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Grandma's Beef and Noodles

Adapted from Laura's Mom & Grandma

Ingredients

For the meat:

  • 1 3-4 lbs piece of braising beef, preferably bone-in (but mine was not) (My mom uses chuck and so would I normally but the local farmer's market only had rump, which they put in netting for me--not necessary)
  • 2 T vegetable oil
  • coarse salt and pepper to coat the beef (at least a tablespoon of salt)
  • decent pinch of salt for onions
  • 4 cloves garlic, minced
  • 1 medium onion, chopped
  • 2 T white wine
  • 2 cups beef stock

For the final dish:

  • 3-4 cups beef stock, maybe more (you want the noodles to move freely)
  • canned beef, optional (anything to up the beef flavor, but if you have good beef stock is not necessary)
  • salt if stock is homemade
  • 1 lb homemade handcut noodles (if impossible, buy a homemade style egg noodle, such as Amish egg noodles)
  • 1-2 T flour if needed for thickening (see directions)
  • salt and pepper to taste for final dish

Instructions

  1. Heat an oval dutch oven (any braising dish will work, although Grandma always used an oval, about 5 qts, which happened to be what I have too) over medium high heat. When it is hot, add the oil and heat it to shimmering. In the meantime, dry the beef thoroughly and coat and rub it in salt and pepper. Be generous here, there should be a decent coat of salt on the meat. Place the beef in the heated oil and sear on all sides. Take your time and let a crust develop before turning it. Get as many sides as you can--due to shape you may miss some, which is ok.

    salted and pepper coasted beef
  2. Preheat the oven to 300 F to be ready in 3-4 hours--if you need to take longer you can also cook it at 275 for the first few hours and take more like 5-6 hours total.
    Browned beef
  3. Remove the beef and place on a dish that will catch the juices. Throw the onions and garlic into the pot. Turn down the heat if it is too hot, which will happen with cast iron. Cook until the onions are translucent. Deglaze the pan with the white wine, just a splash or 2. Add the 2 cups beef stock and bring to a boil. Add the beef, with its juices, back into the pan. Cover the pan with parchment paper hanging over the sides and place a heavy, tight fitting lid on top of that. Place in the oven for 3-4 hours. Turn the beef over halfway through, especially if your cut of beef is higher than the liquid line.
  4. When the beef is falling apart tender, break it apart into bite sized clumps. Add canned beef if using. Add enough stock to be able to cook the noodles and add some salt if using homemade.
  5. Bring to a boil on the stovetop over medium high heat and add the noodles. When the noodles are done, take notice of now thick or watery the sauce is. If it is too watery, let it simmer, uncovered. Mix 1-2 tablespoons flour (depending on how watery you think it is) with the equivalent of cold water and add it to the sauce. The finished dish should be saucier than mine looks (see notes above about my stock problem). Taste for salt and pepper.

    beef and noodles at end of cooking
  6. If you have some guests who need heat in their food no matter what, serve with red chil pepper flakes (Grandma just rolled over in her grave, as did Grandpa too, but what can I say I am married to a Chile Head).