Braising Chuck

perfect day to do this. snowing since last night, more to come today. this is a winter dish for sure. nothing like a 2nd rate cut of meat cooked for a long time in aromatics and liquid. we're talking chuck. your mother and grandmother might have made pot roast. same thing. this piece of meat that i had was almost 3 pounds, about an inch and a half thick. probably 4-5 separate muscles held together by the sinew and fascia in this one large piece of meat. really the only way to cook this and have it edible is by braising it.

so, mis en place:

sliced carrots, not too thin, about a cup, maybe a little more
3 medium onions, quartered
5-6 ribs of celery, including some of the leaves, in half inch pieces
4-6 shallots, outer skin removed, ends trimmed, but left whole
3-4 cloves of garlic, smashed
4 oz of pancetta, quarter to half inch cubes ( buy 1 slice about a half inch thick and cube it yourself)
3-4 oz of wine, whatever you've got leftover
about 3-4 tablespoons of simple tomato sauce (Classico works for me, or make your own)
2 cups of beef broth; i used a cube. if you have home made stock, great
about 2 tablespoons of dijon mustard
about 1 tablespoon of anchovy paste (yes anchovy paste)
about two tablespoons of dried herbs, i had oregano, basil, thyme, and parsley
salt and pepper
evoo

salt and pepper the meat both sides, bring to room temperature before you start.
in a big saute pan, one that has a lid and that can be used in the oven as well, heat about 2 tbs of evoo over med-high heat until it is shimmering. gently place the meat in the pan and brown both sides. once you place it, don't move it, just let it sit there and get a crust on it. take care not to splash yourself when you turn the meat. about 4-5 minutes each side. remove and reserve.
next the pancetta, lower the heat to medium-low and brown it, but this one you need to move around the pan a bit while it is rendering. after 4-5 minutes, or when it looks like cooked bacon, remove and reserve. leave the rendered fat in the pan.
now veggies: add the carrots, return heat to medium-high, toss to coat with the oil. cook about 2-3 minutes. then add the onions and celery, again toss to coat with the oil. cook another 4-5 minutes. salt and pepper. you want to hear the sizzle when this is cooking. if it's not sizzling, your pan is probably too low. after 4-5 minutes they will start to wilt.

make a space in the pan for the shallots and garlic. cook them moving them a little to get a little color on them, once they color a bit (2-3 minutes), mix them into the rest of the veggies in the pan. should be sizzling pretty good. now you are ready for the liquids.

add the wine, and scrape the bottom of the pan with a spatula or wooden spoon (deglazing the pan) to get up any brown bits that are stuck there. once you add the liquid, the sizzling will subside. after 2 minutes or so, add the tomato sauce, mix well. add the pancetta back in, mix well. the broth should be warm when you add it so you don't stop the cooking process. if it isn't warm, nuke it now for a minute. add about half the broth, about 1 cup. bring back to a simmer. make a little spot in the middle of the pan and add the anchovy paste, mix well to dissolve into the broth. add the mustard and herbs, ditto. mix together everything in the pan, give it all a good stir.

preheat oven to 300 degrees.

<  ready for the rest of the stock and then into the oven
 
place the chuck back into the saute pan, making a little valley in the veggies to accommodate the meat. pour in enough of the remaining broth so that liquid comes about halfway up the side of the meat, but not so it is completely covered. cover the pan and put in the oven for about 2.5 hours. about halfway through, you can turn the meat over if you like.

remove from oven, let it sit for 10-15 minutes before serving. the vegetables should still be in pretty good size pieces to compose your side dish for the meat. with all the delicious broth and juices left in the pan, you could reduce it and make a gravy, or serve the veggies and broth over some pasta or rice. i made some farfalle and put them right into the veggies and broth. really good. just don't throw the liquid away; there is so much flavor in there, you have to use it for something else. of course, a piece of bread works too. enjoy. with the half pound of pasta that i made, this would serve 4 people very well.

as far as time, seems like a lot, but not really. the prep took me about 30 minutes max. the steps prior to putting it in the oven took about 45 minutes. then you are done for almost three hours, except for making a little pasta or whatever at the end.