French A-Z
Daube Provencal

"Daubes were traditionally cooked in a covered urn-shaped pot called a daubiere. The pot was placed in the fireplace – away from direct flame – on a bed of hot embers, with more embers piled into the indentations in the lid. The result? Even heat from above and below that gently simmered the stew.  So oven braising is not only more effective than a stovetop simmering but also more authentic."





At some point, the very idea of rustique in Provencal style cooking has to have something to do with the indented lid of an old daube pot set into the embers of a cottage fireplace...as described above. The very smell that emanates from the description of the old farm recipe of Daube Provencal, cooked as it was for multiple hours in order for the roast to break down properly, is tempting just to think about.  The tested and suggested version from Cook's Illustrated: All-Time Best French Recipes, wonderfully places its readers inside the kitchens of old.

The testers in the kitchen suggest a particular way to handle the meat so to maximize this eventual rusticity: "Our choice of meat for all stews is cut from the chuck, or shoulder, which is notoriously tough (the meat softens nicely during long, slow cooking) but also flavorful..."  The right stock of meat decided on, the author goes on to mention that all authentic stews tend to have a certain flavor profile that elevates them to Provencal, some with a particular wine or beer, but for the Daube it is the dynamic mixture of such items as dried mushrooms, Nicoise olives and later, at the very end of the cooking of the dish, an addition of canned whole peeled tomatoes for brightness.

One of the ingredients that truly stands out for this particular 'test,' are Ortiz Oil Packed Anchovies, which tasters, although apprehensive in the beginning, began to praise "the rich, earthy flavors of the dish and noticed a nutty – not fishy – complexity that had been missing without them."  The second exclusive ingredient added to the Daube test was a temporary submersion of salt pork, cured (but not smoked) pork belly gives the stew richness of flavor.  "In any case, the salt pork was added in a single piece that I removed and discarded just before serving, once the pork had given up its flavor to the stew."

Add one bottle of a good red cooking wine over the vegetables, meat and anchovies and let simmer stovetop for two and a half to 3 hours and the result is a modified version of beef stew that is meant to re-perfect some old techniques and to create a dish that is memorably regionally distinct.  The point with Provencal cooking, it seems, is to create dishes that are formed by the local produce and meats available and cooked in such a way that instills patience for the very process of rustic cooking.  For the discerning eater, that patience almost always translates to dynamic flavors and textures that truly would be impossible to duplicate in any shorter, less considerate mode of cooking.  When the bites out of the pot begin to taste like the surrounding earth, then you know you are eating history right out of the spoon.