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Created by Chef Juliette
Based on No. 1164, Stewed Steaks and Onions, from Le Guide Culinaire (1907) by Auguste Escoffier
Biftecks braisés aux oignons teaches the honest braise: brown thick steaks in butter, settle them beneath abundant gilded onions, then give gentle heat three hours to make its own rich gravy.
Biftecks braisés aux oignons (stewed steaks and onions) teaches the first law of a long braise: choose meat that needs time, then give it all the time it asks. These are thick chuck steaks, not tender grilling steaks, and the three hours are the dish. They soften the beef while a heap of browned onions surrenders itself to the gravy.
The old entry assumed a stock never off the fire, brigade judgment for every unnamed quantity, and a saucier ready to clear the grease and reduce the liquor at service. At home, four steaks, gelatin-rich unsalted stock, one heavy cocotte, and a wide spoon do the same work. Those are scaffolding changes, made because one cook has no station behind them; butter-browning, abundant quartered onions, short moistening, three gentle hours, defatting, and reduction all stay, because they are the dish. One cook, one stove, one evening.
Keep the braise at a bare tremble. A hard boil drives the meat tight and batters the onions apart before they can melt gracefully; if the liquid bubbles hard, lower the heat at once. Patience, not complication, makes this pot magnificent.
These steaks belong first to the English domestic table, where thick economical beef and onions shared a covered stewing pan until both yielded; French classical kitchens kept the dish's English character while codifying its browning, short moistening, and reduced finish. The word bifteck entered French from the English beefsteak, a small reminder that the classical canon has always absorbed useful dishes from across the Channel. This is not a quickly seared tender steak buried under fried onions: its identity lies in a braising cut, abundant onion quarters, and the full gentle cooking that turns their liquor into gravy.
Quantity
4 steaks, each about 8 oz (225 g), 2 lb (900 g) total
cut 1⅓ inches (3.5 cm) thick
Quantity
8, about 2½ lb (1.1 kg)
peeled and quartered through the root
Quantity
5 tablespoons (75 ml / 71 g)
divided
Quantity
2 cups (475 ml / 475 g)
kept hot and divided
Quantity
2 teaspoons (10 ml / 12 g)
divided
Quantity
1 teaspoon (5 ml / 2 g)
| Ingredient | Quantity |
|---|---|
| boneless beef chuck steakscut 1⅓ inches (3.5 cm) thick | 4 steaks, each about 8 oz (225 g), 2 lb (900 g) total |
| medium yellow onionspeeled and quartered through the root | 8, about 2½ lb (1.1 kg) |
| unsalted butterdivided | 5 tablespoons (75 ml / 71 g) |
| unsalted gelatin-rich beef stockkept hot and divided | 2 cups (475 ml / 475 g) |
| fine sea saltdivided | 2 teaspoons (10 ml / 12 g) |
| freshly ground black pepper | 1 teaspoon (5 ml / 2 g) |
Heat the oven to 285°F (140°C). Pat the steaks completely dry, then season both sides with three-quarters of the salt and all the pepper. A wet surface stews in the pan before it browns, and this dish needs a deep fond beneath its gravy.
Melt 2 tablespoons (30 ml / 28 g) of the butter in the cocotte over medium-high heat. When the foam subsides, brown the steaks in two batches, about 3 to 4 minutes per side, until they carry a dark bronze crust. Move them only when they release willingly, then set them aside. If the milk solids turn black, stop and pour away the burnt fat, wiping out only the loose black specks before adding fresh butter. Ça se rattrape. Keep any mahogany fond attached to the pot, because that is the beginning of the gravy.
Add the remaining 3 tablespoons (45 ml / 43 g) butter as needed and brown the onion quarters in two batches, placing their cut faces against the pot. Give them 8 to 10 minutes per batch, turning once, until their broad sides are butter-gold with bronze edges. They need colour, not complete tenderness. If the fond threatens to scorch before the onions brown, lower the heat and add a tablespoon of the measured stock; let it evaporate before continuing.
Pour ½ cup (120 ml / 120 g) of the hot stock into the empty pot and scrape up every browned deposit. Return the steaks in one snug layer, overlapping slightly only if necessary, then mound the browned onions over and around them. Add enough of the remaining stock to rise between one-third and halfway up the meat, reserving any excess. This is the mouillement court, a shallow braising liquid: the steaks must braise, not float. Bring it only to the first quiet tremble, cover tightly, and place the cocotte in the oven.
Cook gently for 3 hours, turning the steaks once halfway through and checking that a little liquid remains on the pot floor. Add reserved hot stock only if the pot looks nearly dry. The liquor should barely quiver; if it bubbles actively, lower the oven by 25°F (15°C). At three hours, a fork should enter the beef with almost no resistance. If the meat remains firm, it isn't ruined, it simply needs more time. Ça se rattrape: cover it again and cook for another 20 to 30 minutes.
Lift the steaks carefully onto a warm serving platter, then arrange the onion quarters abundantly around them. Cover loosely while you finish the liquor. Tilt the cocotte and skim every visible pool of fat with a wide shallow spoon, or pour the liquor through a gravy separator and return it to the pot. Clear away the grease, not the browned flavor beneath it.
Bring the cleared braising liquor to a brisk simmer and reduce it for 5 to 10 minutes, until glossy and substantial enough to coat the back of a spoon. Taste and add the remaining salt only if needed. If the liquor tightens too far, loosen it with a spoonful of hot stock; if it tastes salty before it has enough body, stop reducing and add unsalted stock for a lighter jus. Spoon the finished gravy over the steaks and onions, letting it pool generously on the platter. À table!
1 serving (about 435g)
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