braise
Marsala-Braised Beef with Root Vegetables
This is a braise that rewards patience but asks almost nothing of you technically. Beef chunks go into the pot with onion, carrot, celery, and a braising liquid built on Marsala and bone broth — the beet juice is the quiet move, deepening the color and adding an earthiness that makes the sauce look like it came from a restaurant kitchen. After a couple of hours in a low oven, the beef is soft enough to cut with a spoon, and the braising liquid has reduced into something glossy and deeply savory. The whole thing is simpler than it looks.
- Prep
- 20 min
- Cook
- 2 hr 30 min
- Total
- 2 hr 50 min
- Serves
- 4
- braise
- beef
- winter
- comfort food
- weekend cooking
- one pot
- gluten-free
Chef notes
The Marsala brings a nutty, slightly sweet depth that's drier and more complex than you'd get from a standard red wine braise. The bone broth builds the savory backbone, and the beet juice — just 80 ml — doesn't taste like beet at all in the finished dish; it pulls the sauce color toward a deep garnet and rounds out the earthiness in a way that's hard to place but easy to notice. The tomato paste adds a thread of umami and acidity that keeps everything from feeling heavy. The braising liquid does double duty: it's the cooking medium and the sauce. By the end of the braise, it's absorbed fat and gelatin from the beef, sweetness from the carrots, and the wine's tannins have mellowed into something smooth and glossy. The short reduction after the oven is the finishing move — five minutes uncovered and it goes from thin to coating the back of a spoon. If you want it even more concentrated, pull the beef out first so it doesn't overcook while the liquid reduces.
Tips
The sear is where most people go wrong with a braise — either they don't get the pan hot enough, or they crowd the beef and steam it instead of browning it. Dry the beef well, work in batches, and don't move the pieces until the crust releases cleanly from the pan. That brown crust is what gives the sauce its depth; a pale sear makes a pale, flat sauce. Everything else in this recipe is mostly just waiting. Chuck is the right cut here — it has enough fat and connective tissue to become tender and silky over a long braise. A leaner cut like round will turn dry. The beet juice can come from a store-bought bottle or a can of plain cooked beets blended and strained — just make sure it's unseasoned. The braise can be made a full day ahead; the flavor actually improves overnight. Reheat gently on the stovetop with a splash of broth if the sauce has thickened too much in the fridge. Serve in wide shallow bowls to show off the sauce. Set two or three chunks of beef in the center, arrange a few pieces of carrot and celery alongside, then spoon the sauce over generously — it should pool around the beef rather than just coat it. Finish with a few torn flat-leaf parsley leaves for color contrast against the deep ruby sauce. The dish is dark and rich-looking; the parsley and any pale exposed beef are the only bright notes, so don't skip them.
Ingredients
Serves 4 · 2 hr 50 min total
- 1.2 kg beef chuck
- 1 large yellow onion
- 3 celery stalks
- 3 medium carrots
- 4 garlic cloves
- 200 ml dry Marsala wine
- 400 ml beef bone broth
- 80 ml beet juice
- 2 tbsp tomato paste
- 2 tbsp olive oil
- 6 sprigs fresh thyme
- 2 bay leaves
- to taste kosher salt
- to taste black pepper
- a small handful flat-leaf parsley
Method
Heat the oven to 160°C. Cut the beef chuck into roughly 5 cm chunks and pat them very dry with paper towels. Season generously on all sides with salt and pepper.
Heat the olive oil in a large Dutch oven or heavy oven-safe pot over high heat. Sear the beef in batches — don't crowd the pan — until deeply browned on at least two sides, about 3–4 minutes per side. Set the seared pieces aside.
Reduce the heat to medium. Add the onion, celery, and carrots to the pot, cut into rough 2 cm pieces. Cook, stirring occasionally, until the onion softens and picks up a little color, about 5 minutes. Add the garlic and tomato paste and stir for 1 minute until the paste darkens slightly.
Pour in the Marsala and scrape up any browned bits from the bottom of the pot. Let it bubble for 2 minutes, then add the bone broth and beet juice. Tuck in the thyme sprigs and bay leaves.
Return the beef to the pot. The liquid should come about two-thirds of the way up the beef — add a splash of water if it falls short. Bring to a simmer, then cover and transfer to the oven.
Braise for 2 to 2.5 hours, until the beef is fully tender and yields easily when pressed with a spoon. Check once halfway through; if the liquid looks low, add a small splash of water or broth.
Remove the pot from the oven. Discard the thyme stems and bay leaves. If the braising liquid looks thin, set the pot over medium heat uncovered for 5–10 minutes until it thickens slightly into a glossy sauce. Taste and adjust salt.
Serve the beef and vegetables in shallow bowls, spooning plenty of sauce over the top. Scatter torn parsley leaves over each portion.
