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Paupiettes de Boeuf

Source of Recipe

“Mastering the Art of French Cooking”, Julia Child


Recipe Introduction

These are braised, stuffed beef rolls. Classic Julia – a little complicated, very elegant and absolutely delicious. I must confess to taking a couple of shortcuts and omissions: I didn’t add the extra pork fat to the stuffing (I couldn’t find it in the store and don’t have a good butcher nearby) and I didn’t have the flameproof casserole, so I just used a cast aluminum Dutch oven. My mom stuffed these with a bread dressing and we called them Beef Birds (no idea why – but they were pretty good, too). Don’t let this recipe intimidate you. The ingredient list is long, but read through it and you will realize that it is not very complicated and doesn’t require any advanced techniques. You’ll see a note in brackets that you can make this in advance and finish up at the last minute.

List of Ingredients

½ c. finely minced onions
1 T. butter
6 oz. lean ground pork
6 oz. lean ground veal
3 oz. fresh pork fat, minced fine
1 clove garlic, mashed
1/8 t. thyme
Pinch of allspice
Big pinch of pepper
¼ t. salt
¼ c. chopped parsley
1 egg
2 ½ lb. lean beef (top round or chuck), cut into 18 cross-grain slices ¼” thick and 3” in diameter
Salt and pepper
2 – 4 T. rendered pork fat or good cooking oil
½ c. sliced carrots
½ c. sliced onions
3 T. flours
1 c. dry white wine or dry white vermouth
1 ½ c. brown stock or canned beef bouillon
A 4” square of fresh pork rind, bacon rind or salt-pork rind, simmered 10 minutes in a quart of water, then drained
1 large herb bouquet (6 parsley sprigs, 1 bay leaf, and ½ t. thyme) plus 2 cloves garlic tied together in cheesecloth
1 T. Dijon mustard
1/3 c. whipping cream



Recipe

Parsley sprigs

Cook the onions slowly in butter for 7 – 8 minutes, until they are tender, but not browned. Set aside.

Blend the pork, veal, 3 oz. pork fat, clove of mashed garlic, 1/8 t. thyme, allspice, pinch of pepper, ¼ t. salt, ¼ c. parsley and egg in a bowl.

Flatten each slice of beef to a thickness of 1/8” by pounding with a meat mallet. Lay the meat flat and sprinkle lightly with salt and pepper. Divide the meat stuffing into 18 portions and place one on the lower third of each slice. Roll the meat around the stuffing to form cylinders about 4” long and 1 ½” thick. Secure each with 2 times of string. Dry in paper towels.

Preheat the oven to 325 degrees.

Heat the rendered pork fat or oil in a heavy flameproof casserole until almost smoking. Brown the paupiettes lightly, a few at a time, and remove to a side dish. Lower the heat to moderate and brown the vegetables slowly for 4 – 5 minutes, stirring. Then add the flour and brown it slowly for 2 – 3 minutes. Remove the casserole from heat and immediately beat in the wine, then the stock or bouillon.

Lay the rind in the bottom of the casserole. Place the paupiettes over it, and add more stock or bouillon, or water, if necessary to the liquid in the casserole so paupiettes are barely covered. Add the herb bouquet.

Bring to a simmer on top of the stove. Cover the casserole and set in lower third of preheated oven. Regulate the heat so the paupiettes simmer very slowly for 1 ½ hours. Baste them two or three times with the liquid in the casserole.

Remove the paupiettes to a side dish and cut off trussing stirrings. Strain the cooking liquid into a saucepan and degrease thoroughly. Boil down the sauce if necessary, to concentrate its flavor. You should have 1 ½ to 2 c. thick enough to coat a spoon lightly. Correct seasoning.

Off the heat, beat the mustard and cream into the sauce. Simmer for 1 minute. Rearrange the paupiettes in the casserole or a fireproof serving dish, and pour the sauce over them.

[Recipe made be prepared in advance to this point. Film top of sauce with a spoonful of stock or melted butter. When cold, cover and refrigerate.]

About 10 minutes before serving, reheat barely to the simmer on top of the stove. Cover and simmer slowly for 5 minutes or so, basting the paupiettes frequently with the sauce. Serve from the casserole, or arrange the paupiettes on a platter, spoon the sauce over them and surround with rice or noodles. Decorate with parsley.