Provençal White Wine Beef Daube
- Total Time
- 4 to 5 hours, plus 2 hours' marinating
- Rating
- Comments
- Read comments
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Ingredients
- 4tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
- 2tablespoons brandy, eau-de-vie or Cognac
- 6pounds boneless stewing beef, such as round, shin, blade or chuck, cut into 3-ounce chunks
- Salt and freshly ground black pepper
- 2large onions, thinly sliced
- 4carrots, peeled and thickly sliced
- 4ounces mushrooms, trimmed and thickly sliced
- 1head garlic, cloves separated, smashed and peeled
- Grated zest of 1 orange, more for garnish (optional)
- 2ripe tomatoes, chopped, or 1 cup canned tomato purée
- 2bottles white wine
- 1bouquet garni (1 small bunch fresh parsley, 6 to 8 sprigs fresh thyme and 2 bay leaves, tied together or bundled in cheesecloth)
- ½ to 1teaspoon whole black peppercorns
- ¼cup freshly chopped parsley, for garnish
- Small pasta, such as orzo, mezze penne or conchiglie, for serving
Nutritional analysis per serving (10 servings)
664 calories; 19 grams fat; 6 grams saturated fat; 1 gram trans fat; 11 grams monounsaturated fat; 2 grams polyunsaturated fat; 32 grams carbohydrates; 4 grams dietary fiber; 7 grams sugars; 64 grams protein; 1313 milligrams sodium
Note: The information shown is Edamam’s estimate based on available ingredients and preparation. It should not be considered a substitute for a professional nutritionist’s advice.
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Preparation
- Step 1
In a large bowl or sealable plastic bag, combine 2 tablespoons olive oil, the Cognac, the beef and a generous sprinkling of salt and pepper. Cover and set aside to marinate at room temperature for 2 hours.
- Step 2
Place a rack in the center of the oven and heat to 325 degrees.
- Step 3
In a wide, heavy casserole with a tight-fitting lid, heat remaining 2 tablespoons oil over medium-high heat until it shimmers. Add onions, carrots, mushrooms, garlic, orange zest and 2 big pinches salt; stir well to coat and heat through. Reduce heat to low, cover, and sweat (cook without browning) for 8 to 10 minutes, until onions and garlic are softened.
- Step 4
Add beef and its marinade, tomatoes, wine, bouquet garni and peppercorns. Stir to combine.
- Step 5
Cover and bake in the center of the oven until meat is ultratender, 3 to 4 hours. There is no need to stir or baste, but check from time to time to make sure the liquid is at a very gentle simmer; boiling will make the meat tough.
- Step 6
When the stew is ready, adjust the seasonings with salt and pepper and serve immediately. Or, refrigerate overnight or longer, skim any hardened fat from the top, and reheat before serving.
- Step 7
Serve over hot pasta, garnished with parsley and orange zest, if desired.
Private Notes
Comments
Why do you suggest "penne, gnocchi and long noodles like tagliatelle" above and "small pasta, such as orzo, mezze penne or conchiglie" in the recipe? My vote goes for medium-to-long egg noodles -- tagliatelle, fettuccine, or pappardelle. I think the large chunks of beef would be particularly out of place with the small cavities of conchiglie and orzo would act as more of a thickener of the sauce, rather than have the sauce be a gravy.
I made this from Wells's own cookbook--that is, I don't know if the proportions were the same as those specified here--and I found the outcome to be harshly acidic. Two bottles is a lot of any wine for this much meat, so it had better be the right wine. Beaujolais would be perfect, but my Rhone white wasd decidedly not. What would be the right white? Whatever it might be, one bottle ought to be plenty, and shouldn't a light red be better than any possible white?
Start a dish like this early in the day and let it slowly braise until dinner time. For positively tender meat, set the oven at 250 deg F, not 325 deg F. It'll take a couple more hours, but the result is worth the time.
I found this somewhat disappointing. First off, top blade is pretty hard to find and doesn't seem to be any better in a braise than chuck, but more expensive. The white wine added very little flavor, and the sauce was not very concentrated. I separated the solids from the sauce, added some unflavored, gelatin, and cooked it down a bit. It was fine, but nothing special.
4 oz. of mushrooms to 6 lbs. of beef. What on earth is the point? My antennae went up when I saw 2 bottles of wine. Glad to see that most who tried this found that to be WAY too much.
This was absolutely delicious! The white wine and orange zest give it a lighter, summery feeling. We used toasted ciabatta bread to soak up the gravy rather than pasta. This was good enough that in my mind I pair two French stews as the best: beef bourguignon for cold weather and this for warm weather.
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