Oven-Braised Lapskaus with Smoked Bacon, Juniper and Brown Butter

Method

1. Preheat the oven to 160 °C. Cut the beef into 3 cm cubes, trim off any hard fat, pat very dry and toss with the flour.

   Add in this stepStewing beef (chuck or shin) 300 gPlain flour 1 tbsp

   oven

2. Cut the bacon into 1 cm strips and cook it in a heavy ovenproof 22 cm casserole over medium heat for 4 min, stirring, until the fat has run out and the bacon is crisp. Lift it out with a slotted spoon, leaving the fat behind.

   Add in this stepSmoked bacon 60 g

   medium heat

3. Turn up to medium-high heat, add half the oil to the bacon fat and brown the beef in batches with space between the pieces, 8 min in total, until deeply browned on all sides. Set aside with the bacon. This deep browning is the main flavour of the dish, so don't rush it.

   Add in this stepVegetable oil 1¼ tbsp

   medium-high heat

4. Turn down to medium heat, add half the butter and the chopped onion and cook for 5 min, scraping the bottom, until soft and golden. Stir in the tomato paste and cook 1 minute more, until it darkens slightly.

   Add in this stepButter ¾ tbspOnion 1Tomato paste 1 tsp

   medium heat

5. Peel all the root vegetables. Cut a little under half of the potatoes into small 1 cm dice (they melt and thicken the gravy) and the rest of the potatoes, the swede and the carrot into 2.5 cm cubes; keep those separate. Return the beef and bacon to the pot, add the stock, lightly crushed juniper, bay leaves, thyme and small potato dice, bring to a simmer, then cover and braise in the oven at 160 °C for 1 h 10 min.

   Add in this stepBeef stock 550 mlJuniper berries 5Bay leaves 1Thyme sprigs 2Floury potatoes 200 g

   oven

6. When the braise has about 30 minutes to go, heat the rest of the oil in a large 26 cm frying pan over medium-high heat and brown the large potato, swede and carrot cubes for 10 min, turning, until golden on several sides.

   Add in this stepVegetable oil 1¼ tbspFloury potatoes 300 gSwede (rutabaga) 160 gCarrot 120 g

   medium-high heat

7. Stir the browned vegetables into the stew and return it, uncovered, to the oven at 160 °C for 25 min, until the vegetables are tender and the gravy has thickened. Remove the bay leaves and thyme stalks.

   oven

8. Melt the remaining butter in a small pan over medium heat for 2 min, swirling, until it smells nutty and shows brown flecks. Season the stew with salt and pepper, ladle into warm plates, drizzle with the brown butter and scatter with parsley. Serve with pickled beetroot and flatbrød.

   Add in this stepButter ¾ tbspSalt to tasteBlack pepper to tasteParsley 4 gPickled beetroot 80 gFlatbrød or crispbread 2

   medium heat