elanya

3 lbs shoulder of beef
1/4 lb bacon
1/2 tsp mace
1/23 tsp nutmeg
1/2 tsp thyme
1/2 tsp pepper
1/2 C cider vinegar
1/2 C flour
salt and pepper
1 C red wine
1 tsp brandy
3/4 C water
12 small onions, peeled and scored with a deep 'X' at the root end
1/2 lb mushrooms, quartered
a few sprigs of fresh savoory and thyme
1 bay leaf
1 tsp butter
2 tsp finely chopped parsley

cut the beef into 6 equal pieces
cut half the bacon into thin strips about 3" long. mix together mace, nutmeg, cloves, ground thyme, and 1/2 tsp pepper. Dip each bacon strip into the vinegar, then roll it in the spice mixture. (Reserve any remaining vinegar for the sauce.) With a larding needle, lard each piece of beef with several of the prepared strips of bacon, placing them about 1/4" apart.

In a large stewpot, sauté the remaiing bacon until the fat is rendered. Remove and set aside.

Season the flour with salt and pepper and dredge the beef. (Reserve any remaining flour for thickening.) Brown the beef in the hot bacon fat.

Pour in the wine, brandy, water, and reserved vinegar, and deglaze the pot. Add the onions, mushrooms, savory, fresh thyme and bay leaf. return the bacon to the pot (by this stage we have usually eaten some of the bacon, but wer try to save most of it for the sauce). Add salt and pepper to taste.

Cover and bring to a booil. Simmer about 2 hours, or until the beef is very tender.

Remove the beef and the vegtables and keep them warm. Discard the bay leaf.

Work the butter and the reserved flour into a paste. Stir the paste into the sauce with a whisk, add the parsley, and let the sauce simmer for a few minutes to thicken. Slice the bef, arrange it on a platter with the vegtables around it, pour the sauce over it, and so send it away to the table.

Serves 6.


Okay, so I need to figure out what 'larding' is had what a 'larding needle' is, and so forth. I would also like to note that this recipe says right in it that ti is okay to eat some of the bacon. Mmm, bacon!