Côte du boeuf with bordelaise sauce and braised endive

This cut of beef, a thick steak on the bone from the rib primal, is particularly popular in France. Serve it with Bordelaise sauce, famously from Bordeaux, and you have a match made in heaven.

Credit: Blink TV

• serves

  4-6

• prep

  20 minutes

• cook

  6 hours

• difficulty

  Ace

Ingredients

• 1.6 kg cote de boeuf
• 1 tbsp olive oil
• 120 g unsalted butter
• 8 sprigs thyme
• 2 bay leaves
• 1 head garlic, sliced in half

Veal jus

• 2 kg veal osso bucco
• 2 tbsp olive oil
• 2 brown onions, peeled and chopped
• 2 carrots, peeled and chopped
• 2 celery stalks, peeled and chopped
• 2 leeks, peeled and chopped
• 1 head garlic, halved
• 6 sprigs thyme
• 2 bay leaves

Bordelaise sauce

• 20 g unsalted butter
• 4 large golden French shallots, thinly sliced
• 300 ml red wine
• 300 ml veal jus
• 150 g bone marrow

Braised endive

• 80 g butter
• 4 endive (yellow witlof)
• 200 ml chicken stock
• 60 ml (¼ cup) veal jus

Instructions

1. For the veal jus, heat the olive oil in a large, heavy based frying pan over high heat. Cook the veal pieces until golden on all sides. Remove from the pan, then reduce the heat to medium high and add the vegetables. Stir until golden, adding a little more oil if necessary. Place the vegetables, veal and herbs into large pot and cover with plenty of cold water. Bring to the boil over high heat, then reduce the heat to low and cook, skimming the top regularly, for 4 hours. Strain the stock, discard the solids, then return the stock to a clean saucepan and simmer over medium heat until reduced to a sauce consistency. Set aside.
   
2. For the Bordelaise sauce, place a saucepan over medium heat and when hot, add the butter and melt. Add the sliced shallots and cook, stirring occasionally for 15 minutes or until completely soft. Deglaze with red wine, then bring to the boil. Reduce the heat to low and simmer until reduced by half. Once the reduced, add the veal jus, bring to the boil and reduce by about one third.
   
3. For the braised endive, place a frying pan over high heat and add half the butter and endive. Cook until golden on all sides. Add the stock and veal jus and cover with baking paper. Reduce the heat to low and simmer for 20 minute or until the endive is tender in the centre. Remove the endive from the pan and drain, leaving any cooking liquid in the pan.
   
4. To cook the beef, place a large frying pan over high heat. Add the oil and 2 tablespoons butter. When melted and hot, add the beef, then add the thyme, bay leaves and garlic. Add another 2 tablespoons of butter and baste the meat with the butter and herbs. Continue to cook and baste for about 9 minutes, then turn the steak over and cook for another 9 minutes, continuing to baste. Remove the meat from the pan and place on a wire rack to rest for 15 minutes. Season generously with fleur de sel.
   
5. Slice the endive in half, then place the pan with the endive juices over high heat. Add the remaining butter and place the endive back in the pan, cut side down. Cook until golden brown, then turn over to colour the other side.
   
6. Add the bone marrow to the Bordelaise sauce to warm through.
   
7. To serve, place the endive on serving plates. Slice the beef and place on top of the endive, then spoon over the jus and bone marrow and garnish with chives.

Photography by Blink TV. Styling by Blink TV. Food preparation by Guillaume Brahimi.

From Normandy to the Spanish border, follow Guillaume Brahimi along the French Atlantic at SBS On Demand.

Cook's Notes

Oven temperatures are for conventional; if using fan-forced (convection), reduce the temperature by 20˚C. | We use Australian tablespoons and cups: 1 teaspoon equals 5 ml; 1 tablespoon equals 20 ml; 1 cup equals 250 ml. | All herbs are fresh (unless specified) and cups are lightly packed. | All vegetables are medium size and peeled, unless specified. | All eggs are 55-60 g, unless specified.