Presalt the beef:

One hour to three days ahead of cooking: Use a scant teaspoon of kosher or fine sea salt per pound of meat, seasoning evenly all over. Cover and refrigerate beef until use.

One hour before putting the braise into the oven, take meat out of refrigerator.

Pour the bottle of wine into a pot that will hold it. Turn the burner to medium high and reduce the wine to a half-cup. A splatter screen is useful here.

Reducing the wine takes 45 minutes to an hour; while it reduces, prepare the rest of the braise.

Turn the oven to 325 F/160C

If you are using the pig’s foot, place it in a small pot–about 2 quarts/liters works well–and cover it with cold water. Bring the pot of water to a boil, skim, and reduce to a simmer. Simmer for about 20 minutes. Drain the pig’s foot and set aside to cool.

Brown the beef: pour the olive oil into a sauté pan. If you have not pre-salted the beef, salt it lightly now, using about a teaspoon of kosher or fine sea salt per pound-or to taste. Brown the meat lightly, in batches if necessary. Do not crowd the pan, as meat will steam rather than brown if crowded. The meat doesn’t need to be perfectly browned on all sides. You just want some nice color on it.

Remove the beef to a plate as you go, or, if you prefer, remove it to your braising vessel. I use a Staub 4-quart/liter “Everyday” pan for braising, which must be heated slowly. So I put it on a low burner while browning, transferring the beef as I go.

To assemble the braise:

Place the browned beef in the center of a 4-6 quart/liter heavy casserole or Dutch oven, ideally with a lid. You want the cooking vessel to just hold the quantity of food you’re braising. Surround the beef with the carrot, onion, celery root, if using, the pig’s foot, and the garlic cloves. Sprinkle the peppercorns into the pan. Add the bay leaf.

I deglazed the sauté pan with a generous shot of Armagnac, scraping the fond with a spatula, tipping the small amount of liquid into the braising pot.

Pour in chicken broth so it’s about one inch/4 cm up the sides of the pot. Judy Rodgers notes that you may not use all the stock at first, but should save it in case you need it later.

Add the wine, which will be very dark.

Cover the pot with a lid, or seal tightly with foil if you don’t have a lid. Place in the oven.

Cook, checking at the hour point and turning the meat gently, if necessary. Braise will be fork-tender between 2-3 hours, depending on your oven, cooking vessel, and the meat you are using.

I started my braise at 325/160 degrees at noon. At 1:00, the stew was bubbling so strongly that I turned the oven down to 300/150. By 2:30 the meat was fork-tender.

Much of this is experience and knowing your oven. You won’t go wrong at 300/150 or 325/160 degrees provided you use your senses: your nose and tastebuds will tell you.

To finish the braise:

While you can serve the braise immediately, all stews benefit from an overnight rest in the refrigerator.

Do allow the braise to cool slightly. Taste a spoonful of sauce: it may need salt, a bit of sugar, or perhaps some balsamic vinegar. You may want to add a little broth to extend it. Or it may be fine as is. If you are unsure, pour a  little sauce into a small bowl. That way you are tweaking a small taste rather than the entire potful.

Once the sauce is to your liking, you can remove the meat and push the vegetables through a sieve or food mill for a silken puree. Or, as I did, you can peel the garlic by hand, gently mash the carrots with a potato masher, and leave it at that. Or you can serve everything as is, leaving the garlic to your dining companions.

If you have included a pig’s foot, you can shred the meat and include in the dish, though the ones I purchase tend to be so bony that I discard them after cooking.

Serve with polenta, mashed potatoes, couscous, or rice. A green salad and bread are necessary accompaniments Chez IK.

Brasato improves over about five days in the refrigerator. Freezing is inadvisable as the stew will become tasteless mush.

Lunch note: you know those terribly unhealthy hot dog buns? The white bread ones we’re not supposed to eat anymore? That we don’t have in our freezers? Spread one with mayo and sharp mustard. Now put lettuce and red onion on it (we’re making up for the buns here) Now add some leftover beef and some of the gungy, half-heated sauce. Close bun. Add some potato chips we all pretend we never, ever eat.

Notes: You can purchase a whole chuck roast and cut it yourself, or buy stewing beef. I bought 1.5 pounds organic grass fed chuck, (about 600 grams) which fed 2 modest eaters with leftovers. Three to four pounds will feed 4-6 people generously with leftovers. Do buy the best meat you can afford.