Boeuf à la Mode — Pot-Roasted Beef with Vegetables

Ingredients

• 2 kg beef rump or topside, single joint, trimmed
• 150 g pork back fat (lardons gras), cut into 6–8 strips the length of the joint
• 1 calf's foot, split by the butcher
• For the marinade
• 750 ml red wine, dry, full-bodied
• 1 onion, sliced
• 1 carrot, sliced
• 1 bouquet garni, bay, thyme, parsley stems
• For the braise
• 500 ml brown beef stock, or enough to come two-thirds up the meat
• 1 tbsp tomato paste
• 1 onion piquée, whole onion studded with cloves and a bay leaf
• 1 bouquet garni, fresh, for the braise
• For the vegetables
• 300 g carrots, turned to a barrel shape
• 200 g turnips, turned to a barrel shape
• 150 g pearl onions, peeled
• To serve (cold version)
• 1 tbsp Dijon mustard, served alongside
• 60 g cornichons, served alongside

Method

1. 1
   Using a larding needle, thread the strips of pork back fat through the beef joint, running 6–8 strips the full length of the meat at even intervals. Place the larded joint in a deep, non-reactive vessel with the marinade wine, sliced onion, sliced carrot, and bouquet garni. Cover and refrigerate for 12–24 hours, turning the meat once. The wine should darken and the fat strips will absorb the aromatics.
2. 2
   Remove the meat from the marinade and dry it thoroughly with paper towels — every surface. Strain the marinade wine and reserve it; discard the spent vegetables and bouquet garni. Heat a heavy casserole over high heat and brown the joint on all sides in a film of neutral fat until a deep mahogany crust has formed on every surface. This takes patience: do not rush the colour.
3. 3
   This is where the dish lives or dies. Arrange the split calf's foot in the base of the casserole alongside the browned beef. Add the strained marinade wine, enough brown stock to come two-thirds up the meat, the tomato paste, the onion piquée, and the fresh bouquet garni. The liquid must not submerge the joint — the upper third should braise in steam. Cover the casserole tightly. Bring to a bare simmer on the hob, then transfer to an oven set at 150 °C. Braise for 3 to 3.5 hours, turning the meat once at the halfway point. At no stage should the liquid boil hard.
4. 4
   One hour before the end of the braise, introduce the turned carrots, turned turnips, and pearl onions directly into the braising liquid. They should cook submerged in the aromatic liquid, absorbing its flavour and the dissolved gelatin from the calf's foot. Test the vegetables with the tip of a knife: they should be tender but intact, not collapsing.
5. 5
   The meat is ready when a carving fork inserted into the centre meets little resistance and withdraws cleanly — but the joint must hold its shape entirely when lifted. It must not shred or fall. Remove the meat and rest it, covered, on a warm platter. Remove and discard the calf's foot, onion piquée, and bouquet garni.
6. 6
   Strain the braising liquid through a fine sieve into a wide saucepan. Skim all fat from the surface with care — the larding renders considerable fat into the sauce, and any remaining grease will cloud it. Reduce the sauce over moderate heat only if it appears thin; it should already be rich with dissolved calf's foot gelatin. Cooled on a spoon, it should set to a trembling jelly within moments. Taste for seasoning.
7. 7
   Slice the beef thickly and arrange the slices on a warmed serving platter. Surround with the glazed vegetables. Nappé the meat generously with the sauce and serve immediately — or proceed to the cold version: allow the sliced beef and vegetables to cool in the strained, degreased sauce in a terrine. Refrigerate until the sauce sets to a clear amber aspic. Serve the terrine sliced cold, with Dijon mustard and cornichons alongside.