Hand pouring red wine into skillet with ingredients (Mic Fleming)
Prep time 30 mins, cooking time 3 hours. Serves 6.
What better way to cure winter’s discontents than with a hearty beef stew? Maybe you remember your mom’s? Or you love your local gasthaus’ goulash? Daube is the wine-braised French answer from Provence.
Daube (“doughb”) is easy, fun to make, and less calorie loaded than its cousin from Burgundy, Boeuf Bourgogne. The main differences are in the wine and ingredients. Daube is less rich and has a brighter taste with a flavor profile from Provencal herbs.
What pot to use?
Daube gets its name from daubière the traditional Provencal clay pot. But you can use any large, oven-proof pot or deep casserole. I use a Dutch oven. If you want to use your slow cooker, sear the meat in a sauté pan before adding it to the pot to get the full flavor.
What beef?
Cheaper stew meats like chuck or round work better than premium cuts like rib eye. I like to cut the beef myself, but you can buy pre-cut packages or ask the butcher to cube them.
What wine?
Any full-bodied red wine such as a Syrah, Côte du Rhône or Nebbiolo is perfect. There is an old wisecrack that to begin any French recipe you need three bottles of wine: one for the dish, one for the table and one for the chef. What it means, though, is don’t cook with a wine you wouldn’t serve your guests or drink yourself
Considerations
To make an authentic daube, you would begin by marinating the beef in the wine and herbs before cooking. I usually don’t want to take the two days needed for this, so my recipe skips this step. Mushrooms are for bourguignonne. I like parsnips when available. I live in Greece, so black Kalamata olives added at the end are a mandatory addition.
That said, apron up, pour a glass and let’s get to it!
Ingredients and materials needed for the recipes (Mic Fleming)
Dutch oven, large non-metallic bowl
2 tablespoons olive oil
8 oz thick bacon, roughly chopped
3 pounds beef stew meat cut into 2-inch pieces.
1 large yellow onion peeled, cut in half lengthwise, each half cut into thin slices
6 shallots, thinly sliced
4 garlic cloves peeled
3 inch-wide strips of orange peel without the pith
4 carrots peeled and sliced into half-inch rounds
Bouquet garni (herbs tucked in a sachet or wrapped in cheese cloth) 2 sprigs each of rosemary, thyme and parsley with 2 bay leaves, 10 peppercorns
2 medium parsnips peeled and sliced into half-inch rounds (optional)
1 bottle hearty red wine
14 oz can crushed tomatoes with its juices
¼ cup olives (optional)
Salt and pepper
Center a rack in the oven and preheat to 350 F (170 C).
In the pot over medium heat, brown the bacon then transfer to a bowl.
Increase the heat to medium-high. Dry the beef in paper towels. Add a tablespoon of the olive oil to the pot and sear the meat in batches until just golden brown on all sides. The goal is color; the meat will cook through in the braise. Once seared, add it to the bacon bowl and season lightly with salt and pepper. You want a sheen of oil left in the pot. Pour off any excess or add a tablespoon of oil if it looks dry. Leave the brown bits stuck to pot in place.
Add the onions and shallots to the pot, seasoning lightly with salt and pepper. Stirring occasionally, cook for about six minutes until they are softened, but be careful not to burn them. Throw in the carrots, garlic and parsnips if using, turning everything to coat with oil. Now pour in a small splash of wine and deglaze the pot (scrape up the brown bits with a wooden spoon). Let the wine boil off.
Return the beef and bacon to the pot with any accumulated juices. Add the tomatoes with its juices, the orange peels and the herb sachet. Pour in the rest of the wine and stir everything together. Bring to a boil. Place a sheet of aluminum foil over the pot and cover it with the lid, ensuring a tight fit. Slide the pot into the oven.
Let the daube braise (slowly stew) for one hour. Then check the liquid level, adding water to cover the meat if it looks dry. Replace the foil and lid and braise for another ninety minutes.
The dish is done when the meat falls apart when poked with a fork. Remove the herb sachet, orange peels and the garlic. The result should be slightly soupy. But if you want a thicker sauce, remove the meat and vegetables and reduce the sauce a bit. Just don’t salt it until after the reduction.
Once the sauce is to your liking, recombine everything, add the olives if using, heat and serve. Daube is delicious served over wide noodles, mashed potatoes or even polenta. The only side dish would be a green salad but be sure to offer some Brötchen or crusty bread to soak up the sauce. It’s embarrassing when your guests have to lick their plates.
Note: Daube is the perfect make-ahead dish. Like most stews it only gets better after resting for up to a day and gently warmed before serving.
Bon appétit! Guten Appetit! Ciesz się posiłkiem!
Mic Fleming is a volunteer contributor living in the rugged Mani of Greece. Among other stations during his career in the Army, he served two tours in Germany. In later retirement, he served as an instructor in a VA hospital Healthy Teaching Kitchen.
Completed daube with wide noodles and bread in a bowl (Mic Fleming)
Editor’s Note: This article was written by a member of the local military community, not an employee of Stars and Stripes. Neither the organization nor the content is being represented by Stars and Stripes or the Department of Defense.
