Pot Au Feu Du Midi Recipes

POT AU FEU

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 425 degrees. Arrange veal bones in a heavy-bottomed roasting pan. Place in oven and roast, turning occasionally, until light golden brown, about 1 hour.
• Transfer veal bones to a 20-quart stockpot. Tie up each short rib with kitchen string. Add short ribs, brisket, and enough cold water to cover the meats (about 6 1/2 quarts). Bring to a boil over high heat. Reduce heat to medium, and skim off any fat and scum that form on the surface. Simmer for 30 minutes, skimming as necessary.
• Trim dark-green tops from leeks, and reserve them. Cut leek bottoms in half lengthwise, and place in a bowl of cold water. Soak for 10 minutes to rid them of sand. Lift out, drain, and set aside. Add onions, 2 medium carrots, half the leeks, and 1 tablespoon salt to the stockpot. Wrap thyme, garlic, white and black peppercorns, cloves, parsley stems, and bay leaves in cheesecloth, tie with kitchen string, and add to stockpot along with 1 quart water. Return to a boil, reduce heat to medium low, and let simmer. After 1 hour and 15 minutes, turn on oven to 425 degrees. and preheat for 15 minutes.
• Prepare chicken: rinse it inside and out, pat dry, tie the legs together with kitchen string, and tuck wing tips underneath body. Place in a roasting pan, and roast until golden brown, about 30 minutes. Transfer to the simmering stockpot, and add water to cover (about 3 quarts). Bring to a boil, reduce heat to medium, and simmer for 45 minutes (the stock should simmer a total of 2 hours and 45 minutes), skimming the surface as necessary. If the chicken cannot be completely immersed in the water, turn it after 20 minutes to ensure even cooking.
• Remove stockpot from heat. Remove the meat and chicken from the stockpot; set meats aside. Strain the broth into a large bowl through a cheesecloth-lined sieve, and discard solids. Let meat and broth cool, and refrigerate them overnight.
• Continue the preparation the next day. Heat oven to 375 degrees. Rub salt on cut sides of marrow bones. Rinse the reserved leek tops in cold water, and cut into 20 strips, 1/2 inch by 9 inches. Crisscross 2 strips of leek tops over each marrow bone, and bind with kitchen string. Place marrow bones in a small roasting pan, and add just enough cold water to cover (about 1 1/2 cups). Cover roasting pan with aluminum foil, and bake until marrow is opaque, about 1 hour. Remove from oven, keep covered, and set aside.
• Meanwhile, remove broth from refrigerator, and skim off any fat that has solidified on the surface. Return the broth to the 20-quart stockpot, and bring to a boil. Add remaining leeks, and cook over medium-high heat for 25 minutes. Adjust seasoning with salt and pepper to taste. Add brisket, short ribs, chicken (cut in half), celery hearts, baby carrots, and potatoes, and cook until vegetables are tender, about 20 minutes more.
• Meanwhile, bring a large pot of salted water to a boil. Add haricots verts, and cook until tender but still slightly crunchy, about 3 minutes. Remove with a slotted spoon, and set aside in a medium bowl; cover with aluminum foil. To the same water, add cabbage, and cook over medium-high heat for about 15 minutes. Add turnips and cook until both are tender, about 15 more minutes. Drain, cut each cabbage wedge in half, and set aside in a large bowl; cover with aluminum foil to keep warm.
• Slice baguette diagonally into 1/2-inch slices, and toast on a baking sheet in the heated oven until golden brown, about 10 minutes.
• When all the vegetables are tender and the meats and chicken are warmed through, remove meats and chicken from broth. Prepare the meats and potatoes for serving (and keep them, covered, in a warm oven while you complete the process): slice the brisket into 1/4-inch slices. Remove bones from chicken breast; cut each half into three pieces, and cut legs from thighs. Untie short ribs, remove gristle, and cut each piece in half. Cut potatoes into 1/4-inch slices. Adjust the seasoning of the broth with salt and pepper to taste. Divide meats, chicken, marrow bones, vegetables, and broth among eight serving bowls. Serve immediately with toasted bread, mustard, olives, cornichons, horseradish, and salt. Strain any remaining broth through a fine-mesh strainer, and freeze for future use.

POT-AU-FEU

Steps:

• In an 10 to 12 quart stock pot or soup kettle combine beef with short ribs and cover with stock or water by 4 inches. Bring to a boil over moderate heat; as the stock begins to boil, carefully skim all foam and scum from surface and discard. Reduce heat to low, skim again, then add onions, carrots, tomatoes and bouquet garni. Skim again; cover the pot, leaving the lid ajar and simmer as slowly as possible, skimming on occasion. Cook for 2 to hours or until meat is almost tender. Remove meats. Strain the liquid through a sieve lined with dampened double layer of cheesecloth. Discard seasoning vegetables and bouquet garni; remove surface fat. (If you do this on one day, before you finish the dish, store meat and liquid separately.)
• Transfer stock to a clean pot. Return the meat to the liquid along with the carrots and turnips. Bring the liquid to a boil, season with salt and pepper and simmer for 30 minutes or until carrots, turnips and meats are tender. Meanwhile boil the potatoes separately (when done, leave in water off heat) and steam cabbage wedges separately for 8 minutes or until just tender.
• To serve, degrease the liquid and season with salt and pepper. Remove meat from liquid, discard strings and carve into 1/4-inch slices, remove short rib bones and cut into chunks. Transfer slices of meat, a portion of potatoes, cabbage, carrots, turnips into a deep soup plate. Ladle liquid over the top and garnish with parsley; serve as main course soup.
• Or, serve soup liquid first, garnished with parsley and serve meat, vegetables, potatoes and carrots as a second course, accompanied by 1 or more accompaniments and a good French bread.

POT AU FEU (POT ON THE FIRE)

Steps:

• Brown meat in frying pan, adding salt and pepper. Sprinkle a little flour over the meat while turning over. Place meat into oven proofed casserole or even better into a slow cooker.
• Briefly fry bacon, onions, garlic, carrots, than add tomatoes, leek and beef stock. Bring to the boil and add to casserole or slow cooker.
• Cook at low temperature (150 Celsius) for about 5 hours or until the meat falls of the bone.
• Serve with potatoes (boiled or fried).
• Notes:.
• Depending on the meat being used, a Pot au Feu can be very rich. If you would like a leaner version, prepare it the day before and allow to cook overnight. Once cooled the fat will rise to the surface and it can be skimmed off. The dish can then be re-warmed.
• Pot au Feu is often served with mustard and course salt.
• After removing and serving the meat and vegetables, there will be a delicious sauce left over. This can be used for making soup, as a base for a sauce or for cooking vegetables inches.
• For a Pot au Feu with a Mediterranean flavour, modify the recipe by reducing the amount of meat, increasing the amount of vegetables and adding herbs.

CHICKEN POT-AU-FEU

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 435 degrees.
• Spray potatoes with olive oil spray; and season with salt and pepper.
• Transfer potatoes to a baking sheet and roast 12 minutes.
• Meanwhile, salt and pepper both sides of chicken. spray a large nonstick skillet with cooking spray and set over high heat. Add chicken and sear 1 minute per side. Add leek, carrots, mushrooms, garlic and herbs; cook 1 minute. Add wine and simmer 1 minute, until liquid reduces to 1/4 cup. Add broth and simmer 5 minutes. Add chard to one side of pan and simmer 1 minute, until chicken is cooked through and greens are wilted.
• To serve, place chard in the bottom of 4 bowls. Slice chicken into 5 pieces each and arrange atop chard. Put potatoes and remaining vegetables around chicken and ladle remaining broth on top.

POT-AU-FEU A LA MINUTE

Steps:

• Slice off and discard the bottom end of the cabbage. Cut it lengthwise in half and cut each half crosswise into 2-inch pieces. Put the pieces in a kettle and add cold water to cover.
• Bring to a boil. When the water reaches a full, rolling boil, drain cabbage. Rinse under cold running water until well chilled. Drain well.
• Put the bacon in a casserole or kettle and cook, stirring often, until rendered of fat. Add the chicken legs and thighs, skin side down, and sprinkle with salt and pepper. Cook about 2 minutes.
• Cut the pork crosswise into 8 pieces of more or less equal thickness. Add these to the chicken and sprinkle the onion and garlic over all.
• Cook briefly, stirring, and add the wine and broth. Bring to a simmer and add the cabbage, potatoes, carrots, cloves, allspice, bay leaf and thyme. Cover closely and cook 25 minutes. Uncover and continue cooking 5 minutes. Remove bay leaf.
• Serve the meats and vegetables with a little of the broth and the tomato and horseradish sauce.