法式炖牛肉蔬菜
France's great one-pot of home cooking: cuts of beef gently poached for hours with marrow bones and a garden of vegetables — carrots, leeks, turnips, celery — until everything is tender and you have a clear, deeply savoury broth. Pot-au-feu is two courses in one pot: the fragrant bouillon served first with toasted bread, then the beef and vegetables with coarse salt, mustard, cornichons and marrow on toast. Rustic, frugal and quietly luxurious.
Cover assorted beef cuts (a mix of lean and gelatinous, plus marrow bones) with cold water, bring slowly to a bare simmer and skim well. Add aromatics — onion studded with cloves, garlic, bouquet garni, peppercorns — and poach very gently for 2.5–3 hours until the beef is tender. Add the vegetables (carrots, leeks, turnips, celery, and potatoes near the end) and simmer until just tender. Serve the strained bouillon first with toasted bread, then the sliced beef, marrow and vegetables with coarse salt, Dijon mustard and cornichons.
- Use a mix of beef cuts (lean + gelatinous) and marrow bones for a rich broth and varied texture.
- Keep it at a bare simmer and skim well for a clear, clean bouillon — never a hard boil.
- Serve it as two courses: the broth first, then the meat and vegetables with mustard, salt and cornichons.
Equipment
- Very large stockpot
- Skimmer
- Kitchen string
食材
Beef & broth
- 1.5 kg mixed beef cuts (e.g. brisket, short rib, shank)
- 2 marrow bones
- 1 onion studded with cloves; garlic; bouquet garni; peppercorns; salt
Vegetables
- 4 carrots; 3 leeks (tied); 3 turnips
- 2 celery stalks; potatoes (added near the end)
To serve
- Toasted baguette (for the marrow and broth)
- Coarse salt, Dijon mustard, cornichons
步骤
- 步骤01
Put the beef cuts and marrow bones in a large pot, cover with cold water, and bring slowly to a bare simmer. Skim off the foam thoroughly as it rises — this is the key to a clear bouillon.
- 步骤02
Add the clove-studded onion, garlic, bouquet garni, peppercorns and salt. Keep at the barest simmer (never a rolling boil) and poach gently for 2½–3 hours, until the beef is tender, topping up with water if needed.
- 步骤03
Add the carrots, tied leeks, turnips and celery, and simmer until tender, about 30 minutes; add potatoes for the last 20 minutes (cook them separately if you want a clearer broth).
- 步骤04
Strain and taste the bouillon. Serve it as a first course in bowls with toasted baguette — and spread the soft marrow from the bones onto toast with a sprinkle of coarse salt.
- 步骤05
Slice the beef and arrange it with the vegetables on a warm platter, moistened with a little broth. Serve with coarse salt, Dijon mustard and cornichons on the side.
Make ahead
Ideal to make ahead — the broth is even better the next day, and chilling lets you lift off the fat for a cleaner bouillon. Cook it a day before, then gently reheat the meat and vegetables in the broth to serve. Classic leftovers (boiled-beef salad, shepherd's pie) are part of the tradition.
Storage
Keeps 3–4 days refrigerated and is excellent reheated; the broth deepens and you can skim the set fat off the top when cold. Leftover beef and broth make superb soups, hachis parmentier or salads. The bouillon freezes well. Cook potatoes fresh if reheating, as they go grainy.
Variations
Poule-au-pot
The chicken cousin — a whole hen poached with vegetables, from Henri IV's France.
Add bone marrow toasts
Roast extra marrow bones and serve the marrow on toast with coarse salt as a starter.
Leftovers
Turn next-day beef into hachis parmentier (shepherd's pie), a salad, or miroton (onion-tomato beef).
Serve with
Nutrition per serving
Nutrition values are estimates based on the metric measurements. Adjust as needed.
常见问题
What cuts of beef are best for pot-au-feu?
A mix is traditional and best: some lean cuts (like brisket or rump), some gelatinous, collagen-rich cuts (like shank, oxtail or short rib that turn meltingly tender), and marrow bones for richness. The variety gives different textures and a deeper broth. Tougher braising/boiling cuts are ideal here — they reward the long, gentle poach.
Why start in cold water and skim?
Starting the beef in cold water and bringing it up slowly draws out impurities that rise as foam, which you skim off for a clear, clean-tasting bouillon. If you boil hard or skip skimming, the broth turns cloudy and muddy. Keep it at a bare, barely-trembling simmer throughout — pot-au-feu is poached, never boiled hard.
How is pot-au-feu served — as soup or a main?
Both, traditionally in two services from the one pot. First the clear bouillon is served on its own (often over toasted bread) as a starter. Then the sliced beef, marrow and vegetables are served as the main course with coarse salt, Dijon mustard and cornichons. It's a complete, convivial meal in one pot.
What do I do with the marrow bones?
The marrow bones enrich the broth as it cooks, and the soft marrow itself is a delicacy: scoop it out and spread it on toasted baguette with a sprinkle of coarse salt — a classic part of serving pot-au-feu. Tie them or use a wide pot so they stay upright and the marrow doesn't all escape into the broth.
What's the best way to use the leftovers?
Leftover pot-au-feu is a French institution. The beef and vegetables become a salad (with vinaigrette and onions), hachis parmentier (shepherd's pie), or boeuf miroton (in onion-tomato sauce). The broth is a ready-made base for soups. Making extra for leftovers is half the point of cooking a big pot.
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