Ragout of Beef with Cranberries and Wild Mushrooms

¼ pound double-smoked or hickory-smoked slab bacon finely diced

¼ cup unsalted butter or vegetable oil

3 pounds boneless beef chuck, trimmed of excess fat and cut into 1-inch cubes

4 large peeled shallots or scallions, trimmed and coarsely chopped

2 large yellow onions, peeled and coarsely chopped

2 packages (8 ounces each) sliced cremini or white mushrooms

2 small sprigs fresh thyme (preferably lemon thyme) or ½ teaspoon crumbled dried leaf thyme

1 small sprig fresh rosemary or ½ teaspoon crumbled dried leaf rosemary

2 cups dry red wine (such as a Pinot Noir or Cabernet)

1¾ cups beef broth

1 cup canned whole cranberry sauce

½ ounce dried porcini mushrooms or chanterelles

1 teaspoon salt, or to taste

¼ teaspoon freshly ground black pepper, or to taste

1 cup heavy (whipping) cream

Bring a small pot of water to a boil. Add the diced bacon, and cook for 10 minutes. Drain well, and set aside.

In a large, heavy, nonreactive Dutch oven set over medium-high heat, melt the butter until it froths and subsides. Working in batches (don't crowd the pan!), brown the beef, allowing about 10 minutes per batch. As each batch is done, transfer the meat to a bowl using a slotted spoon.

Add shallots (or scallions), onions, sliced mushrooms, the blanched bacon, thyme and rosemary to the pot, and saute, stirring often, until lightly browned, 10-12 minutes.

Return the beef to the pot along with any accumulated juices. Add the wine, broth, cranberry sauce, dried mushrooms, salt and pepper, and bring to a boil. Adjust heat so liquid bubbles gently, and simmer until beef is fork-tender, 2-2frac12; hours. At this point you can cool, cover, and refrigerate the ragout for up to two days, or freeze it for up to three months. Thaw if needed, and reheat gently but thoroughly before proceeding.

Mix in cream, and simmer uncovered until liquids reduce to a nice gravy consistency; this will take about 30 minutes. Discard thyme and rosemary sprigs (if you have used them), taste for salt and pepper, and adjust as needed.

Serve hot with boiled potatoes, buttered egg noodles or spaetzle.

Serves six.

Cook's note: Wondering what the difference is between stewing and braising? They both involve long, slow cooking, in the oven or on the stovetop, in a pot with a tight-fitting lid. But with a stew (more commonly done on top of the stove), you use enough liquid to just cover the ingredients. With a braise (more commonly done in the oven), a much smaller amount of liquid is used. The tight-fitting lid and low temperatures are important in braising to keep liquid from evaporating.

#8220;Falling Off the Bone#8221; by Jean Anderson (2010 Wiley)