As I found myself making my list of different dishes to serve, for my little 3 days of celebrating Christmas with our families, I came across something that I had not made in “eons”…Daube Glace!  A wonderful combination of tender Roast Beef, vegetables and seasonings molded together with gelatin creating a beautiful delicious hor d’oeuvre for the holidays or any special occasion.

In South Louisiana, the first thing that everyone thinks is…Hogs Head Cheese (which a lot of people love, but not everyone!) – so it takes a little explaining to get a few squeamish people to try it.  But once they do – they are sold!!  Serve it on toasted baguettes or crackers with Dijon Mustard…wonderful….

I was so busy (and my stove top and oven were full) with all of the other creations that I wanted to serve, that I decided to cook my big old sirloin tip roast in my slow cooker…yes, you can cook a fabulous roast in a slow cooker – with one golden rule…you have to season and brown it really well “before” putting it in the slow cooker and pour all of those wonderful juices on top of it!  And it has to be cooked with a lot of onions, celery and carrots…

Ingredients:

Large Sirloin Tip Roast (Chuck Roast or Rump Roast)

3 medium onions quartered

2 stalks of celery cut into large pieces

4 large carrots cut into large pieces

5 cloves of garlic

1/4 cup canola oil

Creole seasoning

1/2 cup of dry red wine

1/4 cup water

3 bay leaves

3 sprigs of fresh thyme

2 envelopes plain gelatin

Olives

Medium size mold – any shape will do…depends of the holiday, of course!

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Place onions, celery and carrots in the bottom on a slow cooker – sprinkle with creole seasoning;

Make slits in roast and stuff with garlic cloves – season roast really well with creole seasoning.  (literally covering it on all sides!)

Heat oil in heavy pot and brown roast on all sides;

(It really is darker than it looks in the pic!)

Remove roast and place on top of veggies in slow cooker;

Add red wine to pot, de-glaze – scraping bottom and sides of pot to make sure that you get all of the wonderful flavors of the roast combined;

Pour sauce onto roast and veggies – add 1/4 cup water to cooker;

Add bay leaves and thyme;

Cover and set slow cooker on low for 10 hours – never remove lid!!

When cooked, remove roast and chop into bite size pieces;

Remove veggies with a slotted spoon – make sure that you keep all of the liquid in the pot…

Cut a few pieces of carrots and onions into rectangular pieces for the top of the mold;

Add gelatin to liquid in cooker and stir to dissolve;

Oil mold well;

Carefully place olives, carrot and onion pieces into bottom (which will be the top!) of the mold and add just enough of the roast gravy with gelatin to cover – place in fridge until it sets;

Add chopped roast on top of the veggies and pour gravy/gelatin mixture to fill mold;

Place back in the fridge for at least 8 hours or longer;

To remove mold, carefully run a sharp knife along edges of mold (around the outside and inside;

Place platter on top of mold and turn over and shake slowly;

Slice and serve with toasted baguettes or crackers and Dijon mustard;

This was a huge hit at Christmas and would be great for New Year’s or any special occasion…you just have to keep explaining that it isn’t Hog’s Head Cheese!!! Not from South Louisiana – then you won’t have any explaining to do!  It is gorgeous and delicious…

Just to let you know, I am a recent convert for putting a beautiful roast in a slow -cooker…my sister-in-law convinced me to try it and I am glad that she did!  If your family is having an envie for a roast, rice and gravy and you know that you don’t time after work (or in my case…the oven and stove is “full”) then try cooking it this way – cooks while you are at work or doing other things and is fabulous!  Works…really works…I promise!

For anyone who is interested in knowing more about a little more about Daube Glace’ – I have added what “Wikipedia” has to say about it.  Interesting – at least, I think so!

Daube is a classic Provencal (or more broadly, French) stew made with inexpensive beef braised in wine, vegetables, garlic, and herbes de Provence, and traditionally cooked in a daubière, a braising pan. The meat used in daube is cut from the shoulder and back of the bull, though some suggest they should be made from three cuts of meat: the “gelatinous shin for body, short ribs for flavor, and chuck for firmness.” Although most modern recipes call for red wine, a minority call for white, as do the earliest recorded daube recipes.

Variations also call for olives, prunes, and flavoring with duck fat, vinegar, brandy, lavender, nutmeg, cinnamon, cloves, juniper berries, or orange peel. For best flavor, it is cooked in several stages, and cooled for a day after each stage to allow the flavors to meld together. In the Camargue and Béarn area of France, bulls killed in bullfighting festivals are often used for daube.

Traditionally, it should be cooked for a long-time and prepared the night before it is served.

Daube with lamb is traditionally made with white wine.