Pot au Feu

Name: Pot au Feu
Yield: For 8-10 servings
Cuisine: French
Ingredients: 1 chicken, rooster or pheasant, cut into six pieces; 1 duck, cut into six pieces; 100 g clarified butter; 2 ham hocks, similarly treated; 2 veal shanks, sawn into 4-cm rounds; 24 turned or new potatoes; 1 bottle chardonnay; 2 sprigs of thyme; 2 tomatoes, cut into chunks; 1 smashed head of garlic; 4 egg whites; 6 baby turnips; 2 litres beef stock or chicken stock; 12 peppercorns; 1 bay leaf; 2 carrots, chopped; 6 leeks, white parts only, trimmed and washed; 1 kg rolled beef brisket (the older and tougher the better); 4 onions, chopped

Preparation info

For
8-10
servings

Difficulty
Easy

Appears in

Tony Bilson's Recipe Book

By Tony Bilson

Published 1987

About

Pot au feu, like cassoulet, tends to lose its qualities when cooked in small quantities. If one remembers that in farmhouses the stoves or fires were kept alight 24 hours a day in order to take the chill from the winter air — but only at a low heat in order to conserve fuel — then the imagery helps to explain the cooking process.

Ingredients

1 kg rolled beef brisket (the older and tougher the better)
2 veal shanks, sawn into 4-cm rounds
2

Europe
Oceania
France
Australia
Stew
Gluten-free
Mediterranean
Winter

Method

Chop three of the leeks, cut the others in half lengthwise to be used as a garnish when the pot au feu is served. Heat the butter and soften the leeks, onions, carrots and garlic in a large pot over a low flame. Remove them with a slotted spoon. Turn up the flame and brown the brisket, rolling it in the hot butter. Remove it to a convenient place. Brown the veal shanks, ham hocks and duck in th