{"id":186550,"title":"Slow-Braised Beef in Red Wine","modified":"2026-10-06T09:09:14+02:00","plain":"Beef slowly braised in dry red wine, with caramelized onions, fennel and a touch of rhubarb, without flour or starch.\n\n\n\nMarbled beef turns tender over several hours in dry red wine, while the onions brown and thyme, sage and a touch of fennel infuse the Dutch oven with their aromas. Rhubarb adds a bright acidity at the end of cooking. For two servings, allow 15 minutes of preparation and around 4 hours 30 minutes of cooking, for a sauce that coats the back of a spoon without flour or starch. One to file alongside my keto main dishes.\n\n\n\nWhat is slow-braised beef in red wine?\n\n\n\nBraising means cooking slowly over steady heat, with the lid on. In beef braised in red wine, the wine is the main braising liquid: it simmers just enough to tenderize the meat and concentrate the juices.\n\n\n\nDuring this long cooking process, collagen gradually turns into gelatin. The juices thicken enough to coat the back of a spoon without flour or starch, keeping the dish low in carbohydrates.\n\n\n\nAnother recipe in the same vein: Thai chicken curry.\n\n\n\nThe tradition of dishes braised in red wine\n\n\n\nDishes braised in red wine are part of French home cooking. They call for slow cooking, controlled heat and a cut of meat that becomes tender rather than drying out.\n\n\n\nThis version keeps the spirit of a classic wine-braised dish, with a more pronounced aromatic profile: fennel brings an anise note, rhubarb adds acidity, and paprika and sage give the sauce more character. Fresh rhubarb is mainly available in spring and early summer, and only its stalks are used in cooking.\n\n\n\nThe main ingredients\n\n\n\nTwo generous, well-marbled pieces of chuck or braising beef stand up to the long cooking time and release the gelatin that thickens the sauce. A cut that is too lean would lose tenderness. Two sliced red onions, saut\u00e9ed and then caramelized over low heat, balance the acidity of the wine, balsamic vinegar and rhubarb.\n\n\n\nOn the same topic: Sayur buncis.\n\n\n\nThe fennel, thinly sliced and added about an hour before the end, becomes tender without falling apart. Four rhubarb stalks bring a fruity acidity to the cooking juices, balancing the richness of the wine and beef. For seasoning, use two teaspoons of paprika for gentle warmth and color, two of dried thyme, one of dried sage and one of fennel seeds ground in a mortar.\n\n\n\nThe red wine, half a small bottle, preferably dry, serves as the braising liquid and loosens the browned bits stuck to the Dutch oven. A splash of balsamic vinegar adds depth. For cooking, avocado oil, mild olive oil or high-oleic sunflower oil stands up to the heat; butter, especially from grass-fed cows, adds color and a creamy richness.\n\n\n\nFor a change: Chicken with asparagus.\n\n\n\nCooking tips and serving suggestions\n\n\n\nLet the chuck steaks come to room temperature, then sear them to brown the meat without burning it, pushing the onions to one side of the Dutch oven. Cooking the onions slowly for 15 to 30 minutes matters just as much as the braising: it gives the sauce its sweetness. Pour in the wine to deglaze, almost covering the meat, add a splash of vinegar, then cover and cook at the gentlest simmer, keeping an eye on the liquid level.\n\n\n\nFor another slow-braised beef dish in the same spirit, here is my beef stifado.\n\n\n\nBrowse all my keto recipes.\n\n\n\nThe total time is around 4 hours 30 minutes, with at least 3 hours of simmering: go by the texture, a fork should slide in without resistance and the fibers should pull apart. The fennel goes into the Dutch oven an hour before the end, and the rhubarb only 10 to 15 minutes before serving, so it does not fall apart. To keep the meal low in carbohydrates, serve with cauliflower mash, air fryer zucchini or green vegetables such as stir-fried bok choy. The dish provides around 828 kcal per serving; the net carbohydrate content is not specified.\n\n\n\n\n\n\tBeef Braised in Red Wine\n\t\t\n\t\t\t\n\t\n\t\t\t\n\t\n\t\t2 generous pieces beef chuck or stewing beef (or another well-marbled cut of beef)2 red onions1 fennel bulb4 stalks rhubarb2 teaspoons paprika2 teaspoons dried thyme1 teaspoon dried sage1 teaspoon fennel seeds0.5 small bottle red winea splash balsamic vinegaravocado oil, mild olive oil or high-oleic sunflower oil (for cooking)butter ((from grass-fed cows), as an alternative, for cooking)\t\n\t\n\t\tTake the beef chuck out of the refrigerator and let it come to room temperature.Heat the Dutch oven and add a generous splash of mild olive oil and a good knob of butter. Thinly slice the onions and saut\u00e9 until translucent. Then reduce the heat and leave to caramelize for at least fifteen minutes to half an hour.Coat the beef chuck with a generous splash of mild olive oil and a little balsamic vinegar. Finely grind the fennel seeds using a mortar or a small electric coffee grinder. Mix with the other herbs and spices. Season the meat with this mixture. Let the flavors infuse while the onions caramelize.Push the onions to one side. Briefly turn the heat up a little again. Add another knob of butter and sear the beef chuck on both sides.Deglaze with red wine, adding enough to almost cover the meat. Add a splash of vinegar as well. Simmer gently for at least 3 hours, preferably overnight. Cover the Dutch oven with a lid and check occasionally that there is enough liquid left. Turn the meat occasionally as well. Top up with wine or water if needed.One hour before serving, cut the fennel into strips. To do this, I often quarter the fennel first, then cut it into slices\/half-moons. Add to the meat. If necessary, add a little more wine or water. Put the lid back on the Dutch oven.Ten to fifteen minutes before serving, wash and chop the rhubarb. Add it and let it soften. Add more wine or water if needed.\t\n\t\n\t\tAlcohol in a low-carb recipe? Using alcohol in this type of recipe calls for an explanation.\nEquipment: cast-iron Dutch oven (with lid), small electric coffee grinder (or mortar).\n\t\n\t\n\t\tPlat principalFran\u00e7aise","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/marcwiner.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/186550","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/marcwiner.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/marcwiner.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/marcwiner.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/marcwiner.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=186550"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/marcwiner.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/186550\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/marcwiner.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/184713"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/marcwiner.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=186550"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/marcwiner.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=186550"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/marcwiner.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=186550"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}