4 lbs buffalo meat [I used chuck roast] in stewing cubes
nom nom nom
2 pieces bacon, chopped in lardons i.e. little slices; I actually diced mine and that was excellent
1 cooking onion, diced
1 piece celery, sliced
1 carrot, sliced
Olive oil
Salt
Pepper
2 tbsp all purpose flour
3 cloves garlic, minced
Can tomato paste, waiting for the glorious day when it comes in resealable containers because you never need a whole can….what you really need is 2 tbsp so if you have that kicking around, God bless you, check to see that it’s not moldy because that always happens to me
Bouquet garni [fancy French term for a big bundle of fresh herbs: I get to use my silicon food-tie for this purpose: rosemary, oregano, thyme, parsley]
3 cups beef stock
Half a litre bouncy young red wine, this time around was an inexpensive [=cheap] organic Sangiovese, but we’ve used Beaujolais in the past and of course the classic Burgundy would not go amiss…I wonder if a Malbec would suit?
2 cups tiny mushrooms; if tiny ones are not available, I’m sorry. But you can quarter normal mushrooms and use them instead
24 pearl onions; use peeling them as a meditation of sorts
2 firm-fleshed potatoes e.g. Yukon Gold, cut into 2 cm cubes
I make a pact with myself that no little burnt-buffalo-bit or carrot-shaving or oniony-garlicky-winey tidbit escapes this stew and therefore I use one pot primarily with only one [1] auxiliary saute pan, whose use I will cue you for. Preheat the oven to 450. Prep the mirepoix veggies and set aside. In your main heavy-bottomed oven safe stewpot, which ideally will be a Le Creuset or similar, heat 2 tbsp olive oil over medium heat. Brown the bacon lardons until they are wizened and dessicated; remove them and set aside in a bowl. Pat the buffalo dry with many paper towels. It will not brown properly if it is damp, and 4 lbs is a lot. M suggested pressing it between plates in layers with paper towels and that worked out fine.
Brown the buffalo in batches in the olive oil and bacon fat on high heat, seasoning as you go. Remember to brown all sides. Set the browned meat aside, batch by batch. Let the pot warm up and reduce in between and if needed, add additional olive oil and bring it back up to blisteringly high heat. When all the meat is browned, add mirepoix veggies to the fat, season, and saute until onion is translucent and well-being is generally good. Throw buffalo back in there, stir to cover with veggies and goo; add 1 tbsp flour sprinkling it over the top, salt and pepper, and put in oven, uncovered, for 5 minutes. Remove and toss; add another tbsp flour, s&p, and put back in oven for another 5 minutes [this puts a good crust on your meat if you know what I mean and I think you do.]
After this last meat-flour episode, reduce oven heat to 325 and put pot back on medium-low heat. Add beef stock, wine, garlic, tomato paste and stir. Bring to simmer on the stove. Put the bouquet garni in there, cover and throw back in the oven for AT LEAST 2 hrs because buffalo is intensely chewy and gamey and you want to stew the heck out of that sucker. In the meantime, at some point during this 2 hrs, saute potato cubes, mushrooms and pearl onions in butter and olive oil in your auxiliary saute pan, seasoned with salt and pepper…then set aside when onions are browned and mushrooms have released most of their juice.
At the two hour mark I recommend trying one of your buffalo bits and deciding how tender it is, if it is to your liking. Ours was, and therefore we removed the bouquet garni, added the mushrooms et al, stirred well, and put it back in the oven for another half an hour. If you are dealing with some particularly gristly or gamey meats, you may elect to add more wine/water and put ‘er back in the oven for a while.
I am pretty sure that of all the magnificent things I have made in this kitchen [and there have been many] this is the most magnificent. It is a sweet melange of French and Canadian cooking [NOT French-Canadian cooking], what with Blue Goose Farms and Julia Child’s recipe. Bon appetit, eh?
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