Here’s the traditional recipe for pot-au-feu, also known as “bouilli” in French (boiled) made with beef, salted lard and a ton of fresh vegetables.
It’s the perfect comfort recipe for enjoying the bounty of vegetable harvests at the market or coming from your own garden.
This recipe of boiled beef and vegetables is a family recipe, one we’ve been cooking for as long as I can remember, as our grandmothers and mothers used to prepare it.
The traditional beef and vegetable stew recipe also known as pot-au-feu or French stew
Ingredients
4 or 5 pound pieces of beef (bone-in blade roast, chuck or shank) *
A little olive oil to sear the meat
1 pound streaky salted lard
1 cabbage, cut in pieces
The white of a leek, cut in pieces lengthwise
1 turnip, cut into large pieces
5 potatoes
Green beans (tied into small bundles with butcher's twine)
2 large onions
A bay leaf
A sprig of thyme
2 - 3 Tbsp beef broth concentrate (ex Bovril)
Salt pepper
Instructions
In a large casserole, heat a little olive oil.
Season the beef cuts with salt and pepper.
When the oil is hot, sear the pieces of meat (except the lard) on both sides.
When the meat is nicely colored, set aside.
Turn down the heat. Pour a little water in the casserole and scrape with a wooden utensil to remove the juices.
Put back the pieces of meat, the salted lard and cover with water.
Add 2 Tbsp of beef stock concentrate to the pot.
Bring to a boil, turn down the heat and simmer for 2 hours (see note **). During this time, skim the broth a few times.
Add the vegetables, thyme and bay leaf. Add salt and pepper. Cover and simmer for another 2 hours. After one hour, adjust the seasoning and add the remaining tablespoon of beef stock concentrate if needed.
Notes
* Choose a variety of beef cuts, some fatty and some gelatinous. A piece with a marrow bone will also add a lot of taste to the broth.
** For a healthier version, you can do this step the day before. Reserve the meat, strain the broth to remove impurities and refrigerate. The next day, degrease the broth before reheating it and putting the meat back in and continuing with step 9.
Serve with marinated beets and a loaf of bread to dip in the broth.
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Directions. In a large stockpot or Dutch oven, combine beef chuck, shank, short ribs, oxtail, thyme, onion, garlic, celery, peppercorns, and bay leaf. Top with enough cold water to just cover and season with a very generous pinch of salt. Bring to a simmer, then lower heat to maintain a very gentle simmer.
Pot-au-feu is the national dish of France. This essential version combines beef shank and rump roast with eight vegetables and a blend of herbs for an extra-comforting bowl.
The Oxford Companion to Food calls pot-au-feu "a dish symbolic of French cuisine and a meal in itself"; the chef Raymond Blanc has called it "the quintessence of French family cuisine ... the most celebrated dish in France, [which] honours the tables of the rich and poor alike"; and the American National Geographic ...
Pot-au-feu is a slowly simmered meat and vegetable dish that appears on most home tables in France. Pot au Feu, which literally translates to 'pot in the fire', started its life in working-class homes as a way to make less expensive cuts of beef more tender and palatable.
How long should I boil beef stew meat for tender results? To achieve tender beef stew meat, it is recommended to boil it for approximately 1 to 1.5 hours. This will allow the collagen in the meat to break down, resulting in a more tender and succulent texture.
Vegetables like carrots and turnips are used to top pot au feu.In pho, these vegetables are replaced by bean sprouts and herbs, with a little lime juice added in for taste.
In Krung Thep Maha Nakhon (Bangkok), there is an award-winning restaurant called Wattana Panich, where you can order and then eat a beef and goat soup that is 49 years old.
This generous and extremely fragrant dish goes wonderfully with Rhône Valley tannic and expressive red wines so long as they are young but also with lighter red wines such as Beaujolais or Loire Valley wines that add a certain amount of freshness to the meat.
The big difference between our beef stew, and French boeuf bourguignon, Provençal daube and Tuscan peposo, is the loud presence of red wine. Traditional American beef stews are lubricated with water and onions; later versions, with beef broth or tomato sauce.
Classically boiled or mashed potatoes are served but I prefer creamy spätzle, potato gratin, or even buttered noodles. Like all great stews, flavors continue to develop as they sit so resist the urge to eat it immediately.
Pot-au-feu is to France what roast beef is to England. A hearty stew, flavoured with herbs and thickened with marrowbone and root vegetables, it seems to encapsulate all that is best about Gallic culture.
After you bring your stew to a gentle simmer it's important to cook with the lid on as it helps to trap the liquid inside, cook the ingredients evenly, enhance the combination of flavours and prevent the ingredients from drying out.
Most recipes for beef stew start with cutting meat into cubes, then browning the cubes in a big pot. The idea is that browning builds flavor through the Maillard reaction, which will then get spread around through the whole pot as the meat and vegetables slowly braise in liquid.
The most important key to making stew meat tender is being sure to cook it for a long time. If you want super tender beef, you'll need to cook it on a low heat in a Dutch oven on the stove or a slow cooker for at least a few hours.
Gulyás, known to English speakers as goulash, is a spicy meat stew containing lots of paprika pepper. Originally, it was eaten by the country's cattle herders and stockmen.
The national dish of Portugal, bacalhau is dried and salted codfish, which is usually soaked in milk or water before cooking. The Portuguese have been eating bacalhau since the 16th century when their fishing boats brought it back from Newfoundland.
Mole poblano is perhaps the best known of all mole varieties. An ancient dish native to the state of Puebla, it has been called the national dish of Mexico, and ranked first as the most typical of Mexican dishes.
Feijoada, Brazil's national dish, is a stew loaded with black beans and meats of every description: smoked pork loin, bacon and sausage such as chorizo.
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