Beef Daube

We enjoyed this version of beef stew. It made about 4 - 6 servings. My one thought on it is that it had too much Worcestershire sauce, however, it has no Worcestershire sauce in it. Hmmm...not quite sure about how that happened. I am guessing it was the wine and herb combination. I really liked it though and it was a nice variation of our typical beef stew. I was very excited to have fresh herbs from my flower (herb) beds to use for this. We ate this with roasted beets and warm homemade whole wheat bread and strawberry freezer jam.

Beef Daube
from How to Cook Everything by Mark Bittman

1 T extra virgin olive oil
4 oz bacon, diced
2 lbs stew meat, cut into 1 1/2- 2" cubes
salt and freshly ground pepper, to taste
1 lg onions, chopped
2 celery stalks, chopped
3 carrots, chopped
5 cloves garlic, lightly smashed
3 - 4 sprigs fresh thyme
1 sprig fresh rosemary or 1 t dried rosemary
2 - 3 strips orange peel
1 c rough red wine (like one from the Cotes du Rhone region of France)
1 T red wine vinegar
beef or chicken stock (or water), as needed

Cook the bacon in the olive oil over medium high heat, stirring occasionally, until it is crisp. Remove with a slotted spoon and set aside. Brown meat, working in batches in leftover bacon drippings in pan. Turn cubes as they brown and sprinkle with salt and pepper. Remove browned beef with slotted spoon and set aside. Turn the heat down to medium and saute the onions, celery, carrots, garlic, thyme, rosemary, orange peel, and more salt and pepper. Cook until the onions soften, about 5 minutes. Add the wine and vinegar, and boil for 1 minute. Return the beef to the pan (not the bacon though).

Cover and simmer over low heat for about an hour, then add the bacon. Continue to cook until meat is tender, another 30 - 90 minutes (my grass fed stew meat took about 1 1/2 - 2 hours). Add stock or water if mixture starts looking dry (the meat should be mostly covered with liquid).

Adjust salt and pepper as needed and serve.