Pot au Feu, The Quintessential Family Meal of France
Pot-au-feu is a slowly simmered meat and vegetable dish that appears on most home tables in France. Pot au Feu, which literally translates to ‘pot in the fire’, started its life in working-class homes as a way to make less expensive cuts of beef more tender and palatable. Think the original crockpot. The long slow cooking resulted in 2 dishes: a clear nourishing broth and a rich meal of beef and vegetables.
There are as many variations of pot au feu as there are cooks. I have eaten pot-au-feu prepared with lamb, chicken, lobster. and even a version that more resembled the ingredient list for a proper cassoulet. The two versions I have included are how my mother cooked it and a more restaurant version from chef Michel Guerard. Whichever recipe you follow, the constants remain the same: The broth is always served first with toasted slices of baguette crowned with morsels of fatty beef marrow, and the meat and vegetables are served second.
Pot au Feu, photo by Francois de Melogue
My Mother’s Pot au Feu
My mother’s version is more traditional and typical of what you would find in most homes. It is made with three different cuts of beef that are slowly simmered together. The vegetables are cooked afterward in the resulting broth and then it is served all together on a giant platter at the table with cornichon, horseradish sauce, and mustard.
PREP TIME: 10 minutes | COOK TIME: 4 hours | MAKES: 8 servings
FOR THE BEEF AND BEEF BROTH
2 pounds beef short ribs or oxtails
1 pound beef shanks
1 pound beef brisket
1 sweet onion, peeled and studded with 10 cloves
2 bay leaves
1 bunch fresh winter savory
1 tablespoon herbes de Provence
1 tablespoon sea salt
1 teaspoon black peppercorns
3 star anise
1 stick cinnamon
1 head of garlic
1 big sprig of fresh thyme
FOR THE VEGETABLES
2 leeks, (white and light green parts), cut into 3-inch lengths, halved, and washed well
8 medium carrots, halved and cut into 3-inch lengths
8 small turnips, peeled and left whole, or 4 medium turnips, cut in half
8 small Yukon Gold
2 (4-inch) pieces beef marrow bones
FOR THE HORSERADISH SAUCE
1/2 cup heavy cream
2 tablespoons mayonnaise
2 tablespoons grated fresh horseradish or prepared horseradish, or to taste
1 teaspoon sea salt
1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
TO SERVE
1 baguette, cut into thick slices then toasted
Fleur de sel or another flake salt
1/4 cup chopped fresh parsley
Whole-grain mustard
Dijon mustard
Cornichons
1. To make the beef and beef broth, in a large stockpot, combine the short ribs, shanks, and brisket, cover with cold water, and bring to a rapid boil over high heat. With tongs, remove the meat to a large bowl and discard the water (this is done to help create a clear broth). Rinse out the pot, return the meat to the pot, and add the onion, bay leaf, savory, herbes de Provence, salt, peppercorns, star anise, cinnamon, garlic, and thyme. Add cold water to cover everything by at least 1 inch. Bring to a gentle boil over medium-high heat. As soon as it boils, reduce the heat so it is barely simmering (see Tip below). Cook until the meat is so tender that a knife passes through it with no resistance, about 3 hours.
2. Place a fine-mesh strainer over a large bowl and strain the meat, keeping both the liquid and the beef. Discard the vegetables. Transfer the beef to a platter.
3. To make the vegetables, return the broth to the pot, add the leeks, carrots, turnips, potatoes, and marrow bones, and simmer over low heat until the vegetables are tender, about 45 minutes. Return the beef to the pot and simmer to heat through, about 10 minutes.
4. To make the horseradish sauce, while the vegetables simmer, in a medium bowl with an electric mixer on medium speed, whip the cream to stiff peaks. Fold in mayonnaise, horseradish, salt, and pepper. Cover and refrigerate until ready to serve.
5. To serve, remove the marrow from the bones using a paring knife. Coarsely chop the marrow, spread it over the baguette toasts, and sprinkle with a few flakes of salt. Slice all the beef 1/2 inch thick, keeping the different cuts separate. Arrange all the vegetables and meat on a serving platter. Traditionally, the broth is served first with the marrow toasts with the parsley sprinkled over the broth and toasts. Then, the meat and vegetables are passed around for everyone to help themselves. More broth is ladled over, and diners may customize their bowls as they like with horseradish sauce, mustard, and cornichons.
TIP: The object here is to cook the meat and broth so ridiculously slow that the stock remains crystal clear. Boiling tends to make the broth cloudy.
Slow food: a terracotta vessel for pot-au-feu, 1896. Image from Alexander Lee’s history of pot au feu.
A Slightly More Uptown Version of Pot au Feu based on Michel Guérard’s Recipe
Michel Guérard is a highly regarded French chef who was a major inspiration to me as a young cook. In 1965, he opened his first restaurant Le Pot au Feu, which earned two Michelin stars. In 1971, the restaurant was destroyed so that they could widen a highway. In 1972 Guérard met Christine Barthelemy. They married, and in 1974 he moved with her to Eugénie-les-Bains, where she was running one of her family's smaller, less successful spas. They restored the buildings, and Guérard invented a style of food, cuisine minceur, a low-fat luxury cusine.
I am going to warn you, this version has a few more steps than my mother’s. Read the entire recipe and get all your prep together before starting. I usually get everything ready the day before so serving feels less stressful.
PREP TIME: 15 minutes | COOK TIME: 4 hours | MAKES: 4 servings
FOR THE BEEF AND BEEF BROTH
1.25 pounds beef short ribs
1 pound of oxtails
14 cups of cold water
1 onion, cut in half - 1 side studded with 2 cloves, 1 side charred in your broiler (see notes)
1/2 a head of celery
1 head of garlic
1 bouquet garni
1 tablespoon coarse sea salt
4 black peppercorns
FOR THE PORK BROTH, POTATOES, CABBAGE, AND DUCK CONFIT
6 cups of cold water
10 ounces meaty salt pork
8 small potatoes
1/4 head of green cabbage
2 legs of duck confit, cut into 4 pieces
FOR THE VEGETABLES
8 baby carrots peeled
4 small turnips peeled
2 leeks, washed well, and cut in half lengthwise
4 - 1.5 inch sections of cucumber peeled
1/4 pound of green beans trimmed
FOR THE HORSERADISH SAUCE
1/4 cup breadcrumbs
1/4 cup heavy cream
1/2 cup freshly grated horseradish
1 teaspoon sea salt
1 tablespoon sugar
2 teaspoons cider vinegar
2 teaspoons Dijon mustard
TO SERVE
1 baguette, cut into slices then toasted
4 slices of poached bone marrow
Fleur de sel
1/4 cup chopped fresh parsley
Dijon mustard
Cornichons
1 cup fresh tomato sauce (use whatever recipe you have)
1. To make the beef and beef broth, in a large stockpot, combine the short ribs and oxtails, cover with cold water, and bring to a rapid boil over high heat. Remove any scum that floats to the top then reduce the heat so it is barely simmering. Add the onion, celery, garlic, bouquet garni, salt, and pepper, and cook until the meat is so tender that a knife passes through it with no resistance, about 2 to 3 hours.
2. Place a fine-mesh strainer over a large bowl and strain the meat, keeping both the liquid and the beef. Discard the vegetables. Transfer the beef to a platter.
3. To make the pork broth, potatoes, cabbage, and duck confit, in a saucepot, combine the water and salt pork and bring to a rapid boil over high heat. Remove any scum that floats to the top then reduce the heat so it is barely simmering and cook for 1.5 hours. 30 minutes before the beef is done, add the potatoes and cabbage to the pork broth and cook until they are tender, about 15 minutes. Remove and keep them warm. Add the duck confit and cook for 15 minutes.
2. Strain the meat and vegetables out, keeping the liquid for another use. Save the salt pork for another dish. Transfer the vegetables and confit to the serving platter.
3. To make the vegetables, 30 minutes before the beef is done, wrap the leeks in cheesecloth and drop them along with the carrots and turnips into the beef broth and simmer for 30 minutes, or until tender. 10 minutes before the beef is done, add the cucumber and green beans. Remove all vegetables and arrange them on the platter.
4. To make the horseradish sauce, while the beef is simmering, put all the ingredients into the bowl of a food processor fitted with the steel blade and puree for 20 seconds. Taste and adjust the seasonings.
5. To serve, Arrange all the vegetables and meat on a serving platter. Traditionally, the broth is served first with the marrow toasts sprinkled with the parsley. Then, the meat and vegetables are passed around for everyone to help themselves. More broth is ladled over, and diners may customize their bowls as they like with horseradish sauce, tomato sauce, mustard, and cornichons.
