TABELIAAUTHENTIC RECIPE
Daube ProvençaleProvençal Beef Daube
- Total
- 24 hr 10 min
- Difficulty
- ★★☆☆☆
- Serves
- 5 servings
- Prep 55 min
- Cook 5 hr 15 min
- Rest 18 hr
Beef shoulder marinated in red wine and red wine vinegar is slowly braised over low heat in a tightly covered pot with garlic and orange peel. Rest overnight, remove the fat and reheat before serving.
AUTHENTICITY SCORE
Authenticity Score
This is the standard recipe, exactly as it’s made where it comes from — the highest Authenticity Score possible. Substituting ingredients changes this score; the app shows exactly how, ingredient by ingredient.
Ingredients (5 servings)
100Authenticity- Boneless whole beef top-blade roast (paleron)1000 gCut into pieces about 100 g each, roughly 5 cm cubes. Use boneless whole top blade (paleron).
- Onion200 g1 onion; cut into 4 wedges.
- Carrots150 gCut into rounds 1cm thick.
- Fresh thyme3 sprigsFor a bouquet garni.
- Bay leaves2 leavesFor a bouquet garni.
- Parsley stems4 stemsFor a bouquet garni. Use the stems from a fresh flat-leaf parsley bunch.
- Red wine375 ml1 half-bottle; use a fruity wine, such as a southern French red.
- Red wine vinegar50 mlFor the marinade.
- Fine salt10 gFor the marinade.
- Ground black pepper1 gFor the marinade.
- Raw pork back fat100 gDice into 5mm cubes and render for browning.
- Garlic3 clovesCrush with the flat of a knife.
- Fresh unwaxed orange peel1 stripA strip about 2 cm wide and 6 cm long, without white pith. Use washed unwaxed orange; remove only the colored peel, leaving the white pith behind.
- Water400 mlBring to a boil and add 250ml; use the remainder for topping up during braising.
Method
Cube the beef and marinate with vegetables and wine
- 1 Cut 1kg boneless whole beef top-blade roast into pieces about 100g each, roughly 5cm cubes.
- 2 Cut 200g onion into 4 wedges and 150g carrot into rounds 1cm thick.
- 3 Tie 3 thyme sprigs, 2 bay leaves and 4 parsley stems with kitchen twine to make a bouquet garni.
- 4 Put meat, onion, carrot and herbs in a large zip-top food bag, sprinkle with 10g salt and 1g black pepper, pour in 375ml red wine and 50ml red wine vinegar, press out the air and seal.
Ready when
Continue when the marinade touches all the meat.
Marinate in the refrigerator for 5 hours 30 minutes
- 1 Place the bag on a tray and refrigerate for 5 hours 30 minutes, turning the bag 1 time during the rest.
Ready when
Continue when the meat surfaces have taken on the color of the wine.
Render the back fat and brown the onion and beef
- 1 Drain the meat and vegetables, reserving the marinade in a separate bowl.
- 2 Pat the meat thoroughly dry with paper towels.
- 3 Put 100g pork back fat in 5mm cubes into a heavy pot 22–24cm across and render over medium-low heat for 5 minutes; remove the crisp solids with a skimmer.
- 4 Add the onion, cook over medium heat for 3 minutes to color lightly and remove.
- 5 Brown the meat in 2 batches over medium-high heat for 5 minutes for 1 batch at a time, turning occasionally, then remove.
- 6 Cook the carrot for 2 minutes, then return the onion and meat.
Ready when
Continue when all sides of the meat are browned and browned residue has formed on the pot bottom.
Caution
Wet meat cooks in its juices rather than browning.
Add garlic and orange peel and reduce the marinade by half
- 1 Add 3 crushed garlic cloves, the bouquet garni and 1 strip of orange peel.
- 2 Pour in the reserved marinade, scrape the browned residue with a wooden spatula and boil over medium-high heat until reduced by half.
- 3 While the marinade reduces, bring 400 ml water to a boil in a kettle.
- 4 Add 250ml boiling water.
Ready when
Continue when the marinade is reduced by half and the sharp vinegar smell has disappeared.
Seal the pot and braise gently for 4–5 hours
- 1 Reduce to very low heat so the surface moves only slightly.
- 2 Cover the pot mouth with foil, then put on the lid to eliminate gaps.
- 3 Every 1 hour 30 minutes to 2 hours, open and turn the meat. If the liquid at the bottom is less than 1cm deep, add freshly boiled water in 50ml additions, then cover and reseal.
- 4 Braise for 4–5 hours in total.
Ready when
Continue when the meat breaks apart easily under a spoon and the liquid has thickened.
Caution
A vigorous boil tightens and dries the meat.
Tips
The meat is not submerged but braises largely in steam.
Cool and rest overnight
- 1 Turn off the heat, spread the meat and juices in shallow storage containers and leave at room temperature for 30 minutes to cool a little.
- 2 Cover and refrigerate for 12 hours.
Ready when
Continue when a white layer of fat has solidified on the surface.
Remove the solid fat, reheat and serve
- 1 Spoon off the solidified fat and remove the bouquet garni and orange peel.
- 2 Return meat and juices to the pot, cover and reheat over low heat for 40 minutes, turning the meat occasionally.
- 3 Serve the meat and vegetables in deep plates and pour over the juices.
Ready when
The daube is ready when the liquid gently bubbles and the meat is hot through the center.
About this dish
In Marseille, daube was once cooked overnight in a tightly closed pot with water held on top of the lid. Earlier still, its pot was said to have been placed in a hollow among embers and covered with ash. Daube is usually reheated, though it is also considered good cold, with its cooking juices set.
In Marseille, the customary accompaniment is macaroni dressed with the cooking juices, called macaronade. A household cookery book from 1900 lists beef daube and macaroni with its juices one after the other. In Nice, ravioli have long been regarded as inseparable from daube.
Beef braised in wine is not unique to Provence: daube is also a festive dish in Franche-Comté and one of the regional dishes of Dauphiné.
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