Pot-au-feu

My favorite winter meal is also a French classic.

In the common pot-au-feu lies the foundation of empires. (Le pot-au-feu du peuple, base des empires.) - Count of Mirabeau

Every population has its soup; only France has pot-au-feu. ( Tous les peuples ont un potage, la France seule a le pot-au-feu.) - Goethe, 1792

Not only is pot-au-feu quintessentially French, it illustrates true French family cooking like no other dish, robust, frugal, satisfying. While most Americans, myself included when I first arrived in this country, think of French cooking as fancy, complicated, sophisticated, made with fine, costly ingredients, French cuisine is also humble, domestic, inexpensive, and quite simple to prepare. 

Pot-au-feu, literally “pot on the fire” - a reference to the recipient in which it was cooked - is the epitome of this kind of French cooking and one of my absolute favorite winter dishes. To make pot-au-feu, meat, usually a mix of different cuts of beef, simmers gently in water along with an abundance of winter vegetables, potatoes, leeks, turnips, carrots, and cabbage, until the meat is fall-off-the-bone tender and the vegetables melt in the mouth, together making a simply seasoned, flavorful broth. The result is quintessential comfort food, and has been throughout the ages. 

While the origin of the pot-au-feu remains obscure, it has been a fixture in French homes since before the Middle Ages. At the beginning, it was all about the soup - the broth, really. For a long time, there were no fixed ingredients, just water and whatever happened to be at hand or what a family could afford was tossed in to make the broth, and changing with the seasons. Whatever served to make and flavor the soup was eaten afterwards, more as a byproduct of the soup than its main purpose. Soon, beef became the standard - a similar dish made with chicken became known as poule au pot (chicken in the pot), that made with sausages potée (the contents of the pot). Then vegetables - as it is most often a winter dish, that means hearty root vegetables - and aromatics, including onions, garlic, and herbs, became necessary components of the dish.

By the 16th century, this typically poor man’s meal began appearing on the tables of the upper class and the royalty; it was said to be a favorite of King Henri III and a century later, Madame de Sévigné wrote about how much she enjoyed it to her daughter. And by the late 18th century, pot-au-feu had been adopted by the new classe bourgeoise, yet still considered a family meal. By the 19th century, it had become so beloved by the French and so emblematic of French cuisine, famed chef Antoine Carême writes about it in the opening chapter of his cookbook L’Art de la cuisine française, published in 1828, referring to it as the principal food of the working class of the nation, describing it not as a meat-and-vegetable dish but rather as a rich soup, a good broth.

But don’t be fooled. Pot-au-feu is more than just boiled beef and vegetables. The secret to pot-au-feu is in the serving: the broth, often strained once cooked, is served as a light first course with a good crusty or toasted country loaf; traditionally, the broth was poured over a slice of bread in the bowl. Then the platter of meat and vegetables is brought to the table and passed around family style. To kick up the flavor, the beef and veg is always served with strong, tangy Dijon-style mustard, sharp cornichons, and a dusting of sea salt. These accompaniments are not optional, but now a traditional part of this warming, satisfying meal. 

And as most long-simmered, home-style dishes, pot-au-feu is excellent the next day. The broth is skimmed to degrease and reheated gently to be served steaming hot, while the meat and vegetables are served cold, always eaten with strong mustard and cornichons.

Serving pot-au-feu family style is something the French are adamant about, which means if you are ever invited over for pot-au-feu, it’s a telling sign that you are considered part of the family.

All these spicy foods end up heating your blood and are not worth, no matter what you say, a good pot-au-feu. (Toutes ces nourritures épicées finissent par vous échauffer le sang et ne valent pas, quoi qu’on en dise, un bon pot-au-feu.) - Gustave Flaubert, Madame Bovary, 1857

Pot-au-Feu

Recipe: serves 6

(first published in Fine Cooking Magazine, Oct/Nov 2014; photo credits: Fine Cooking)

Pot-au-feu requires a mix of meat cuts, some fatty or partially fatty and some lean, some gelatinous, and some of the meat in-bone. You want cuts that become fall-apart, meltingly tender with long, slow cooking.  And you want some that will add richness and body to the broth, specifically the bone-in cuts and especially oxtail, beeftail, or marrow bones which release gelatin into the broth, making it more flavorful and more unctuous [see notes below for tips] 

2 lbs (1 kg) boneless beef chuck roast, bottom round roast, or brisket 

2 lbs (1 kg) bone-in beef short ribs, shank, or oxtail/beef tail

Salt 

3 or 4 leeks, whites and the tender green, trimmed and cut in half lengthwise and rinsed well 

4 carrots, cleaned and trimmed, each cut in 2 or 3 large pieces, thick pieces halved lengthwise

1 large onion, cut into 6 or 8 wedges

1 or 2 turnips, trimmed, peeled, and quartered

2 large cloves garlic, peeled and crushed not chopped 

Bouquet garni (parsley, thyme and bay or laurel leaf) or 5 sprigs fresh parsley + 2 sprigs fresh thyme + 1 large bay leaf bundled in kitchen string or cheesecloth

Freshly ground black pepper

1 small head green cabbage, trimmed, outer leaves removed, and cut into 4 or more wedges through the stem end

1 large marrowbone, optional (see note) 

6 medium potatoes, Yukon Gold are good,  about 1 per person, more if you like, peeled and halved

Dijon mustard, cornichons, sea salt flakes or coarse salt for serving

A good country loaf of bread and, if serving the marrow bones, toasted slices of baguette

Place the meat in a large soup or stockpot, salt, and cover with water [see note]. Bring to the boil and skim off all impurities. 

Add the prepared leeks, carrots, onion, turnip, the garlic, bouquet garni or herb bundle, salt and pepper. Bring back to the boil, skim again,  and lower the heat to a simmer.

At this point, bring a separate pot - large enough to hold the cabbage - of salted water to the boil. Once the vegetables have been added to the pot-au-feu and brought to the simmer, quickly blanche the cabbage in this second pot of lightly salted boiling water just for 2 to 3 minutes, drain, then add to the pot-au-feu. 

Cook the pot-au-feu on a very low simmer, uncovered or only partially covered – never completely covered - for a total of  2 ½ - 3 hours, skimming off foam and impurities when and if needed. Add more water to the pot as needed to keep the meat covered.

Remove the vegetables with a slotted spoon as they cook to very fork tender. 

1 hour before the end of the cooking period, add the marrowbone. 

Boil the potatoes separately in lightly salted water until tender.

When the meat is very tender and falling off the bone, add the cooked vegetables back to the pot along with the potatoes to heat through. Remove the meat and vegetables to a platter; discard the bouquet garni or herb bundle. Serve the broth as a starter followed by the meat and vegetables with a jar of sharp Dijon mustard, a bowl of cornichons, and coarse salt. And a great loaf of bread.

The marrow bone is served with toasts on which the marrow is spread and eaten.

Tips on Pot-au-Feu Meat, Vegetables and Cooking

1) We use a mix of oxtail (beef tails), ribs, shoulder or shank for the fattier cuts (bone in at least half) and flank, brisket, round or chuck for the leaner. We love using oxtail/beef tails and this can replace the marrowbone. Tie the meats together – the ribs, oxtail and the other cuts as needed – in bundles tightly with kitchen string so they keep their shape. If cooking with marrowbones, pack a large pinch of coarse salt into the marrow at both ends of the bone; this will keep the marrow from slipping out. And if more of your guests or family love the marrow, don't hesitate to add a second!

2) Placing the meat in cold water and bringing to the boil makes for a more flavorful broth but meat that, while very tender, is less flavorful; placing the meat in boiling water favors a more flavorful meat over a richer broth. 

3) The broth is a vital and fundamental element of an excellent pot-au-feu. For an excellent, full-flavored broth, no less than two pounds/one kilogram of meat should be used, therefore this dish cannot and should not be made in smaller quantities, which makes it the ideal family dish as well as for a convivial meal among friends. Long, slow cooking is the other key to a flavorsome broth.

4) Although cooked until more than tender, the vegetables have a much shorter cooking time than the meat; we prefer to add the vegetables at the same time as the meat removing them with a slotted spoon to a plate during the course of the cooking process and reheating them gently and quickly at the end rather than adding them later to be done at the same time as the meat; this allows the vegetables to better season and perfume both the broth and the meat.

5) Blanching the cabbage quickly before adding it to the pot-au-feu is not necessary but can help tame that cabbage-y aroma and flavor so it doesn't overpower the other vegetables. This also makes it more digestible. The potatoes should always be cooked separately; if using large potatoes cut them into large, serving-size chunks.

6) Like most one-pot dishes, a pot-au-feu is excellent the day after it has been cooked. If there are any leftovers or if prepared the day before serving, it is recommended to not refrigerate the meat in the broth; store the meat and vegetables on a platter covered with plastic wrap and separate from the broth. Degrease the broth then reheat it gently to a simmer before adding the meat and vegetables to the pot; cook just until heated through.

7) Long, slow cooking is the key to maximum flavor. Although the pot-au-feu can be prepared in a pressure cooker, simmering it on the stovetop for the full two to three hours will render the meat and vegetables incredibly tender and the dish savory and delicious!

Variations on the traditional Pot au Feu

My mother-in-law often made a similar dish but with chicken instead of beef, calling it Poule au Pot or Chicken in a Pot. Vary the vegetables as you like, according to season, and reduce cooking time to 1 ½ hours. Some add a bone-in veal shank to the pot for the extra flavor. A Potée uses the same variety of vegetables but sausages, pork, and bacon replace the beef. Like many traditional dishes in France, it varies from region to region, Potée Limousine, Potée Bretonne, Potée Auvergnate, for example, each potée containing the special regional meats, sausages, and locally grown vegetables. If using pre-cooked sausages, such as a smoked sausage, add it to the pot about 15 minutes before the end of cooking.

For a springtime version of the pot-au-feu, simmer the meat with fingerling potatoes, leeks and carrots and add a variety of seasonal vegetables like peas, broad beans, green beans, asparagus, branch celery in place of the cabbage, sweeter baby carrots towards the end of the cooking.