Braised Flanken of Beef

By: Chef William Kovel
Anna Hoychuk/Shutterstock

Show your sweetie the depths of your love with a homemade, romantic meal this Valentine’s Day — after all, the way to someone’s heart is through their stomach, right? Just follow chef William Kovel’s recipe for braised flanken of beef with garlic parsley puree and Bordelaise sauce for an impressive dish that’ll make your darling swoon. Swiss chard and parsley keep the plate bright and fresh while plenty of red port, red wine and veal stock incorporated throughout make both the sauce and the beef rich and flavorful.

Need an appetizer to pair with your creation? Try chef Jordan Bailey’s Simple Mushroom Soup or chef Daniel Gursha’s Winter Citrus Salad with Stracciatella.

Details

Servings: 2

Ingredients

for the flanken
  • Canola oil
  • 2 flanken, 10 ounces each, trimmed of sinew
  • 1 small Spanish onion, cut into quarters
  • 1/2 carrot, cut into 1-inch pieces
  • 1/2 stalk of celery, cut into 1-inch pieces
  • 1/2 cup red wine
  • 1/4 cup of red port
  • 1 quart of veal stock
  • 1 bay leaf
  • 2 sprigs of thyme
  • Salt
  • Pepper
for the garlic parsley puree
  • 3 bunches of flat leaf parsley
  • 1/2 head of garlic, peeled
  • 1/2 quart of cream
  • Salt
  • Pepper
for the swiss chard
  • 1 bunch of Swiss chard, cut in strips and blanched
  • 1 each shallot diced
  • Butter
for the Bordelaise sauce
  • 1/2 cup of red wine
  • 1/4 cup of red port
  • 1/2 quart of veal stock
  • 1 1/2 shallots, sliced

Directions

for the flanken
  1. In two medium-sized sauté pans heat canola oil until very hot. Season flanken and sear in oil for three minutes per side.
  2. Remove and add onion, carrot and celery (mirepoix). Roast mirepoix until colored.
  3. Deglaze with wine/port. Reduce by half. Add flanken, veal stock, bay leaf and thyme.
  4. Cook at 300 degrees until knife is inserted without resistance, about 2.5 to 3 hours.
for the garlic parsley puree
  1. In a large pot of boiling salted water, blanch parsley for one minute. Remove and shock in an ice bath.
  2. Remove parsley and squeeze water out of it. Coarsely chop and chill in the refrigerator.
  3. Put three separate pots of boiling salted water on the stove. Blanch the garlic in each pot for two minutes each.
  4. After the third time, add to cream and reduce cream by half on the stove, stirring frequently to avoid scorching.
  5. Add hot cream/garlic to blanched parsley and blend until a smooth puree.
  6. The mixture should be bright green. Chill​.
for the Swiss chard
  1. Blanch Swiss chard in boiling salted water for one minute. Shock in ice water, remove and squeeze water from chard.
  2. Add butter and shallots to a medium sized saucepan and sauté until translucent.
  3. Add chard and reheat (do not cook again).
for the Bordelaise sauce
  1. Reduce wine, port and shallots until almost dry.
  2. Add veal stock and reduce until it coats the back of the spoon.
to assemble
  1. Remove flanken and strain braising liquid.
  2. Reduce liquid by two-thirds and glaze the meat.
  3. Place two spoonfuls of the parsley puree on the plate and make a small circle.
  4. Place two mounds of the Swiss chard down on each mound.
  5. Place braised flanken on top of the mound. Spoon sauce around.

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