Boeuf à la Mode — Pot-Roasted Beef with Vegetables

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Boeuf à la mode is the great bourgeois pot roast of France — a single large piece of beef (traditionally rump or topside), larded with strips of pork fat, marinated in wine, and braised whole with a calf's foot and root vegetables until fork-tender, the cooking liquid setting to a rich, trembling jelly when cold. This dish predates bourguignon in the French canon and represents an older, more restrained approach to braising — the meat is served in thick slices rather than chunks, the sauce is clearer and more gelatinous than the concentrated reduction of a bourguignon, and the cold jellied version is considered by many to be the dish's finest expression. Lard a 2kg piece of beef rump or topside by threading strips of pork back fat (lardons gras) through the meat using a larding needle — 6-8 strips running the length of the joint. This internal fat bastes the meat from within during the long braise, keeping it moist. Marinate in wine with aromatics for 12-24 hours. Dry the meat, brown on all sides in a heavy casserole, then build the braise: a split calf's foot (for gelatin), the strained marinade wine, stock to come two-thirds up the meat, a bouquet garni, onion piquée, and tomato paste. Cover tightly and braise at 150°C for 3-3.5 hours, turning the meat once at the halfway point. During the last hour, add turned carrots, turnips, and pearl onions — they should cook in the braising liquid and absorb its flavour. When done, the meat should be tender but hold its shape for slicing — not falling apart. Remove the meat, strain and degrease the sauce (which should be rich with dissolved calf's foot gelatin), and reduce if necessary. Slice the beef thickly, arrange on a platter, surround with the glazed vegetables, and nappé with the sauce. For the cold version (boeuf à la mode en gelée), let the sauce cool and set around the sliced beef and vegetables in a terrine — the gelatin from the calf's foot creates a beautiful, amber aspic. Served cold with Dijon mustard and cornichons, this is one of the supreme cold dishes of French cuisine.

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