 oz  fresh mushrooms, cut into quarters

Salt and freshly ground black pepper

For serving:

Pappardelle pasta

1/2 cup chopped fresh parsley, optional

Preparation:

Preheat the oven to 160 C / 325 degrees F

Heat  1/2 the butter in a large Dutch oven

Add the lardons and cook over medium heat for 5 minutes, stirring occasionally, until the bacon is lightly browned

Remove the lardons with a slotted spoon

Add the onions to the pan and cook until golden brown

Remove with a slotted spoon to the same dish as the lardons

Add more butter if necessary and heat

Dry the beef cubes with paper towels

In batches in single layers, sear the beef in the butter for 3 to 5 minutes, turning to brown on all sides

Remove the seared cubes to a plate and continue searing until all the beef is browned

Return all the meat to the pan

Add the Cognac, stand back, and ignite with a match to burn off the alcohol

Add the garlic and the flour and cook for 1 minute

Return the lardons and onions to the pan

Add the red wine, tomato purée plus enough beef broth to almost cover the meat

Add the bouquet garni and pepper

Bring to a boil, while stirring

Cover the pot with a tight-fitting lid and place it in the oven for about 2 1/2  to 3 hours or until the meat and vegetables are very tender when pierced with a fork

About 30 minutes before the end of the cooking time add the mushrooms

Remove the bouquet garni

Can be prepared in advance and reheated for about 30 minutes at 180 C / 360 F

Serve with the pasta and sprinkle the parsley on the top just before serving

Enjoy!

Suggested wine pairing: A good Burgundy or Côte du Rhône