-
1
Toss the cut meat in an enameled or stainless casserole with 1 tablespoon salt blended with 1 teaspoon crushed black peppercorns and 2 fresh thyme sprigs or 1/2 teaspoon dried thyme.
-
2
Add 3 cups of thinly sliced onions, 1 1/2 cups thinly sliced carrots, several peeled and smashed large garlic cloves and 1/4 cup olive oil or vegetable oil.
-
3
Toss thoroughly, then toss again with 3 tablespoons red wine vinegar.
-
4
Cover and refrigerate overnight.
-
5
Dry the beef chunks in paper towels.
-
6
In a medium frying pan, cook the marinade vegetables and any accumulated liquid over moderate heat until the onions are translucent.
-
7
Meanwhile, set a large heavy frying pan over moderately high heat and add 1 tablespoon oil.
-
8
Add the beef in batches and cook until the chunks are well browned all over.
-
9
Return the meat to the casserole and strew the cooked marinade vegetables on top, along with 4 chopped fresh Italian plum tomatoes and 2 imported bay leaves.
-
10
Discard the fat from the pan in which the meat was browned.
-
11
Deglaze the pan by pouring in 1/4 cup of water and simmering it for a moment.
-
12
With a wooden spoon, scrape all the flavorful brown bits from the bottom of the pan into the liquid and pour over the beef.
-
13
At this point, pour in 1 cup of strong beef stock or broth and enough good young red wine to almost submerge the ingredients.
-
14
Cover and refrigerate the stew overnight; the wine marinade will only improve the flavor.
-
15
Bring the stew to a simmer on top of the stove, then set it, covered, in a 300 oven so that it barely bubbles.
-
16
You can stop the cooking at any point and continue the following day.
-
17
It will take about 2 1/2 hours for the meat to become fork-tender; take an occasional small bite to be sure.
-
18
Let the stew cool, then cover it and refrigerate overnight.
-
19
Using a spoon, skim all the solidified fat from the surface.
-
20
Reheat the stew, then strain the hot cooking liquid into a large nonreactive saucepan, pressing on the cooking vegetables, which will have disintegrated considerably by this point.
-
21
Taste the sauce very carefully for strength and seasoning, and boil down rapidly if it seems weak; you should have about 2 1/2 cups.
-
22
If the sauce seems too liquid, thicken it with a slurry: for each cup of sauce, you'll need 1 tablespoon all-purpose flour blended in a bowl with 1 1/2 tablespoons cold beef stock.
-
23
Whisk dribbles of hot sauce into the slurry, then whisk the slurry mixture into the sauce.
-
24
Simmer for several minutes, then pour the hot sauce over the warm stew and simmer for several minutes before serving.
