Name: Daube of Beef in the Style of Gascony (Daube de Bœuf à la Gasconne)
Yield: Serves 6 to 8
Cuisine: France
Ingredients: ½ pound celery root, peeled and cut into thin slices, or substitute 1 celery heart, thinly sliced; 1 head of garlic, halved crosswise; Salt and freshly ground pepper; ¾ pound fresh or salted pork rind, blanched 5 minutes and cut into strips; ½ teaspoon Quatre Épices, plus an extra grating of fresh nutmeg; 3 medium onions, thinly sliced; Herb bouquet: 6 sprigs of parsley, 2 sprigs of thyme, 1 small imported bay leaf, and 2 celery leaves tied together with string; 5 to 6 pounds mixed cuts of beef in large pieces: 2 pounds chuck roast or bottom round, trimmed of fat; 2½ pounds beef short ribs or short ribs for flanken; and 1 beef shin with marrow; 1 teaspoon bruised peppercorns; ¼ cup Armagnac; 1 bottle (750 ml) full-flavored red wine, such as Syrah or Zinfandel; ¼ cup rendered duck fat; 4 small carrots, cut into thin rounds

Preparation info

Serves
6 to 8

Difficulty
Medium

Appears in

The Cooking of South West France

By Paula Wolfert

Published 1987

About

Maurice coscuella, a Gascon chef from the town of Plaisance-du-Gers, taught me the secret of this beef stew: “It should be made with a mixture of meats: Gelatinous pieces such as shin; deep, flavorful pieces such as short ribs; and firm pieces such as chuck or bottom round.” All the pieces should be large chunks, lest you end up with a crushed meat stew like the Daube de la Saint-André (Crushed Beef Daube for Early September).

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