Classic French Pot-Au-Feu ( Beef Stew ) | Unseen video

Salut guys and welcome to French Guy Cooking. Today we are making a monumental recipe of the French cooking. Pot au feu or French beef stew. In fact this is a very simplified version of the classic stuff. A cheat on it really. I couldn't help myself. Just picture yourself the savory broth, the meat falling off the bone, the soft and delicious veggies, and of course the mighty marrow bone. It's just the perfect family meal. It stands in the center of the table. And everyone's pushing. Everyone's trying to nab the best bits. Like fighting for your life really. Well I guess every family is different. So just don't judge. Pot au feu literally translates into pot over fire. It's a very old French cooking tradition. It's like a thousand years old. Hundreds maybe. If you ever come to France and I'm strongly advising you to because we're not so mean. I mean not all of us. You will find that every region has its own version of the pot au feu. Which immediately and naturally allows you to twist it. Just make your own version of it. First you'll need some mussels. One kilo of low cost cuts of beef. Think of shin, shank, chuck. But my favorite will always be oxtail and cheek. These are cheap and tough mussels. But with a low and slow heat, they will turn into priceless delicacies. Where meat really falls apart from the bones. Nothing could be better. First we have to sear the meat. Place a heavy bottom pan over high heat. Coat the meat with drizzle of olive oil. Season it with salt and pepper. Drop the meat in the pan. The idea is to caramelize the meat for a short amount of time. After a minute or so, cover it up with water and try to scrape the bottom in order to get all this sticky goodness. Add a bunch of dried herbs with an onion in half, pricked with cloves. Set the heat to low temperature and let it simmer for at least two hours. Four hours would be best. But I get it. You're busy. Everyone's busy. During that time we could do a lot of things. Like skinning of the surface or, you know, going chaffy and much more. So you do it. Me? I got stuffs to do like work. Plenty of work to do. Serious stuff. Half an hour before the end of the meat cooking, it is time to add the rest of the ingredients. Vegetables. Easy to remember because they all comes in pairs. Two carrots, two leeks, two celery, two peeled turnips, and two small washed potatoes with skin on. It will prevent the stock from turning more cloudy. At this time of the recipe, it's clearly optional, but you could add marrow bones. I mean, you can add marrow bones. You need to add marrow bones. You have to add marrow bones because you must do it. Do it! As I told you, cook the veggies and the marrow for nothing more than half an hour. Otherwise, they will blend into a terrible yet scrumptious mess. Carefully separate the meat and the veg from the stock using a strainer. A cool trick to clarify the stock is to boil it with the egg whites and to filter it. Egg whites will act as vacuum cleaners and trap every particles and fat, making the stock really clear. On top of being impressive and useful, this technique allows you to pretend being a French chef with a strong culinary background. The pot au feu or French beef stew smells incredible. It looks absolutely gorgeous and everyone's gonna love it. The meat is falling apart from the bones. The stock is so savory and the veggies are delicious and soft. Place the dishes on the table along with some strong mustards, toasted bread for the marrow, and a few gherkins. So this is my definition of a family meal. With food and wine helping, everyone will tell his own story. Some will be fascinated. Others might be really boring. But it doesn't matter because at the end, it's all about getting served first. No, I'm just joking, because food is really about sharing. It's about being around the table. And you know what? In my house, I don't have any TV, but I have a proper dining table. You don't seem very surprised, do you? I really hope you enjoyed this recipe and that you will make it for your family. So like, comment, share, and subscribe for the next video. Bye-bye! Salut! Merci!