INGREDIENTS
5 pounds meaty Bean Hollow Grassfed bone in chuck steaks or arm roast
Salt and pepper
Olive oil
1 large onion, peeled and halved
2 whole cloves
2 bay leaves
2 tablespoons tomato paste
2 cups dry red wine
4 cups beef or chicken broth, heated
2 pounds small carrots (great to use multiple colors), peeled and cut in 2- or 3-inch lengths of roughly equal thickness
1 medium leek, white and tender green parts, cut in 1-inch dice (about 2 cups)
2 tablespoons unsalted butter
1 teaspoon potato starch or cornstarch, dissolved in 2 tablespoons cold water
3 tablespoons chopped parsley, for serving
2 tablespoons finely cut chives, for serving
PREPARATION
Season each steak generously all over with salt and pepper. If time permits, set aside for an hour to let seasoning penetrate meat.
Heat oven to 350 degrees. Put a large cast-iron skillet over medium-high heat. When pan is hot, add olive oil just to film the bottom. Working in batches so as not to crowd pan, brown a few steaks at a time on both meaty sides. Reduce heat as necessary to achieve browning gradually; it may take 4 to 5 minutes per side for well-browned steaks. This will guarantee a dark, rich color for the sauce. Transfer steaks to a Dutch oven or deep, wide baking dish.
Use a clove to pin a bay leaf to the rounded side of each onion half. Set the onion cut side down in the skillet and let cut side brown for a minute or two. Transfer onion to pot with steaks.
Add tomato paste and wine to skillet and bring to a simmer, stirring and scraping with a wooden spoon to dissolve all of the flavorful brown bits, then pour wine mixture over steaks.
Add broth to Dutch oven, cover and bake for 2 to 2 1/2 hours, until meat is very tender when probed. Remove from heat, uncover and skim fat from surface. (See note.)
Fill a large saucepan with well-salted water and bring to a boil. Add carrots and simmer until done, but not too soft, about 8 to 10 minutes. Drain carrots, reserving 1/2 cup of cooking water.
Return saucepan to stove over medium-high heat and add butter. Add leeks, season with salt, and cook, stirring, until barely softened. Add carrots and reserved cooking water. Gently combine, turn off heat and cover for 5 minutes.
Carefully transfer short steaks to a large, deep serving platter. Bring braising juices to a boil over high heat. If you wish to thicken the sauce lightly, add potato starch mixture and cook 1 minute more. Ladle sauce over steaks.
Transfer carrot and leek mixture, along with buttery juices, to a serving dish. Sprinkle carrots and steaks with parsley and chives and serve.
Tip: For increased flavor and easier fat removal, prepare the recipe through step 5. Instead of skimming the fat right away, refrigerate the meat in the pot overnight, covered, and then remove the fat the next day.