Entrée – Beef
Braised Beef with Beer, Onions & Château Potatoes

This recipe was featured on "You're the Chef" episode #212. Buy this episode from WVIA.

Yield: four portions

Ingredients:

4 lb.	beef bottom round or chuck
as needed	salt
as needed	ground black pepper
1/4 c.	salad oil
1 1/2 lb.	Spanish onions, sliced across the ribs
2 Tbsp.	fresh chopped garlic
2 each	12 oz. bottle beer (can be Pilsner or stout)
1 Tbsp.	tomato paste
1 each	sprig, fresh rosemary
4 each	bay leaves
4 each	baking potatoes, peeled and shaped into footballs (tournees)

---

Procedure:
Cut the beef into smaller pieces, trimming any excess fat or gristle that you may wish to discard. Do not cut the beef into stew-size pieces. Season the meat with the salt and pepper.

Heat a heavy sauté pan over high heat. Add the oil and allow it to get hot, so ripples appear in the oil. Add the pieces of beef a few at a time, being careful not to overcrowd the pan. Brown the beef thoroughly on all sides. Repeat this process until all the beef is browned.

Add the onions to the same pan and sauté the onions until they are nicely browned. Add the garlic and stir for about 1 minute until it cooks and becomes fragrant. Add the beer, herbs, tomato and stir, scraping the bottom of the sauté pan to remove all of the particles of cooked browned meat and onions from it.

Transfer the liquid to an oven-proof roast pan. Add the browned meat and potatoes. Cover the pan tightly and bake at 300°F for about 3 1/2 hours, until the meat is tender when it is stabbed with a fork.

Remove the beef, potatoes and most of the onions to a serving dish. Discard the rosemary and bay leaves. Place the liquid into a small saucepot and reduce it over high heat until there is just enough for the amount of meat you are serving.

Season the finished sauce with salt and black pepper and pour it over the meat, onions and potatoes.