Braised Beef
3 lbs. beef from lower part of round or face of rump 2 thin slices fat salt pork 1/2 teaspoon peppercorns Carrot, Turnip, Onion, Celery } 1/4 cup each, cut in dice Salt and pepper Try out pork and remove scraps. Wipe meat, sprinkle with salt and pepper, dredge with flour, and brown entire surface in pork fat. When turning meat, avoid piercing with fork or skewer, which allows the inner juices to escape. Place on trivet in deep granite pan or in earthen pudding-dish, and surround with vegetables, peppercorns, and three cups boiling water; cover closely, and bake four hours in very slow oven, basting every half-hour, and turning after second hour. Throughout the cooking, the liquid should be kept below the boiling-point. Serve with Horseradish Sauce, or with sauce made from liquor in pan.
A classic oven braise built on low, steady heat rather than a rolling simmer. The instruction that governs the whole dish is the one about keeping the liquid below boiling.
- Below the boilA round or rump braised at a bare shiver stays sliceable; one that boils turns dry and stringy even though it sits in liquid. Hold the oven at 250-275F and check that the pan liquid is only trembling, not bubbling.
- "Very slow oven"The book gives no temperatures, only oven descriptions; in modern terms this corresponds to roughly 250-275F. A "slow" oven is usually reckoned at about 300-325F, which is already a little brisk for four hours on a lean cut.
- Try out the porkRendering. Cook the two slices of fat salt pork over moderate heat until the fat runs and the solids are crisp, then lift out the scraps and brown the beef in the fat left behind. Two tablespoons of any neutral fat plus a strip of bacon will stand in.
- Granite panGranite ware is enamelled steel, not stone. Any heavy covered roaster or Dutch oven works, and an earthenware casserole with a tight lid is closer still to the original.
- The trivetKeeping the meat off the pan bottom stops the underside stewing in the liquid. A small rack, or a bed of thick-cut onion and carrot, does the same job.
- CutsLower round and the face of rump are both lean and well worked. Bottom round or a rump roast are the direct modern equivalents; chuck will be more forgiving and more richly flavoured, though it slices less neatly.
- Basting and turningEvery half hour is more attention than the dish strictly needs if your lid seals well. Turning once at the two-hour mark matters more, so both faces spend time in the liquid.
- The sauceStrain the pan liquor, skim the fat, and reduce it hard; three cups of water plus the vegetables gives a thin broth that wants concentrating, or thickening with a flour-and-butter roux.
- YieldThree pounds of boneless beef serves six to eight, and the leftovers slice cleanly cold.