Pot-au-feu

Name: Pot-au-feu
Yield: Serves 6
Cuisine: French
Ingredients: 1 lb/450 g paleron of beef, or “chicken steak”, or brisket; 6 pieces of oxtail, cut 1½ inches/4 cm thick; 2 onions, cut in half; 8 whole cloves; 1 veal shank, on the bone; 6 beef short ribs; 4 carrots, cut into 4-inch/10-cm lengths; 2 small celery roots (celeriac), cut into quarters; 6 leeks, white part only; 4 medium potatoes, peeled and cut in half; salt and pepper; 1 bouquet garni; 1 cup/225 g large-grained sea salt (gros sel); ½ lb/225 g cornichons; 1 head of cabbage, cored and cut into 6 to 8 wedges; 1 cup/225 g hot prepared mustard

Preparation info

Serves
6

Difficulty
Complex

Appears in

Les Halles Cookbook

By Anthony Bourdain

Published 2004

About

You want to make a Frenchman cry? Make him a nice bowl of pot-au-feu. This is soul food for socialists. There are no tricky parts to the recipe. The colors are gorgeous, and it’s a great main course for a casual dinner party. Who would have thought that a big pile of boiled meat and vegetables could be so good?

Ingredients

1 lb/450 g paleron of beef, or “chicken steak”, or brisket
6

Americas
Europe
United States
France
Dinner
Main course
New York
Gluten-free
Mediterranean

Method

Cook

In the huge pot, combine the steak, oxtail, short ribs, and veal shank and cover with cold water. Bring to a boil over high heat and as soon as the water comes to a boil, remove from the heat. Set the meats aside and throw out the water. Clean the pot. Seriously, do it. Then put the meat right back inside. Push 2 cloves into each onion ha