Provençal Red Wine Beef Daube

Pat the cubed beef chuck thoroughly dry using paper towels on a clean cutting board to ensure optimal browning during searing. Wash hands, knife, and cutting board with warm soapy water immediately after handling raw beef to prevent cross-contamination.

Season the beef cubes uniformly with 10 g of kosher salt and 3 g of cracked black pepper, placing them onto a clean plate.

Heat 30 ml of olive oil in a Dutch oven with lid over medium heat (160°C/320°F), add the bacon lardons, and sauté until golden and crisp, about 7 minutes, then remove lardons with a slotted spoon to a clean plate leaving the rendered fat in the pot.

Increase heat to medium-high (190°C/375°F) and sear the beef cubes in the Dutch oven with lid in two uncrowded batches for 3 to 4 minutes per side until deeply browned, transferring the seared meat to the plate with the bacon. While whole cuts of beef must reach a safe minimum internal temperature of 63°C (145°F) with a 3-minute rest, this cut will cook far past that during the long braise to ensure tenderness.

Lower heat to medium (150°C/300°F), add the diced yellow onion and sliced carrots to the Dutch oven with lid, and sauté for 6 minutes, stirring with a wooden spoon until the onions turn translucent and light golden.

Stir the minced garlic and 30 g of tomato paste into the vegetables in the Dutch oven with lid using a wooden spoon, cooking for 2 minutes until the paste darkens to a brick-red hue.

Dredge the cooked vegetable mixture by sprinkling 25 g of all-purpose flour evenly over the Dutch oven with lid, stirring continuously with a wooden spoon for 2 minutes to cook off raw flour starches.

Deglaze the Dutch oven with lid by pouring in 750 ml of dry red wine, using a wooden spoon to vigorously scrape up all the caramelized fond stuck to the bottom of the pot.

Simmer the wine over medium-high heat (100°C/212°F) for 8 minutes until the liquid volume has reduced by half, concentrating the wine aromatics and boiling off raw alcohol.

Assemble the stew by returning the seared beef cubes, bacon lardons, and any accumulated resting juices from the plate into the Dutch oven with lid, then adding 400 ml of beef broth, orange peel, thyme sprigs, rosemary sprig, bay leaves, and the remaining 2 g of kosher salt.

Preheat the Oven to 150°C (300°F) with a rack arranged in the lower third position.

Cover the Dutch oven with its tight-fitting lid, transfer it into the Oven, and braise at 150°C (300°F) for 2 hours and 20 minutes until the beef cubes are very tender when tested with a digital meat thermometer, easily exceeding the safe minimum internal temperature of 63°C (145°F) and registering between 90°C and 95°C (194°F and 203°F) for complete collagen breakdown.

Carefully remove the lid of the Dutch oven with lid, stir in 100 g of pitted kalamata olives using a wooden spoon, return covered to the Oven, and braise for an additional 20 minutes to infuse the briny olive flavor into the sauce.

Remove the Dutch oven with lid from the Oven, discard the orange peel, rosemary stem, thyme sprigs, and bay leaves using a slotted spoon, and let the stew rest uncovered for 15 minutes before serving so the sauce thickens and fat rises for optional skimming.