Pot-au-Feu

Pot-au-feu

from Ellen's kitchen, with thanks to Cook's Illustrated 

Serves 6 to 8

Soup bones may also be labeled marrow bones. This dish is usually served in wide, shallow bowls and the broth is ladled around individual servings of meat and vegetables.

Meat Ingredients:

• 1 (3 1/2- to 4-pound) boneless beef chuck-eye roast, pulled into two pieces at natural seam and trimmed of large knobs of fat
• Kosher salt
• 1 ½ pounds soup bones
• 1 onion, quartered
• 1 celery rib, sliced thin
• 3 bay leaves
• 1 teaspoon black peppercorns

Parsley Sauce Ingredients:

• 2/3 cup minced fresh parsley
• ¼ cup Dijon mustard
• ¼ cup minced fresh chives
• 3 tablespoons white wine vinegar
• 10 cornichons, minced
• 1 1/2 teaspoons pepper

Vegetable Ingredients:

• 1 pound small red potatoes, halved
• 6 carrots, halved crosswise, thick half quartered lengthwise, thin half halved lengthwise
• 1 pound asparagus, trimmed
• Flake sea salt

For the Meat:

• Adjust oven rack to lower-middle position and heat oven to 300 degrees. Season beef with 1 tablespoon salt. Using 3 pieces of kitchen twine per piece, tie each into loaf shape for even cooking. Place beef, bones, onion, celery, bay leaves, and peppercorns in Dutch oven. Add 4 cups cold water (water should come halfway up roasts). Bring to simmer over high heat. Partially cover pot and transfer to oven. Cook until beef is fully tender and sharp knife easily slips in and out of meat (meat will not be shreddable), 3 ¼ to 3 ¾ hours.

For the Parsley Sauce: 

• While beef cooks, combine all ingredients in bowl; cover, and set aside.

Remove:

• pot from oven and turn oven off. Transfer beef to large platter, cover tightly with foil, and return to off oven to keep warm. Transfer bones to cutting board and use end of spoon to extract marrow. Mince marrow into paste and add 2 tablespoons to parsley sauce (reserve any remaining marrow for other application).  Use ladle or large spoon, skim fat from surface of broth and discard. Strain broth through fine mesh strainer into large liquid measure; add water to make 6 cups.  Return broth to pot.

For the Vegetables:

• Add potatoes to broth and bring to simmer over high heat. Reduce heat to medium and simmer for 6 minutes. Add carrots and cook 10 minutes longer. Add asparagus and continue to cook until all vegetables are tender, 3 to 5 minutes longer.

 Using:

•  slotted spoon, transfer vegetables to large serving bowl. Toss with 3 tablespoons parsley sauce and season with salt and pepper to taste. Season broth with salt to taste.

To Serve: 

• Transfer roasts to cutting board, remove twine, and slice against grain into ½-inch-thick slices. Return meat to serving platter. Drizzle beef with ¼ cup broth, dollop with half of sauce, and sprinkle with flake sea salt. Serve beef and vegetables, passing remaining, broth, parsley sauce, and flake sea salt separately.