Pot-au-feu recipe

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Created by Angela Nahas

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Cuisine: French
Serves 6

The allure of this French dish is the flavourful soup. Use a variety of beef cuts and bones with lots of marrow. Don’t be tempted to cook it quickly; it is the slow-cooking method that extracts the flavours from the vegetables and meats. For the best result, refrigerate overnight and skim the fat from the surface before reheating it the next day. Traditionally, the French serve the soup to start, followed by the meat, bones and vegetables, plus lots of bread to spread with the melt-in-your-mouth marrow.

Ingredients

725g piece beef short ribs*, rolled and tied with kitchen string
1.2kg rolled beef brisket
200g piece gravy beef
6 beef marrow bones*
4 bay leaves, bruised
20 black peppercorns
½ bunch chervil
½ bunch thyme
1 onion
6 cloves
4 carrots, peeled, halved
3 leeks, trimmed, halved lengthwise
3 turnips, peeled, quartered
2 stalks celery, halved
1 celeriac, peeled, cut into 8 pieces
Cornichons, Dijon and wholegrain mustards, sea salt and crusty bread, to serve

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Preparation

Place short ribs, brisket, gravy beef, marrow bones, bay leaves, peppercorns, chervil, thyme and 3L water in a large saucepan or stockpot and bring to the boil. Reduce heat to low and cook for 2½ hours, skimming any scum from the surface using a large metal spoon.

Remove marrow bones and refrigerate until needed. Stud onion with cloves and add to mixture with vegetables and 500ml (2 cups) water. Cook for a further hour, then return marrow bones to the pan and cook for a further 20 minutes or until bones are heated through. Carefully remove the meat, bones and vegetables from the soup and set aside, covered, for 10 minutes to rest the meat.

Strain soup through a fine sieve into a bowl and discard the solids. Remove and discard cloves from onion. Ladle soup into bowls and serve hot as a starter or side dish. Serve meat, bones and vegetables with cornichons, mustards, sea salt and bread.

* Also called asado, beef short ribs are a cut from the meatier part of the rib cage. They are sold as one whole piece about 10cm wide and 40cm long.

* Marrow bones are available from butchers and are cut from the part of the bone with the most marrow.

Photography by Janyon & Anson Smart.

If you enjoyed this Pot-au-feu recipe then browse more French recipes, meat recipes, slow cooking recipes and our most popular hainanese chicken rice recipe.

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