 | |
| Type | Stew |
|---|---|
| Place of origin | France |
| Region or state | Provence |
| Main ingredients | Beef, wine, vegetables |
Daube (French pronunciation:[dob]ⓘ,Occitan:adòba oradobo) is aFrench slow-cooked stew, usually of beef, but other meat is sometimes used. The best-known is thebœuf en daube à la provençale, aProvençal stew made with cheaper cuts of beefbraised in wine, with vegetables, garlic and herbs, and traditionally cooked in adaubière–a braising pot.
TheOxford English Dictionary defines a daube as "A braised meat (usually beef) stew with wine, spices, etc".[1] InThe Oxford Companion to Food, Philip and Mary Hyman note that the word is a French culinary term indicating both a method of cooking and a type of dish. TheDictionnaire de l'Académie française dates the word to the 16th century, and says that it derives from the Occitandobba, amarinade.[2]
In the 18th century, daubes were a specialty of the French town ofSaint-Malo. The Hymans comment that there were many different types: "artichokesen daube, celery, pork cutlets, goose— all these and many other foodstuffs besides were prepareden daube".[3] Most were made to be eaten cold.[4] Daubes remained popular in 19th-century France, but by then, they were nearly always meat dishes, usually beef, eaten hot. By the end of the 20th century, the term was largely confined tobœuf en daube. The dish came to be seen as rustic and old-fashioned, and the copper pots—daubières—in which it was traditionally cooked became "a curiosity in antique markets".[3]
Cooks differ widely regarding which meat should be used for a daube. There is common consent that it should have a long marinade before cooking, but some say it should be cooked as a whole piece, others that it should be cubed or sliced. In theirMastering the Art of French Cooking,Simone Beck andJulia Child describebœuf en daube à la provençale as a braisedpot roast of beef with wine, tomatoes, andprovençal flavourings:
Their insistence that the dish contains a whole piece of beef is not shared by some other cooks.Elizabeth David writes inFrench Provincial Cooking:
The recommended cuts of meat for a daube vary. David favourstop rump (also called thick flank);[6] Beck and Child's preference is fortopside;[5]Auguste Escoffier, referring to French butchers' cuts, specifiespaleron orgîte;[7]Prosper Montagné favours the more expensiverump;[8]Paula Wolfert opts forshort rib;Joël Robuchon recommendsox cheeks (and notes that in Provence a daube is sometimes made with beef from the Camargue bull or with lamb shoulder);[9] andPatricia Wells advises using at least three cuts of beef from different parts of the animal, arguing that some – such asplats de cétes – enhance flavour with their cartilaginous bones, others – such astende de tranche – provide purer meat with little muscle separation, and others – such aspaleron add both meat and muscle for added texture.[10][n 1]
There is, similarly, no unanimity about what a daube is cooked in. InLarousse GastronomiqueProsper Montagné specifies a daubière, a traditional cooking pot, which may be made of stoneware, earthenware or tinned copper.[8] Wells and Wolfert opt for earthenware. In her 2009 bookMediterranean Clay Pot Cooking Wolfert calls the daubière "instantly recognizable by its tall, potbellied shape and distinctive lid … designed so that the ingredients can be packed inside with only a small amount of liquid and then set over low heat to braise". Daubières slowly convey heat up from the bottom, causing the tough connective tissues in the meat to transform intogelatine.[11] According to Robuchon a daubière or other clay casserole is ideal, but he suggests as alternatives a cast-iron casserole or other heavy pan.[9]
David writes that the cooking pot may be earthenware, cast iron, copper or aluminium, "wide rather than deep";[6] Beck and Child call for a heavy, covered casserole, without specifying what it is made of.[5]
The wine in a daube is usually red, but for thebœuf en daube à la provençale Montagné and Wolfert specify white. David, Escoffier, Robuchon and Wells use red, as do Beck and Child, who recommend a complete bottle of strong young red such asMâcon orBeaujolais.[12] Tomatoes, onions, herbs, garlic, salt and pepper are common to most daubes. Some cooks add other ingredients, which may includeanchovies, carrots,cloves,marrow bones, mushrooms,nutmeg, olives,pancetta, orange peel, pork rind, salt pork, tomato purée, and wine vinegar.[12] Some recipes include a small amount of flour to thicken the braising liquid.[12]
Other beef daubes include:
Montagné mentions daubes of chicken, turkey and pheasant,[18] and David prints a recipe fordaube à la avignonnaise, in whichmutton or lamb is used, rather than beef. Tomatoes are not used, but otherwise the ingredients are the same as for a typicalbœuf en daube à la provençale.[19]
