Baeckeoffe / Laundry Day Stew of Beef, Pork, and Lamb

Baeckeoffe / Laundry Day Stew of Beef, Pork, and Lamb
Baeckeoffe / Laundry Day Stew of Beef, Pork, and Lamb
This is the stew that made such an impression on the final episode of the first season of Top Chef Masters. Each of us had been asked to create a meal that would be an autobiography told through the dishes we would present to the judges. I immediately thought of baeckeoffe ("baker's oven"). The name refers back to the time when bakers used wood-fired ovens. After the bread was done, this dish would be baked long and slow in the falling temperatures of the cooling oven. Since everyone in town would see the baker every day for the family's daily loaf, each would often bring a casserole to be baked in the oven. It was traditional, particularly on Mondays, when the women went to the river to do their laundry. They would have marinated their meats and vegetables overnight, dropped their casseroles off in the morning on their way, and then picked them up—plus a loaf of bread—on their way home. Even though my father was not the bread baker and had a modern, gasfired oven, people still took their casseroles to him. They liked to drop in because he always had some joke or story to tell. Before the village baker also invested in a modern oven and was still using wood, when my father turned over a fresh loaf of bread to give it the traditional blessing, he would sometimes see pieces of charcoal embedded in the crust. That would send my dad wild, muttering that "he [the baker] did not thoroughly clean his oven!" I make this dish often, both at home and at the restaurant. But these days we tend to increase the vegetables and use less meat, and sometimes we use only vegetables and leave out the meat entirely. While there is never a mushroom in the classic recipe, you can add them or make a vegetarian version with mushrooms and a rich vegetable stock. I've also made this stew as the centerpiece for Christmas dinner, adding plenty of sliced black truffles. The classic dish uses a mix of meats including a pig's foot, which gives a rich, gelatinous texture to the stew. You may be able to special-order a pig's foot. Ask the butcher to slice it crosswise into three pieces. But even at the restaurant I sometimes have trouble ordering them, and your stew will still be delicious without one. You can also use just one or two kinds of meat instead of all three.
  • Preparing Time: -
  • Total Time: -
  • Served Person: Serves 10
French Soup/Stew Christmas Winter Christmas Eve Mandoline
  • sea salt and freshly ground black pepper
  • 2 bay leaves
  • 1 tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil
  • 1 1/2 teaspoons finely chopped fresh thyme
  • Carbohydrate 40 g(13%)
  • Cholesterol 92 mg(31%)
  • Fat 25 g(38%)
  • Fiber 4 g(14%)
  • Protein 29 g(57%)
  • Saturated Fat 10 g(49%)
  • Sodium 1021 mg(43%)
  • Calories 549

Preparation In a large bowl or very large plastic bag with a secure seal, mix together the onions, leeks, carrot, garlic, bay leaves, juniper berries, thyme, parsley, wine, beef, pork, lamb, 1 1/2 teaspoons salt, and 1 teaspoon pepper. Mix well, seal, and refrigerate for at least 12 hours and up to 24 hours. Mix the meats and marinade occasionally; if they are in a bag, just turn it over once or twice. When ready to cook, preheat the oven to 350°. Smear the olive oil all over the bottom of a 6- or 8-quart Dutch oven. Peel the potatoes if you like; using a mandoline, slice them thinly and season well with salt and pepper. Do not wash the potatoes after slicing. The potato starch thickens the broth. Cover the bottom of the pot with half of them. Strain the solids and meat from the marinade, reserving both separately. Spread the meats and vegetables on top of the potatoes and then top with the remaining potatoes. Carefully pour the reserved marinade over the potatoes. If the liquid does not cover the top of the potatoes, add more wine or water until they are just covered. Cover the pot and bring the stew to a gentle simmer on top of the stove. Place the pot in the oven and bake until the meats are very tender, about 3 1/2 hours. Serve, directly from the casserole, in warm, generously sized soup plates. From Hubert Keller's Souvenirs: Stories & Recipes from My Life by Hubert Keller, © 2012 Andrews McMeel Publishing

Preparation In a large bowl or very large plastic bag with a secure seal, mix together the onions, leeks, carrot, garlic, bay leaves, juniper berries, thyme, parsley, wine, beef, pork, lamb, 1 1/2 teaspoons salt, and 1 teaspoon pepper. Mix well, seal, and refrigerate for at least 12 hours and up to 24 hours. Mix the meats and marinade occasionally; if they are in a bag, just turn it over once or twice. When ready to cook, preheat the oven to 350°. Smear the olive oil all over the bottom of a 6- or 8-quart Dutch oven. Peel the potatoes if you like; using a mandoline, slice them thinly and season well with salt and pepper. Do not wash the potatoes after slicing. The potato starch thickens the broth. Cover the bottom of the pot with half of them. Strain the solids and meat from the marinade, reserving both separately. Spread the meats and vegetables on top of the potatoes and then top with the remaining potatoes. Carefully pour the reserved marinade over the potatoes. If the liquid does not cover the top of the potatoes, add more wine or water until they are just covered. Cover the pot and bring the stew to a gentle simmer on top of the stove. Place the pot in the oven and bake until the meats are very tender, about 3 1/2 hours. Serve, directly from the casserole, in warm, generously sized soup plates. From Hubert Keller's Souvenirs: Stories & Recipes from My Life by Hubert Keller, © 2012 Andrews McMeel Publishing

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