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Dinner Tonight: Beef Miroton

Posted by Nick Kindelsperger, April 17, 2009 at 5:10 PM

Once again, I was faced with some leftover roast beef. My first reaction will always probably be roast beef hash, but I'd just made that a few weeks ago. Was there any other dish dish that could utilize the roast well? Just warming it up in the microwave tended to dry out the meat. What else could I do?

As I began to search for leftover roast beef recipes, I started hearing about this French dish called beef miroton. Afer looking a little harder, I found this version by James Peterson. I already own his enormous Sauces cookbook, which I don't honestly use as much as I should. But this one called Glorious French Food sounds a lot more approachable.

And after making this, I'm ready to learn a lot more. The original recipe calls for meat from leftover pot-au-feu, but a roast still works. It's basically an onion-based sauce thickened with flour and simmered with beef stock. This is poured over potatoes and the beef slices. The whole thing is baked until browned and bubbling. It comes out of the oven rich and luxurious, a far cry from the leftover meal it started as.

Beef Miroton

- serves 2 to 3 -

Ingredients

3/4 pounds waxy potatoes
1 pound red onions, thinly sliced
2 tablespoons butter
1 tablespoon flour
1 cup beef or chicken broth
Salt
1/2 pound roast beef or pot roast, sliced 1/4-inch thick
1/2 tablespoon red wine vinegar
2 tablespoons bread crumbs
Sprinkling of chopped parsley

Procedure

1. Preheat the oven to 400°F. Place the potatoes in a small pot and cover with cold water. Bring to a boil, and then reduce to a simmer and cook for 15 to 20 minutes or until a knife can slip in with just slight resistance. Remove from the water and drain. Let cool for 5 minutes, and then cut into 1/4 inch rounds.

2. Meanwhile, add 1 tablespoon of the butter to a large pot over medium heat. Add the onion and cook until well browned. Stir occasionally to prevent from burning. This should take about 25 minutes.

3. Sprinkle the flour onto the onions, and cook for 2 minutes more, stirring occasionally. Pour in the broth and add a sprinkling of salt. Bring to a boil, scraping the bottom of the pot with a wooden spoon to dislodge any browned bits. Then remove the pot from the heat.

4. Butter a small casserole pan, about 8-inch square, and add the potato slices so the overlap slightly. Lay the slices of meat in a single layer on top of the potatoes. Dump the onion mixture on top and spread it out. Drizzle on the red wine vinegar and sprinkle on the bread crumbs. Melt the rest of the butter in a pot, and then pour it on top of the breadcrumbs. Place in the oven and cook for 20 to 25 minutes, or until browned and bubbling. Serve with sprinkling of parsley, and season with salt and lots pepper.

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Tags: beef, beef miroton, French, leftovers, roast beef, sauces

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