Provençal White Wine Beef Daube

Why do you suggest "penne, gnocchi and long noodles like tagliatelle" above and "small pasta, such as orzo, mezze penne or conchiglie" in the recipe? My vote goes for medium-to-long egg noodles -- tagliatelle, fettuccine, or pappardelle. I think the large chunks of beef would be particularly out of place with the small cavities of conchiglie and orzo would act as more of a thickener of the sauce, rather than have the sauce be a gravy.

I made this from Wells's own cookbook--that is, I don't know if the proportions were the same as those specified here--and I found the outcome to be harshly acidic. Two bottles is a lot of any wine for this much meat, so it had better be the right wine. Beaujolais would be perfect, but my Rhone white wasd decidedly not. What would be the right white? Whatever it might be, one bottle ought to be plenty, and shouldn't a light red be better than any possible white?

Start a dish like this early in the day and let it slowly braise until dinner time. For positively tender meat, set the oven at 250 deg F, not 325 deg F. It'll take a couple more hours, but the result is worth the time.

In a recipe for Daube de Boef in "Mastering the Art of French Cooking, vol. 1," Julia Child calls for dry white wine, dry white vermouth, or red wine.

Using white wine in this recipe, rather than the traditional red, makes the flavor beefier -- it is a bit more like pot roast than like boeuf bourguignon. Any white wine will do, as it doesn't assert its own flavor very much in the finished stew. I would probably reach for something rounded, like a Riesling, not sharp like a Muscadet or a Sancerre. And you could certainly make the recipe with red wine, if you prefer.

It makes a lot - use a big pot from the start. I ended up having to upsize when I added my wine. I made a roux and added it in at the end to thicken it slightly. I also threw a couple of parmesan rinds in while it cooked. I used a $4 pinot grigio from Whole Foods and it was delicious. I served it over cauliflower rice rather than pasta.

Read carefully...the writer is suggesting the extra sauce can be used on the heartier pasta. The recipe itself calls for small pasta.

Cooked for 8 hours in the slow cooker at a half portion. Beautiful dish. Will become a staple. Used a French Sauvignon Blanc and found it reduced to a delicious goulash-like consistency, halfway between a soup and a sauce. Serve with pasta and lightly steamed broccolini. Suggest adding some black olives. Winner!

Shimmers

my mother always added dropped dumplings (using a biscuit pre-mix as a base) in her beef stew. they were delicious. I wonder if that would work with this recipe?

I agree - this would be a good place to use venison. My preference would be a light, dry fruity white, although with vension's more assertive flavor, I might go for a light red. I think the key is that it should be dry, whichever color you prefer.

Joe,

Since there's no need to brown the meat, this is essentially a slow-cooker recipe just the way it is. Except that unless your cooker is VERY large, you may want to cut it in half.

This makes a LOT of stew. I used a 7 quart Dutch oven, nearly filled it up. It makes more like 12 servings, not 8. And the given calorie count seems calculated using 6 oz of beef, not 6 pounds. I used 5.4 lbs, and it came out to ~550 calories for each of 12 servings - a generous lunch bowl.

I used an inexpensive Pinot Grigio and served it with slices of homemade sourdough rye bread, after removing the solidified fat the next morning. A real winner with that tender beef and tangy sauce.

I made 1/2 of the recipe and it completely filled my slow cooker. Using one bottle of wine resulted in way too much broth that was too acidic for our taste. I’d recommend using about 1/2 bottle with half portions of all other ingredients. Halving the presented recipe made about 6 servings with some unused broth.

My grand mother in law made a beef daube that is uniquely New Orleans. First she made a roux - not dark brown but darker than peanut butter. Then she added the “ holy trinity” of NOLA cooking- onions, celery and bell peppers chopped up fine. Cooked on stove top til the vegetables were reduced down completely. Add seared meat, tomato paste, broth, red wine, lots of thyme and garlic powder. Slow cook for hours until the meat is falling apart. Serve over spaghetti with cheese melted on top.