Dorie Greenspan's Go-to Beef Daube

Ingredients

• 4 slices thick-cut bacon, cut crosswise into 1-inch-wide pieces
• One 3 1/2-pound beef chuck roast, fat and any sinews removed, cut into 2- to 3-inch cubes
• 2 tablespoons mild oil
• Salt and freshly ground pepper
• 2 yellow onions or 1 Spanish onion, quartered and thinly sliced
• 6 shallots, thinly sliced
• 1 garlic head, halved, horizonally, only loose papery peel removed
• 1 1/2 pounds carrots, trimmed, peeled, halved crosswise, and halved or quartered lengthwise, depending on thickness
• 1/2 pound parsnips, trimmed, peeled, halved crosswise, and quartered lengthwise, optional
• 1/4 cup Cognac or other brandy
• 1 bottle fruity red wine
• A bouquet garni – 2 thyme sprigs, 2 parsley sprigs, 1 rosemary sprig, and the leaves from 1 celery stalk, tied together in a piece of cheesecloth

Directions

1. Set a rack in the middle of the oven and heat it to 350 degrees F. Place a Dutch oven over medium heat, add the bacon, and cook, stirring now and then, until it has browned. Scoop the bacon into a bowl.
2. Pat the beef dry with paper towels. Stir 1 tablespoon of the oil into the bacon drippings in the pot and heat it over medium-high heat. Brown the beef on every side, working in batches so the pieces have room to sear instead of steam, and let each piece pick up real color. Move the browned beef to the bowl with the bacon, then season it lightly with salt and pepper.
3. Pour out the oil from the pot, leaving the browned bits behind. Add the remaining tablespoon of oil and heat it over medium heat. Stir in the onions and shallots, season them lightly with salt and pepper, and cook, stirring, until the onions have softened, about 8 minutes. Add the garlic, carrots, and parsnips, if using, and turn everything over a few times so the vegetables get lightly coated with oil.
4. Pour in the brandy, raise the heat, and scrape and stir so it pulls up the browned bits from the bottom of the pot. Let the brandy bubble for 1 minute, then add the beef and bacon back to the pot. Pour in the wine, add the bouquet garni, and stir everything together.
5. Once the wine reaches a boil, cover the pot snugly with aluminum foil, then set the lid on top. Transfer the daube to the oven and let it braise without stirring for 1 hour.
6. Take the pot from the oven, lift off the lid and foil, and stir the stew once. If the liquid seems to have cooked down significantly, which is not likely, add only enough water to cover the ingredients. Cover the pot again with the foil and lid, return it to the oven, and cook for another 1 1/2 hours, for a total of 2 1/2 hours. The beef should be tender enough to pierce easily with a fork; if it is not there yet, cook it for about 30 minutes more.
7. Taste the sauce. If you want it richer and more concentrated, ladle it into a saucepan, set it over high heat, and boil until it tastes right to you. Once the sauce is where you want it, adjust the salt and pepper. If you are reducing the sauce, wait to season until after it has reduced. Remove the bouquet garni, then skim the fat from the surface with a large serving spoon.
8. Serve the beef and carrots with sauce spooned over them.
9. Storing: This stew can be refrigerated for about 3 days or frozen for up to 2 months. If making the daube ahead, do not reduce the sauce right away; cool the stew and refrigerate it. Before serving, remove the solidified fat from the chilled daube, reduce the sauce, and season it one final time.