Braised Beef with Citron Confit and German Beer

I was pretty harsh, mean and nasty to Bill today. I had a deadline for the Iron Cupcake at 1PM and by 12:45, I was palpitating and was taking it out on him since it took him a while to take those gorgeous photos, leaving me so little time to make it for my deadline. Well, we made it on time, and after seeing the final post, an overpowering sense of guilt came over me. The photos are beautiful, and all the while, I am rushing him to finish up. Note to self: Never rush an artist. So, I decided to make it up to him by making him pot roast for dinner. And hey, it's not called bribery, it's called an apology.

Bill loves Pot Roast, but then again, who doesn't? With all honestly, I can say that there is nothing more comforting than pot roast for Sunday family dinner. And on this particular day, what with the rain and winter gloom outside, the aroma of the beef slowly braising in beer, herb and spices makes it more agonizing to wait for dinner to finish cooking.

I still have about 3 lbs of lemon confit in my reefer from when I made them last Summer. I cannot seem to use them fast enough so I have been using them on my recipes lately. I decided to use it in the pot roast, to give it a twist, why not!

Braised Beef with Citron Confit & German Beer

3 lbs Beef Chuck

1 T olive oil
1 bottle (16 oz) German Beer
16 oz water
2 T Beef Dashida
1 bulb of garlic
1 large onion
1 pc lemon confit, washed & pith removed
bouquet garni (rosemary, thyme, bay)
sea salt

freshly ground black pepper
1 lb organic carrots
1 lb red potatoes
1 bunch organic kale
1 T flour dissolved in 4 T of water


Salt all sides of the beef and let it marinate for two hours in the refrigerator. Heat oven to 325 F. In a dutch oven, heat the olive oil then brown all sides of the beef. Add the beer, water, dashida, garlic, onion, lemon confit, bouquet garni, salt and pepper. Bring it to a boil, transfer in the oven and let it braise covered for 2 1/2 hours.

Prepare the vegetables 30 minutes before the beef is ready by parboiling them in boiling water with sea salt.

When cooked, discard the bouquet garni and transfer the beef to a chopping board. Let it rest for 20 minutes before slicing. In the mean time, prepare the gravy. Strain the broth then return to stove top. Bring broth to boil, add the flour mixture, and cook stirring constantly until thickened.

Arrange the vegetables and beef in a plate and pour the gravy over it.

Bill loved it! He said it was the best Pot Roast ever! Great, I hope that means that my apology was accepted.