French dip sandwich

Ingredients

• 4 best quality baguettes
• 8 paper-thin slices lardo
• 8 slices gruyere cheese
• pickles, mustard and fried garlic, to serve

Braised beef short rib  

• 1 kg beef short rib, bone in
• sea salt flakes and black pepper
• 1 tbsp olive oil
• 1 carrot, chopped
• 3 golden French shallots, chopped
• 2 garlic cloves, chopped
• 150 ml red wine
• 1 tbsp red wine vinegar, plus extra for seasoning
• 500 ml (2 cups) chicken or beef stock
• 2 ripe tomatoes, chopped
• 2-3 sprigs thyme
• 1 bay leaf
• small handful of rosemary sprigs

Rosemary butter

• 250 g cultured butter
• 6 sprigs soft rosemary tips
• Worcestershire sauce, to taste
• Tabasco sauce, to taste

Instructions

1. For the braised beef short rib, preheat the oven to 150°C. Season the beef well on both sides. Heat the oil in a large heavy-based oven proof saucepan over high heat. Cook the beef on all sides until golden. Remove from the pan and set aside, then add the carrot, shallot and garlic and stir until the shallots are translucent.  Add the red wine and simmer until reduced by half. Add the vinegar and return the meat to the pan. Add the stock, tomatoes and herbs and bring to the boil. Cover and bake for 3–4 hours or until very tender.
2. Once cooked, remove the meat from the broth and carefully pull out the bones. Season the meat with salt and vinegar to taste. Gently press the cooked meat between 2 plates and keep warm. Strain the cooking broth and skim off any excess fat. Bring to the boil and season with salt and the rosemary sprigs. Simmer until reduced to sauce consistency for dipping.   
3. Meanwhile, for the rosemary butter, pound the rosemary in a mortar and pestle until finely chopped, then add the butter and sauces to taste. Place the butter in a dish and keep at room temperature. This will make more than you need for this dish, but you can roll the excess into a log, wrap in baking paper and freeze for up to 3 months.
4. To assemble, preheat the oven to 180°C. Cut the brisket into slices and cut the baguettes in half. Spread both cut sides of the baguette with rosemary butter, then top with the brisket slices, cheese and the lardo (you can reserve some lardo and put it on top of the bread if you like).  Brush the top piece of bread with the reduced braising liquid. Set the top piece on the baguette and heat in the oven until the cheese is just melted. Serve hot with the dipping sauce.

Photography by Adam Liaw.

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