French in a Flash: Boeuf aux Carottes
This Recipe First Appeared In: This Week's Tasty 10
It was a hot summer night in Paris when Mr. English came down from London to keep me a bit of company, and I led him by the hand across the Pont Neuf from my apartment to my favorite little pocket of Paris: Place Dauphine. A petite triangle tucked behind a fold in the tip of the Île de la Cité, it boasts a restaurant with my favorite sort of French food: heavy, in that thatched roof, pot-au-feu peasant way (not to be confused with the decadent, creamy, one-forkful-per-plate way).
The fading nighttime summer sunlight pushed past the wide-cast platane leaves, tracing light-and-shadow doilies over the earthen ground over which tinkling pétanque balls clattered in the dusk. I ordered duck confit, off of which I promptly began picking of the salty, crispy skin—my French crackling. Mr. English ordered boeuf aux carottes. The waitress lifted the black lid off of the beef's cast iron pot, and there beneath in the darkness lurked what simply looked like beef and carrots: unassuming and unimpressive.
But oh, the alchemy of the kitchen! Bits of least-expensive meat and dusted off carrots sat and simmered into this tender stew whose greatest accolade was its unexpected sweetness. The carrots had leached their sugar into the broth and into the meat that collapsed at the nudge of a fork, and it was suddenly as sumptuous as the great pillared hall which presides over the square. After a day of brunoise, dauphinoise, and all the other -oises I didn't want to think about, I greedily snatched up bite after bite of his boeuf aux carottes, chiming how this is the French food I adored, and marveling at a cuisine that could turn the lead of sinewy beef and humble carrots into carrot-copper gold.
This dish may not classify at first glance as "in a Flash," as it cooks for three hours. In fact, French police interrogators are nicknamed, so I've been told, "boeuf carottes" because they take so long in questioning their suspects. But I find immense primitive satisfaction at browning bits of short rib to a crust in hot oil in a deep enamel pot and methodically slicing carrots into coins. The short ribs are not traditional, and you could certainly substitute stew meat, but I adore the stringy softness of short ribs so much that I use them anywhere I can.
At the end of it, you have the same slightly sweet, voluptuous stew that falls off the bone and has the undeniable trick-the-diet bonus of highly visible vegetables. It's a classic, discovered in summer, perfect for the dead of this icy winter.
About the author: Kerry Saretsky is the creator of French Revolution Food, where she reinvents her family's classic French recipes in a fresh, chic, modern way. She also writes the The Secret Ingredient series for Serious Eats.
Ingredients
- 3 pounds beef short ribs
- 2 tablespoons olive oil, plus 1 teaspoon
- 12 carrots, peeled (cut 6 into thirds, and 6 into penny coins about 1/2-inch thick)
- 2 cups peeled pearl onions (I use thawed frozen pearl onions)
- 2 cloves garlic, smashed
- 1 bunch of chervil, leaves chopped, stems reserved
- 3 juniper berries, crushed (optional)
- 2 bay leaves
- 1/2 cup dry red wine
- 3 cups beef stock
- 2 tablespoons butter, room temperature
- 2 tablespoons flour
Procedures
-
1
In a wide, deep pan, heat 2 tablespoons oil on medium-high heat.
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2
Season the meat well with salt and pepper, and sear the short ribs in the hot oil until crusted and browned on all 6 sides. Set the meat aside, and discard the oil.
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3
Add 1 teaspoon fresh olive oil to the pan, and reduce the heat to medium low. Add the 6 carrots which you have cut into thirds, reserving the copper penny carrots until later. Add the pearl onions, and garlic, and chervil stems, and bay leaves, and juniper berries. Season with salt and pepper, and sauté gently until the garlic is fragrant—about 5 minutes.
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4
Add the red wine, and allow it to lift any dark bits of meat from the bottom of the pan. Simmer for 2 to 3 minutes.
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5
Nestle the meat back into the pan with the vegetables, and add the beef stock. Bring to a boil over high heat, then cover, and reduce heat to low and simmer for 2 1/2 hours.
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6
After 2 1/2 hours, add in the copper penny carrots. Stir into the broth, and cover, simmering another 30 minutes, so the meat will cook 3 hours in total.
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7
Make a beurre manié by smashing the butter and flour together. Set aside. This step is optional: it turns a runny, brothy sauce into something thick and coating, but you can either omit the thickening agent altogether, use half of it, or use all of it, depending on how you like your stews.
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8
After 3 hours, pull out the large chunks of carrots that have cooked for three hours, and the chervil stems and bay leaves and juniper berries if you can find them. Discard. Skim off as much fat from the surface of the stew as you can.
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9
Add in the beurre manié, if you are using it, and allow the stew to bubble for 5 minutes to thicken. Just before serving, stir in the chervil leaves.
19 comments:
Looks really good, but I cant afford 3 lbs of shortribs on my budget now... if i could.. i would be there in a heartbeat
plazmaorb at 7:34PM on 01/14/10
was this at La Rose de France? at 24, place dauphine? Last time I was in Paris I had such a lovely meal there at sunset while watching people play petanque, sounds just like what you enjoyed! what a great spot, and the recipe looks delicious.
megancake at 8:16PM on 01/14/10
I'm not a fan of bones in stew, nor am I particularly familiar with cuts of beef - what would you recommend as an alternative to the short ribs? Just plain ol' chuck?
anysuchname at 8:36PM on 01/14/10
With the price of beef shortribs coming in at close to $4.00 a pound, I think it is time to look for shin of beef or really pretty cheap stew meat! Short ribs have simply been ridiculously priced out of the market along with oxtail!
I love both the meats and the tenderness and moistness of their coming off the bone but I refuse to pay that kind of price.
That said, the dish looks delicious.
jeromesmom at 9:06PM on 01/14/10
@megancake, i've eaten there twice. place dauphine is one of my favorite spots in the world. in fact my cat is named henri IV, after the hotel across the street.
cybercita at 10:00PM on 01/14/10
I find that short ribs give off a lot of fat, Even when I skim the pot. I tend to
let them sit in the fridge overnight and "crack off the fat" the next day. Could I
reheat and add the beurre manie the next day ? Would it still be fantastic!!
stacemace at 12:50AM on 01/15/10
Looks fantastic. I love the combination of beef and carrots. For years I used to frequent a Chinese food truck that offered a beef and broccoli dish. They would just have a bunch of American broccoli on hand, probably frozen, and they'd add it to various dishes, almost as a side, probably to appeal to people who wanted a good serving of vegetables with their mediocre fast food, a practise which I actually understand. I discovered the beef and broccoli was not some sort of stir fry but instead a lovely, simple braise (maybe red cooked?) and it had tons of carrots! I began asking to hold the broccoli, extra carrots. I couldn't believe how satisfying it was. So simple, Boeuf aux Carrotes over rice.
deglazer at 2:50AM on 01/15/10
You could certainly just use beef stew meat instead of short ribs--cheaper and more traditional.
And as for the name of the restaurant in Place Dauphine, I can honestly say that I have no idea what it's called even though I've eaten there so many times. I always just find it by location...on the right of the square if you have your back to the Pont Neuf.
Kerry Saretsky at 8:42AM on 01/15/10
I don't know about other areas, but here in the Raleigh-Durham area of NC, short ribs and stew meat are about the same price - about $3 a pound. While I realize that you're paying for bone when you purchase short ribs, you're also purchasing a more flavorful cut of beef and the gelatin that the bones give off in this dish will go a long way in adding flavor and body to the stew.
Fernando at 9:40AM on 01/15/10
I recently substituted a chuck roast for short ribs with fabulous results
aharste at 11:59AM on 01/15/10
the firs time i stayed in paris we walked over the pont neuf to ile de la cite and i thought it was the most charming, picturesque place i'd ever been. it still is. reading this column gave me heartache in the "i must go back there" kind of way.
also, this looks like a great stew.
mr guy at 2:45PM on 01/15/10
I made this tonight, along with aligot (the French version of cheesy mashed potatoes), and it was *amazing*. Thanks for sharing!
neuroid at 10:21PM on 01/16/10
I am so excited by all the Place Dauphine nostalgia in these comments. And neuroid, I can't tell you how jealous I am of your aligot! I've been considering doing a version of it for this column...
Kerry Saretsky at 1:26PM on 01/17/10
I'm allergic to beef, can I substitute lamb for the meat and chicken stock for the beef stock?
beresh at 2:32PM on 01/20/10
Thaks lot for this deleciouse & fantasic thing , I already started to make i t now !
mustafa at 1:33PM on 01/21/10
Ohh....how much this RICH MEAL is tasty , it is similer to an traditional IRAQI food named ( HEBEET) , but with Rice & Lamb .Regards .
mustafa at 2:18PM on 01/21/10
This was the best pot of beef short ribs I've made in a long time. It's key to dry the meat with paper towel before browning in well on all sides. I used sustainably raised Normande beef, a heritage breed from a CT farm, and it was tender and delicious. I always cook braised short ribs the day before and use a spoon to remove the fat from the surface, just like stacemace. After reheating and just before serving the next day, I remove the meat from the pot and add the beurre manie little by little, stirring with a whisk until the proper consistency is reached. Then I put the ribs back in, coat them with the sauce and serve sprinkled with the chervil.
greenfoodgal at 2:02PM on 01/25/10
Actually the slang term les boeuf-carottes refers to the police for the police in France - the IGS, or Inspection Générale des Services. There are several different popular explanations for the origin of this term.
I made this with white wine, which I think may be a bit more traditional. Also included might be a calf's foot.
easyfrenchfood at 1:14AM on 03/23/10
Enjoyed the combination
Andrewx12 at 11:05AM on 06/28/10