I still have loads to learn about the anatomy of a cow to be able to name all the muscles and bones that are appropriate for particular dishes. In the meantime, I went to a butcher and asked for some braising beef. The piece I got was about 800 g, just enough for a weekend’s worth of food.
The recipe I used is a modification of a recipe from Giorgio Locatelli’s book “Made in Italy. Food and stories.” He used veal shanks, with the intention of making them into ravioli. I had the same ambition with my braised beef. But first things first.
Braised beef
Ingredients
- 3 tablespoons olive oil
- 1 onion, chopped
- 1 celery stalk, chopped
- 1 carrot, sliced
- a handful of chopped smoked bacon
- 500 mL white wine
- 1 tablespoon tomato paste
- 500 mL water or stock
- 3-4 saffron threads
- 1 bouquet garni: a mixture of a few springs of rosemary, sage, and thyme and a couple of bay leaves, tied together in a piece of sterile gauze
- 800 g piece of braising beef
- 1 tablespoon vegetable oil
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 200 ˚C.
- Heat olive oil in a pot that will transfer to the oven, add the vegetables and sauté gently for about 10 minutes, until the vegetables are soft.
- Add the bacon and fry for a couple of minutes.
- In the meantime, sear the meat with some oil in a separate pan.
- Remove the meat and set to the side. Add the wine and scrape the bottom to remove all the bits from the bottom. Reduce the liquid a bit, cooking it for a couple of minutes.
- Add the reduced wine to the pot with the vegetables, and cook until there is no liquid left.
- Put the vegetable mixture to the side of the pan and add the tomato paste. Fry for a minute or so, and then mix everything together.
- Add the stock or water and saffron to the pot. Bring to the boil, add the seared meat and the bouquet garni. Season generously with salt.
- Put in the oven for about 3 hours, checking periodically that the liquid does not dry out.
- Serve sliced, with some photogenic vegetables.
- For bonus points, reduce the sauce until it is thick and delicious (demi-glace).
