This recipe takes all the best parts of France's most famous entrée, transforming it into a rich sauce to envelop the tender beef. The beauty of this dish is that we braise a piece of chuck whole, meaning it cooks evenly and is impressive to pull apart at the table. It's a true one-pot-wonder where the onions are caramelised before the beef is braised slowly for hours with stock, thyme and verjus. The result is a deeply savoury braise made to be served with buttery mash. The leftovers make a wonderful base for a pot pie, too. 

Ingredients

1.8 kilo whole piece of beef chuck steak

1 kilo brown onions, sliced

2.2 litre beef stock

300ml verjus

120ml soy sauce

½ bunch thyme

¼ bunch rosemary

4 x bay leaves

120g butter

Salt and pepper for seasoning

120ml olive oil

Method

Season the piece of chuck steak all over with salt and pepper.

Warm 120ml of olive oil in a large, cast-iron lidded casserole pot to a medium-high heat. Sear the beef in the pot, frequently turning until it is well caramelised all over. Once browned, remove the chuck steak from the dish and set aside.

Add 600g of the sliced onions to the pot and stir for a few minutes or until the onions become translucent. Add the verjus to deglaze the pot, making sure to scrape up any caramelisation from the base of the pan.

Add the beef to the caramelised onions with the rosemary, thyme, bay and beef stock, then stir to ensure the beef is submerged. Bring to a gentle simmer and cover with a lid, then turn the stove down to as low as possible and cook for four hours.

Strain the braising liquid into a large stock pot, and then bring to a boil over medium heat. Add the remaining onions to the pot and cook until the liquid has reduced by half. This should take about thirty minutes. Once reduced, whisk in the butter till it has dissolved, add the soy sauce and season with salt and pepper to taste.

To serve, divide the chuck into serving pieces, and generously spoon over the gravy. Serve with buttery mash.