04 April 2012, 16:20
ZephyrGrandpa's Braised Beef Recipe
Total Time:
5 hr 5 min
Prep
20 min
Inactive
30 min
Cook
4 hr 15 min
Yield:
5 to 6 servings
Level:
Easy
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Ingredients
Extra-virgin olive oil, for sauteing and drizzling
4 onions, very thinly sliced
6 cloves garlic, very thinly sliced
3 pounds chuck, bottom round or top sirloin steak
Sea salt and freshly ground black pepper
4 to 5 starchy potatoes
1 (32-ounce) can Italian tomatoes, sliced or roughly crushed
2 tablespoons chopped fresh thyme
2 sprigs fresh rosemary, leaves picked and finely chopped
Parmigiano-Reggiano, for grating
A few fresh basil leaves, torn
1 loaf ciabatta, for serving
Directions
Preheat the oven to 325 degrees F.
Heat a large skillet over medium heat with a thin layer of extra-virgin olive oil. Add the onions, and garlic to the hot oil and sweat them until very soft and very light caramel in color, 20 to 30 minutes. Turn off the heat and reserve.
Heat a large Dutch oven over medium-high heat. Add a thin layer of oil to the pan. Pat the meat dry and season very liberally with salt and pepper. Brown the meat to a deep brown all over, 12 to 15 minutes.
Peel the potatoes and very thinly slice them lengthwise into planks. Slice the tomatoes working over a bowl to catch their juices.
Arrange 1/2 the onions over top of the meat, season with salt, pepper and 1 tablespoon thyme. Arrange 1/2 the potatoes over the onions and dress the potatoes with a liberal drizzle of extra-virgin olive oil, about 1 tablespoon, salt, pepper, rosemary, and a handful freshly grated cheese. Top the potatoes with 1/2 the tomatoes and their juices, and season with salt and pepper. Scatter a few leaves of torn basil. Repeat the layers. Do not add basil to the top layer of tomatoes.
Cover the pan and roast the meat in the oven until very tender, 4 hours. Cool and store for make-ahead meal.
To reheat: Reheat, covered, in a preheated 325 degree F oven until warmed through, 45 minutes to 1 hour. Take off the lid of the pot, drizzle the top of the meat with oil, sprinkle with cheese, and broil to lightly crust the top. Cut down through the layers of the potatoes, tomatoes, and onions to portion the meat, serve in shallow bowls with crusty bread and pan juices.
04 April 2012, 17:00
BNagelIvan, you just won your own competition (but put it on the wrong thread.) I'll bet the guys were entertained by the photo setup.
Cheers!
Barry
04 April 2012, 20:08
Chris E NelsonIvan-Please Please make this photos available as a Poster and I promise you you'll make some serious cash and I will certainly be the one to buy the first dozen. So funny I damn near fell out of my chair !!!!!
04 April 2012, 22:13
BaxterBAh, so the age old dilemma has been solved-- Africans prefer white meat to dark!
Actually this is a rare color picture taken just before the declaration of the "State of Emergency" in Kenya. The man (holding panga) behind Cpt. Montgomery (in the pot) is Dedan Kimathi. It was just after this picture was taken that he was captured in the Mau forest outside of Nairobi.
04 April 2012, 22:26
MartyAhh, there's nothing like camp cooking!
04 April 2012, 23:06
CCMDocSorry,
The title made me think this belonged in the "Red Haired Girl" thread down in Walter's area.
Obviously I was wrong
05 April 2012, 00:35
leopards valley safaris
Hilarious, Ivan you set us up with the photo thread cos you had an ACE up your sleave

05 April 2012, 01:17
subsailor74........and I thought guru looked bad!
05 April 2012, 02:44
JCS271Clients, The other white meat!
05 April 2012, 05:00
retreeverWalter finally got his butt in a big frying pan...
Mike
05 April 2012, 17:31
ivan carterha ha yes i had to decoy you in with the thread title !! the soup was good but needed onions
06 April 2012, 18:29
GrumpaIvan, Would the main ingredient in that stew be called JOEWITT?
06 April 2012, 20:58
Aspen Hill AdventuresThat pic made me think of this old song:
Dem bones, dem bones, dem dry bones. Dem bones, dem bones, dem dry bones.
Dem bones, dem bones, dem dry bones. Now hear the word of the Lord.
Toe bone connected to the foot bone Foot bone connected to the leg bone Leg bone connected to the knee bone...
06 April 2012, 21:32
surestrikeThat ought to sell some hunts!