Beef a LA Mode
Ingredients
Directions
Sear the beef
Grease a large skillet with lard and heat it.
Sear the beef in the hot skillet until browned.
Braise and make gravy
Transfer the beef to a deep pot and cover it with water.
Boil for about 3 hours, or until tender.
Remove the lid and let the water reduce until nearly gone.
Thicken the remaining liquid to make gravy about 30 minutes before serving.
Transcribed from a scanned cookbook and modernised for today's kitchens. Where the book gave no heat or time, or said "a moderate oven", the temperatures and times here may be modern equivalents rather than the book's own figures.
Explore the science
What each ingredient does
- Shoulder piece of beef
- Tough connective tissue breaks down during long cooking, leaving the meat tender and moist.
- Lard
- Fat for searing, helping the beef brown and develop a savory crust.
The step that matters
Remove the lid and let the water reduce until nearly gone. Reducing the cooking liquid concentrates its flavor and body, so the gravy tastes rich rather than watery. Reducing too quickly or too little can leave the sauce bland or thin.
“What each ingredient does” and “The step that matters” were written by Claude from this recipe’s own method and reviewed in samples by CompKitchen.
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