Pot-au-feu (petite marmite)

Method

1. Tie the beef with string so that it keeps its shape and put it into a large (ideally earthenware) pot with the marrow bone tied in muslin. Cover with 1.8 litres of cold white stock and bring slowly to the boil over moderate heat (about 40 minutes). Skim the scum carefully as it rises.
   TipStock and brothStock is a discipline of patience: rush it at a boil and you get a cloudy, greasy soup instead of a clear one.Why and howShow less

   Why

   Bones and meat go into cold water and are heated slowly, so the soluble proteins have time to leach into the water and coagulate on the surface as foam that can be skimmed off. When stock boils hard, the agitation breaks up the coagulated proteins and the rendered fat into tiny particles and disperses them through the liquid; the stock turns cloudy and greasy, whereas at a gentle simmer the scum and impurities sink to the bottom or stay on the surface. Body comes from bones, joints, skin and wings: their collagen turns into gelatin with long heating, which is why good stock sets to a jelly when chilled. Salt goes in only at the end, because stock evaporates as it cooks and is reduced further in sauces and risotto, so stock salted early easily ends up too salty. A big pot of hot stock cools slowly; how to chill it quickly is covered by the Cooling and storing leftovers card.

   How to do it

   1. Cover bones and meat with cold water so they are submerged and bring it slowly to a boil.
   2. Before it boils, skim the foam off the surface with a slotted spoon.
   3. Then turn the heat down so the surface only trembles now and then, and let the stock simmer without boiling hard.
   4. For more body, add bones with joints, skin or wings; add vegetables only in the second half of cooking.
   5. Strain the stock, lift the fat off the surface or once it has set after chilling, and salt only for its next use.
   6. Divide a large batch into smaller shallow containers and refrigerate it within 2 hours of cooking.

   If it goes wrong

   Cloudy stock can be used as normal, it just won't be clear; muslin or a fine sieve catches the coarser sediment, but only clarifying with egg white gives a truly clear stock, and don't let it bubble next time. Chill greasy stock and lift off the set fat. Dilute oversalted stock with water or unsalted stock; in a soup, more vegetables or noodles help as well. Stock that doesn't set when chilled needed more collagen-rich bones, but it still tastes good.

   Full card

2. Wipe the rim of the pot and cook very gently, with the surface barely trembling in one spot, half covered, for 1 hour. A rolling boil would cloud the broth.
3. Add the half hen, bring back almost to the boil, skim and keep cooking just as gently for another hour.
4. Meanwhile, turn the carrots and turnips into olive shapes, tie the leeks into a bundle and halve the celery heart. Blanch the cabbage in boiling water for 5 minutes and drain.
5. Add the carrots, turnips, leeks and celery to the pot and keep cooking just as gently for 1 hour, until the beef and hen are tender (a fork slides in without resistance) and the vegetables are done.
6. At the same time, braise the cabbage, covered, in a small saucepan with 2 ladles of the broth and a spoonful of fat from its surface for about 40 minutes until tender.
7. Taste the broth and only adjust the salt; do not skim off all the fat, it is served slightly fatty. Serve the marrow from the bone on small toasts. Slice the beef and hen and serve them with the vegetables and cabbage.