Beef Daube

I was inspired to cook a beef dish even before I saw the move Julie & Julia (which is a fabulous movie - highly recommended). Several people wrote about making Julia Child's Beef Bourguinon after watching the movie and it inspired me to want to cook a beef dish. In addition, I purchased a lovely package of beef roast from Jewel for only $.99 per pound. I flipped through my copy of Mastering the Art of French Cooking but all I could think of was that I wanted to make Beef Daube. Ms. Child does have a recipe for Daube in the previously mentioned book which I used as a base but I changed a few things to make it like the Daube I have cooked before. This recipe slow cooks beef, that has been marinaded in red wine, brandy, fresh herbs, garlic and aromatic vegetables, along with bacon, mushrooms, black olives, tomatoes, capers, and anchovies. It is packed full of flavor and delicious.

Beef Daube

3-4 lbs. Beef Chuck Roast, cut into one inch cubes
2 C Red Wine
1/4 C Brandy
2 C Onions, sliced
2 C Carrots, sliced
6 Cloves Garlic, smashed
Several Sprigs Fresh Thyme & Parsley

Combine the above ingredients and marinate for 4-6 hours or overnight.

1/2 lb. Bacon
2 lbs. Mushrooms, quartered
28 oz. Tomatoes
3/4 cup Kalamata Olives, pitted and roughly chopped
3 T. Capers
6 fillets Anchovies
Flour

Preheat oven to 300. Dredge meat in flour. Line the bottom of a large dutch oven with bacon. Alternate layers of mushrooms, meat, marinaded vegetables, tomatoes, olives, capers, anchovies, and bacon. The top layer should be bacon. Add the marinade. Cover and bake for 4-5 hours.
After taking out of the oven, skim the fat off of the top and serve with roasted potatoes.