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The pot-au-feu (French
French language

French is a Romance language spoken around the world by around 80 million people as first language, by 190 million as second language, and by about another 200 million people as an acquired tongue, with significant speakers in 54 countries....
 for "pot on the fire"; also known as beef stew) is a French
France

France , officially the French Republic , is a country whose Metropolitan France is located in Western Europe and that also comprises various Overseas departments and territories of France....
 boiled dinner. Many countries have similar dishes with local ingredients.

There are variations as to the cuts of beef and the vegetables involved, but a typical pot-au-feu contains:

Cooking cartilaginous meat in the stew will result in gelatin
Gelatin

Gelatin is a translucent, colorless, brittle, nearly tasteless solid, derived from the collagen inside animals' skin and mostly bones. It has been commonly used as a gelling agent in food, pharmaceutical, photography, and cosmetic manufacturing....
 being dissolved into the broth.






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Pot Au Feu2
The pot-au-feu (French
French language

French is a Romance language spoken around the world by around 80 million people as first language, by 190 million as second language, and by about another 200 million people as an acquired tongue, with significant speakers in 54 countries....
 for "pot on the fire"; also known as beef stew) is a French
France

France , officially the French Republic , is a country whose Metropolitan France is located in Western Europe and that also comprises various Overseas departments and territories of France....
 boiled dinner. Many countries have similar dishes with local ingredients.

There are variations as to the cuts of beef and the vegetables involved, but a typical pot-au-feu contains:
  • low-cost cuts of beef that need long cooking;
    • usually some kind of cartilaginous
      Cartilage

      Cartilage is a type of dense connective tissue. It is composed of specialized cells called chondrocyte that produce a large amount of extracellular matrix composed of collagen fibers, abundant ground substance rich in proteoglycan, and elastin fibers....
       meat, such as oxtail
      Oxtail

      Oxtail is the culinary name for the tail of a beef animal. Formerly, it referred only to the tail of an ox, a castrated bull. The oxtail of a steer typically weighs 2 to 4 lbs....
       and marrowbone
      Bone marrow

      Bone marrow is the flexible biological tissue found in the hollow interior of bones. In adults, marrow in large bones produces new blood cells....
      ;
  • vegetables: carrot
    Carrot

    The carrot is a root vegetable, usually orange or white, or red-white blend in colour, with a crisp texture when fresh. The edible part of a carrot is a taproot....
    s, turnip
    Turnip

    The turnip is a root vegetable commonly grown in temperate climates worldwide for its white, bulbous taproot. Small, tender, varieties are grown for human consumption, while larger varieties are grown as fodder for livestock....
    s, leeks, celery
    Celery

    Apium graveolens is a plant species in the family Apiaceae commonly known as celery or celeriac depending on whether the petioles or roots are eaten....
    , and onion
    Onion

    Onion is a term used for many plants in the genus Allium. They are known by the common name "onion" but, used without qualifiers, it usually refers to Allium cepa....
    s;
  • spices: bouquet garni
    Bouquet garni

    The bouquet garni is a bundle of herbs usually tied together with string and mainly used to prepare soup, stock , and various stews. The bouquet is boiled with the other ingredients, but is removed prior to consumption....
    , salt
    Salt

    A salt, in chemistry, is defined as the product formed from the neutralisation reaction of acids and base . Salts are ionic compounds composed of cations and anions so that the product is electrically electric charge ....
    , black pepper
    Black pepper

    Black pepper is a flowering plant vine in the family Piperaceae, cultivated for its fruit, which is usually dried and used as a spice and seasoning....
     and clove
    Clove

    Cloves are the aromatic dried flower buds of a tree in the family Myrtaceae. Cloves are native to Indonesia and used as a spice in cuisine all over the world....
    s.


Cooking cartilaginous meat in the stew will result in gelatin
Gelatin

Gelatin is a translucent, colorless, brittle, nearly tasteless solid, derived from the collagen inside animals' skin and mostly bones. It has been commonly used as a gelling agent in food, pharmaceutical, photography, and cosmetic manufacturing....
 being dissolved into the broth. If the stew is allowed to cool, the broth may turn into a jelly
Thickening agent

Thickening agents, or thickeners, are substances which, when added to an aqueous mixture, increase its viscosity without substantially modifying its other properties, such as taste....
, resulting in an interesting texture. Allowing the stew to cool also allows the removal of excess grease
Fat

Fats consist of a wide group of compounds that are generally soluble in organic solvents and largely insoluble in water. Chemistry, fats are generally ester of glycerol and fatty acids....
, which floats on the surface and congeals.

The dish is often served with coarse salt
Salt

A salt, in chemistry, is defined as the product formed from the neutralisation reaction of acids and base . Salts are ionic compounds composed of cations and anions so that the product is electrically electric charge ....
 and strong Dijon
Dijon

Dijon is a communes of France in eastern France, the capital of the C?te-d'Or Departments of France and of the Bourgogne Regions of France. Dijon is the historical capital of the provinces of France of Burgundy ....
 mustard and sometimes also with gherkin
Gherkin

The Gherkin is a small cucumber type vegetable, usually of the same species as the cucumber , but of a different Race . They are usually picked when 3 to 8 cm in length and pickling in jars or cans with vinegar or brine to become a pickled cucumber....
s and samphire
Golden samphire

The Golden samphire is a Perennial plant coastal species, which may be found growing on salt marsh or sea cliffs across Eurasia.Golden samphire has a tufted habit, and the plant may grow up to 1 m tall....
 pickled in vinegar.

The pot-au-feu broth may be used as a soup
Soup

Soup is a food that is made by combining ingredients such as meat and vegetables in Stock or hot/boiling water, until the flavor is extracted, forming a broth....
 (often enriched with rice
Rice

Rice is a staple food for a large part of the world's human population, especially in tropical Latin America, and East Asia, South Asia and Southeast Asia, making it the second-most consumed cereal grain, after maize....
, pasta
Pasta

Pasta is a generic term for Italian cuisine variants of noodles, food made from a dough of flour, water and/or Egg , that is Boiling. The word can also denote dishes in which pasta products are the primary ingredient, served with sauce or seasonings....
 or toasted bread), as a base for sauce
Sauce

In cooking, a sauce is liquid or sometimes semi-solid food served on or used in preparing other foods. Sauces are not normally consumed by themselves; they add flavor, moisture, and visual appeal to another dish....
s, or for cooking vegetables or pasta. There are ready-to-use concentrated cubes to make what purports to be pot-au-feu broth when water is added.

A pot-au-feu—a pot always left on the fire—could be a continuous affair in the past, with new ingredients added as some is used; nowadays houses do not have a permanent fire in cold weather, and the dish is cooked for a specific meal.

See also

  • Eintopf
    Eintopf

    Eintopf is a traditional type of Germany stew which can consist of a great number of different ingredients. Technically, the term refers to a way of cooking all ingredients in one pot, not to any specific recipe....
  • Hot pot
    Hot pot

    Hot pot , or less commonly Chinese fondue, refers to several Chinese varieties of steamboat . It consists of a simmering metal pot of stock at the center of the dining table....
     (Steamboat)
  • New England boiled dinner
    New England boiled dinner

    New England boiled dinner is the basis of a traditional New England meal, consisting of corned beef or a smoked ham, with cabbage and added vegetable items, often including potato, rutabaga, parsnip, carrot, turnip and onion....
  • Cocido
  • Oden
    Oden

    Oden is a Japanese winter dish consisting of several ingredients such as boiled egg , daikon radish, konnyaku, and processed fish cakes stewed in a light, soy-flavoured dashi broth....
  • Pho
    PHO

    PHO may refer to:* Primary Health Organisation* Potentially Hazardous Object...
  • Stew
    Stew

    A stew is a combination of solid food ingredients that have been cooked in liquid and served in the resultant gravy.Ingredients in a stew can include any combination of vegetables , meat, poultry, sausages and seafood....
  • Cozido à Portuguesa
    Cozido à portuguesa

    Cozido or cocido is one of the traditional dishes of Portuguese cuisine and Spanish cuisine. A stew made with different meats and vegetables, numerous regional variations exist throughout Portugal and Spain....


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