Braised beef with Esterhazy cream sauce à la Didi

Ingredients for 8 servings:

• 2 stalk(s) leeks
• 500 g celeriac
• 500 g carrot(s)
• 6 m.-large shallot(s)
• 2 kg beef
• 4 tbsp clarified butter
• 4 tbsp tomato paste
• 750 ml red wine, dry
• 250 ml grape juice, red
• 2 liters of beef stock
• 4 bay leaves
• 6 cloves
• 20 peppercorns, colored
• 2 shots of orange juice
• 4 tbsp butter, cold
• 2 tbsp cranberries
• 400 ml cream
• e.g. salt and pepper
• e.g. Paprika powder, hot
• n. B. Sauce thickener, dark

Instructions

Working time approx. 40 minutes; Cooking/baking time approx. 3 hours; Total time approx. 3 hours 40 minutes

Preheat the oven to 175°C (top/bottom heat). Heat the clarified butter in a roasting pan, brown the meat all over, and then remove briefly. Trim or peel the vegetables (leeks, celeriac, carrots, and onions) and roughly dice them. Add the diced vegetables to the roasting pan and fry until well roasted. Add the tomato paste and sauté. Mix the red wine with the grape juice. Gradually add the red wine and grape juice mixture, letting it reduce continuously. Return the meat to the roasting pan. Place the bay leaves, juniper berries, cloves, and peppercorns in a spice bag (so you don’t have to fish them out later), add the spice bag, and top up with the beef stock. Place the roasting pan in the preheated oven and braise everything, covered, for about 1.5 hours. Then remove the lid and braise for another 1.5 hours. Remove the meat from the roasting pan. Strain the sauce through a sieve. Add a dash of orange juice and let the sauce simmer for about 15 minutes. Now blend in the cold butter with a hand blender and stir in the cranberries. Finally, add the cream and season with pepper, salt, and paprika. Thicken with a sauce thickener, if desired. Serve the sauce with the beef or with beef cheeks (see my recipes).