Beef bourguignon

Cut the chuck into large pieces, toss with a long drizzle of olive oil and a big four-finger pinch of salt, spread on a sheet tray and sear under the broiler about 15 minutes.

For the wine reduction, put one bottle, 750 mils, of dry-ish red wine in a pot with 300 g rough chopped onions, 300 g carrots, 150 g celery, a couple of heads of chopped garlic, a few sprigs of thyme and a couple of bay leaves.

Simmer with everything submerged until the vegetables soften and the wine has cooked down by about 75%, about 15 minutes, to about a cup and a half; this rounds off the tannins and cooks off the raw alcohol.

Fold a big piece of cheesecloth in half twice and lay it in the Dutch oven with the burner off.

Add 900 g beef stock with four packets of gelatin whisked in, 15 g tomato paste and 20 g beef base, then the seared beef with all its juices and drippings, stirring to submerge.

Lid on, braise at 300 degrees F for about two and a half to three hours, until the beef will shred if you want it to.

Cool 30 minutes, then refrigerate overnight with the lid ajar.

The next day pull off the excess beef fat, melt the braising liquid over heat for about two minutes and lift the cheesecloth package of beef out with tongs.

Squeeze the cheesecloth over a strainer, then pour the rest of the braising liquid through it and push the vegetables through; this is the most flavorful part of the dish.

Return the liquid to the Dutch oven with another 300 g beef stock and one more packet of gelatin.

Bring to a simmer, add 300 g chunky carrots and reduce the volume by 75 to 80% until sticky, cooking the carrots until stewy and tender.

In a large saute pan with olive oil, cook 275 g quartered cremini mushrooms with a strong pinch of salt about eight minutes to brown them and cook off most of their moisture; wet heat alone makes them spongy.

Add the mushrooms to the reducing pot and lower the beef in carefully over medium low, without stirring or tossing so it does not shred.

Baste the beef with the liquid as it reduces, about 15 more minutes, building a glazed lacquer until the sauce is glossy and sticky and reduced to about three cups.

Serve on a couple of big dollops of potato puree with the carrots and mushrooms, two big chunks of beef, and three or four spoonfuls of the reduced liquid; it is a restaurant sauce, not a gravy.