French Beef Daube provençale
Ingredients
 | 1 kg of beef chunk cut into medium-sized portions |
 | 6 strips of bacon sliced into small pieces |
 | 125 g 4oz of chopped and pitted black olives |
 | 2 carrots chopped |
 | 1 onion chopped up |
Spices, herbs and flavoring ingredients:
 | 4 sprigs of parsley |
 | 4 sprigs of thyme |
 | 1 bay leaf |
 | 1 garlic clove chopped up |
 | Salt and pepper |
Accents for the sauce:
 | 1 cup tomato sauce (or 1/2 cup tomato paste) |
 | 2 cups of beef stock |
 | 2 tablespoons of butter |
 | 2 tablespoons of all-purpose flour |
 | 1 cup red wine (or 2 tablespoons of apple cider vinegar) |
 | (Optional) 1/4 cup of brandy |
How to make beef daube
- Cook the bacon: In a large Dutch oven or casserole pot, sauté the bacon with the butter for about 5 minutes until lightly crisp. Remove the bacon and set aside, leaving the fat in the pot.
- Brown the beef and onions: Add the onions and beef to the same pot and cook for about 10 minutes, stirring occasionally, until the meat is nicely browned.
- Add remaining ingredients: Return the bacon to the pot and add all the remaining ingredients (except the flour). Cover with a lid.
- Simmer slowly: Let the stew cook at medium heat for about 2 hours, allowing the flavors to develop and the beef to become tender. Stir occasionally to prevent sticking.
- Thicken the sauce: In a small bowl, mix the flour with 1 tablespoon of water to create a smooth slurry. Stir it into the stew.
- Cook a little longer: Let the stew simmer for another 10 minutes so the sauce thickens.
- Rest and adjust: Reduce to low heat and let the stew rest for 10 minutes. Taste and adjust seasoning with salt and pepper if needed.
- Serve warm.
Beef daube stew with black olives and carrots is a meaty French classic when it comes to comfort food. The dish originates from Provence, the land of olives and olive oil.
There are a lot of herbs added, but actually this is the French bouquet garni, and if you don’t have one of the items, it really isn’t the end of the world.
The sweet carrots and tomato paste balance the sourness of the olives, bringing out the aromas of the beef. It is quite similar to the traditional beef bourguignon, but with an added tartness to remind you of a provençale summer.
To tenderize the beef, the recipe does call for slow cooking and boiling it for nearly two hours. However, you can also put all the ingredients in the Instant pot, and let it do its thing.
The best part of this meal is that it gets better the longer it cooks. So if you want to prepare it the night before or hours beforehand, it makes for a wonderful meal that you can dish out whenever you feel like it.
Without alcohol
Now, there is wine and brandy in this recipe, since that is what the traditional recipe calls for. However, you can substitute it for 2 tablespoons of apple cider vinegar, for that extra little kick.
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Beef daube
Equipment
Ingredients
- 1 kg of beef chunk cut into medium-sized portions
- 6 strips of bacon sliced into small pieces
- 1 onion chopped up
- 2 carrots chopped
- 125 g 4oz of chopped and pitted black olives
- 2 cups of beef stock
- 1 garlic clove chopped up
- 4 sprigs of thyme
- 4 sprigs of parsley
- 1 bay leaf
- 2 tablespoons of butter
- 2 tablespoons of flour
- 1 cup tomato sauce (or 1/2 cup tomato paste)
- 1 cup red wine (or 2 tablespoons of apple cider vinegar)
- 1/4 cup of brandy (optional)
- Salt and pepper to taste
Instructions
- Add the bacon and butter in a large dutch oven or casserole pot and sauté for about 5 minutes.
- Remove the bacon from the pot.
- Add the onions and the beef into the pot and brown them for about 10 minutes.
- Add in the rest of the ingredients (except the flour) into the pot and cover with a lid.
- Simmer the stew at medium temperature for about 2 hours.
- After 2 hours, in a small bowl, mix in the flour with a tablespoon of water to make a slurry.
- Add the slurry to the beef stew.
- Cook for about for 10 more minutes at medium temperature to let the sauce thicken.
- Let the beef stew rest for 10 minutes on low heat.
- Taste to add salt and pepper if necessary.
- Serve while warm.
Notes
Nutrition
Please note: We are not certified nutritionists and these estimates written and produced for entertainment purposes only.
What to serve with it?
In France, a daube de boeuf is traditionally served with a dish like lyonnaise sauteed potatoes or gratin dauphinois.
But it can also be served with steamed potatoes, mashed potatoes, pilaf rice, plain rice, or tagliatelle pasta.
As a starter, consider serving it with a dish like garlic and cheese country bread, a tarte soleil, or this perigord salad.
What drinks to serve with it?
The daube de boeuf goes quite well with red wine like the Châteauneuf-du-Pape from the Côtes du Rhône region.
If you prefer white wine, try a Côtes du Rossillon from Languedoc-Roussillon. You can read more about French wines here.
How to store it?
Daube de boeuf is one of those recipes that, interestingly, tastes better the next day. You can easily put aside portions in a container and put in the freezer. Let it cool, and then place in an airtight glass container.
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