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BEEF, RIBS OF (a la Marseillaise)
Brown a rib of beef over a quick fire, with four table-spoonfuls of good oil. When both sides are browned draw the stewpan aside, and let it cook gently until tender. Fry some sliced onions in oil until they are brown; then add vinegar, mustard, and a little stock broth. Season with salt and pepper, and pour it over the rib of beef.
A braise disguised as a roast: the beef never sees an oven, it browns hard in oil and then finishes slowly in its own steam with the lid on. The sauce is made separately and poured over at the end.
- The cut"A rib of beef" here most likely means a bone-in rib joint rather than a single rib steak; the recipe gives no weight, so judge by what your pan will hold. A boneless chuck or short rib section behaves the same way and is far cheaper for a long, slow braise.
- "A quick fire"High heat, enough to colour the fat and meat in five to eight minutes a side. Get the pan and oil properly hot before the meat goes in, and do not move the joint until it releases on its own.
- "Draw the stewpan aside"On a coal range this meant sliding the pan to the cooler edge of the hob. On a modern hob it means the lowest setting, covered, so the liquid holds at a bare shiver rather than a boil.
- The hinge: add liquid, then leave itThe recipe says only "cook gently until tender" and gives no time. For a rib joint that is 2.5 to 3.5 hours; a fork should slide in with no resistance. Add a cup of stock or water to the stewpan before covering, or the browned bottom will scorch before the meat gives in.
- "Good oil"Almost certainly olive oil, which is consistent with the Marseillaise name. A robust rather than delicate oil is right. Note that the four spoonfuls are for browning the beef; the oil for frying the onions is called for separately and left unmeasured.
- The sauce, in proportionNo quantities are given. For a joint this size, two large onions, about 3 tablespoons red wine vinegar, a rounded teaspoon of Dijon or other made mustard, and a cup of stock reduced by half gives a sharp, glossy dressing. Whisk the mustard in off the heat so it does not turn bitter.
- Stock brothNineteenth-century "stock broth" was a light household beef stock, generally much lighter than a modern reduced demi-glace and often only lightly seasoned. Use plain beef stock and season at the end, since the vinegar and mustard will shift the balance.
- YieldA 5 lb bone-in joint serves six to eight. It carves better after 15 minutes' rest, and the sauce is better poured over the sliced meat than over the whole joint.
The dish is named for Marseille, and the tell is the oil: where an English cook of the period would more often have browned beef in dripping or butter, this version uses spoonfuls of oil, then sharpens the sauce with vinegar and mustard rather than thickening it with flour. Cassell's Dictionary of Cookery ran to thousands of alphabetical entries and absorbed French regional cooking under its English headings. The vagueness here is characteristic of the period rather than careless: quantities of onion, vinegar and stock were left to judgement, and "until tender" was an instruction a cook working a range all day could read without a clock. The vinegar-and-mustard finish belongs to a wider family of sharp sauces served with boiled and braised beef in France and England alike, cutting the richness of a fatty joint.