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Country-Style Beef Daube with Périgord Black Truffle

A recipe inspired by history

The pairing of braised beef and black truffle is rooted in the great tradition of French haute cuisine, particularly that of Marie-Antoine Carême, known as “the king of chefs and the chef of kings”. His influence extended far beyond France, reaching the Russian imperial court, where he was invited by Tsar Alexander I.

This Franco-Russian culinary tradition continued a few decades later with Pierre Cubat, a French chef who trained in Paris under Adolphe Dugléré, himself a former pupil of Carême. As a chef at the court of Alexander II, Cubat served “beef daube with truffles, accompanied by meltingly tender potatoes” at an imperial hunting luncheon.

Our recipe takes its inspiration freely from this meeting of French culinary tradition and the splendour of the Russian imperial court. It features beef slowly braised in red wine, with black truffle added towards the end of the preparation to preserve the aromas of this precious fungus, which Brillat-Savarin described as “the diamond of the kitchen”.

Preparation: 30 minutes · Marinating: 12–24 hours · Cooking: approximately 3 hours · Serves: 4–6

Ingredients:

• 1 kg braising beef, such as feather blade, beef cheek or chuck

• 800 g–1 kg waxy potatoes

• 1 bottle of smooth red wine, such as Côtes-du-Rhône or Languedoc

• 1 onion

• 2 carrots

• 2 garlic cloves

• 1 bouquet garni (thyme, bay leaf and parsley stalks)

• 1 tablespoon flour

• 2 tablespoons olive oil

• 40–60 g* fresh black truffle (Tuber melanosporum)

• 40–50 g unsalted butter

• Salt and pepper

• Optional: a little veal stock

*The quantity is a guide: adjust according to the ripeness and aromatic intensity of your truffles.

Method

1. The day before, cut the beef into large pieces. Place in a dish with the red wine, sliced onion, thickly sliced carrots, garlic and bouquet garni. Cover and leave to marinate in the refrigerator for 12–24 hours.

2. Drain the beef, reserving the marinade. Separate the vegetables from the wine, then pat the beef dry and brown it in a heavy-based casserole with the olive oil.

3. Lightly sprinkle the beef with the flour and stir briefly. Add the vegetables from the marinade, then pour in the reserved wine. Top up with a little veal stock or hot water only if there does not appear to be enough liquid to braise the beef.

4. Bring to the boil, skimming if necessary, then reduce the heat. Cover and cook very gently for approximately 3 hours, until the beef is meltingly tender. Check the liquid level during cooking and add a little hot water if necessary.

5. Gently clean the truffle (see our guide on how to store fresh truffles). Finely dice approximately one-third and mix it into the softened butter. Cut the remaining truffle into thin slices or small dice, according to your preference, reserving a few attractive slices for serving. Refrigerate the truffle butter and the remaining truffle until needed.

6. While the daube is cooking, steam the potatoes or boil them in salted water until tender. Keep warm.

7. Once the beef is cooked, remove the bouquet garni, then lift the beef out of the casserole. If needed, reduce the sauce for a few minutes. Turn off the heat. Wait two or three minutes, then add the truffle butter, which should have been removed from the refrigerator 15 minutes earlier to help it blend smoothly into the sauce. Finally, stir in the remaining truffle, except for the slices reserved for serving.

8. Return the beef to the sauce, cover and leave to rest for 10–15 minutes. Serve immediately with the hot potatoes, placing a few thin slices of fresh truffle on each plate just before serving.

A few precautions

As the daube’s sauce is particularly rich and full-flavoured, choose a fully ripe black truffle and allow 40–60 g per 1 kg of beef so that its aromas can shine through.
Do not add the truffle at the beginning of cooking.
The daube should retain its essential character: meltingly tender beef and a deeply flavoured, slowly simmered sauce. The truffle is added only at the end of the preparation, bringing its fresh, complex aroma without exposing it to prolonged cooking.

Which wine should you serve with this dish?

Choose a mature red wine with mellow tannins and developed aromas. A Saint-Émilion with forest-floor notes or a Burgundy Pinot Noir with sufficient structure will complement the tender beef and truffle without masking their aromas.

Historical source: Caroline Favre, “Pierre Cubat, le cuisinier des tsars”, Observatoire franco-russe, 24 December 2021.