The Trick Is To Do Nothing

  There is no better way to kick off the New Year than by braising a big beautiful cut of game. 

  In this case, we had the opportunity to work with bison, that just so happened to be killed by a good friend. Bison (a.k.a. buffalo) is the other beef. To be more precise, it's the leaner, generally more sustainable cousin of beef. 

  If you don't have access to freshly killed bison, we won't hold it against you. You can follow this recipe with any chuck roast or short ribs.

 We crawled from our beds late yesterday morning, three meals ahead as usual, to start dinner. Luckily, the real trick with slow cooking is to do nothing.

Ingredients:
-4-5 yellow onions, skins removed, halved

-4-5 carrots, quartered or halved depending on how big they are

-3-4 cloves garlic, diced

-1-2 pears or apples, halved

-4 lb. chuck roast, cut into 6" pieces

-3 bay leaves

-1 tbsp fresh thyme

-1 tsp fresh rosemary

-1.5 cups dry red wine

-1 cup water

-1 tbsp tomato paste

-salt and pepper to taste

Method:
1. Preheat oven to 325 F. Season beef with liberal amount of salt and pepper, allow to come to room temperature (this could take an hour). Dredge with flour

2. Heat a generous amount of olive oil in a large dutch oven, high heat. Dredge beef pieces in flour and once oil is sizzling, add the beef to the oil, approximately 3-4 minutes on each side. 

3. Remove beef from pan and set aside. Decrease heat to medium high. Add tomato paste, onions and garlic, stirring until slightly softened and golden brown. Add rosemary + thyme.

4. Bring heat to high and add pears, red wine + water. Season to taste. Return beef to pot, cover tightly and roast in oven for 3.5 hours. Check on it and allow for additional cooking time (up to one hour more).

5. Let stand uncovered for approximately 30 minutes before shredding, serving.

6. Do what you do best: make mouths water. It's best to pair this with a good starch such as crusty bread, potatoes or polenta. Or all the above. Bikini season is over for now baby.