Pot au Feu is a Classic Provencal Recipe
Beef · Let’s Eat the World · Main Course · Provencal Recipes · TastePot au Feu is a French recipe that you should have in your repertoire. A bit like a pot roast, it requires a large casserole, a selection of meat, a few root vegetables, and an afternoon. Once you have done the initial prep work, this meal pretty much cooks itself. Warning: tempting, delicious aromas will fill your home!
For some of our favourite recipes, explore the full Cook’n With Class recipe index. If you share one of these recipes on social media, please use the hashtag #AlwaysCooknWithClass so we can see what you made.
Sign up for a Cook’n with Class hands-on cooking class in Uzès or our original location in Paris. Use code PERFPROV10 when you book to get 10% off any regular workshop or culinary week—it’s a vacation for food lovers.

Pot au Feu: A Classic Provençal Recipe
Traditionally, the stew is served in 2 services. Meat and vegetables first, then the broth and the bread.
Ingredients
- 300 g (10 oz) beef brisket
- 300 g (10 oz) chuck steak
- 300 g (10 oz) thick beef ribs
- 6 bone marrow about 7 cm or 3 inches long
- 2 leeks
- 6 carrots
- 3 big potatoes
- 3 big turnips
- 1 small cabbage
- 2 sticks celery
- a few stems parsley
- bouquet garni (bay leaves, thyme...)*
- 2 onions
- 1 small garlic head
- 10 black peppercorns
- 6 cloves
- salt
Garnishes for serving:
- cornichons (pickles)
- mustard
- fleur de sel
Instructions
- Cut one of the onions in half; don’t peel. In a nonstick frying pan, ”burn” the onion. (The colour needs to be dark, like charcoal. This won’t give flavour, but it will give a dark colour to your broth.)

- In a very large, heavy-bottom casserole, add the meat (not the bone marrow), the burned onion, the other onion cut in half and poked with the cloves, the garlic head cut in half, bouquet garni, parsley, celery, black peppercorns, salt, and cover with water. Start the cooking. As soon as it starts boiling, lower the heat to a simmer and skim any foam that is floating.

- Cook for 3 hours.
- In the meantime, peel carrots, turnips, potatoes and reserve. Clean the leeks under cold water, strain and dry them.
- After 3 hours of cooking, add all the vegetables (except the potatoes) and cook for 30 minutes.
- Add the potatoes and the bone marrow, cook for 30 more minutes and let rest in the saucepan for 1 hour before serving.
- Serve with pickles, fleur de sel, Dijon mustard, and a fresh, crusty bread.
Notes
*According to Wikipedia, There is no generic recipe for bouquet garni, but most French recipes include thyme, bay leaf and parsley.
Tried this recipe?Let us know how it was!
Legal
All rights reserved. Perfectly Provence articles and other content may not be published, broadcast, rewritten (including translations into other languages) or redistributed without written permission. For usage information, please contact us.
Syndication InformationAffiliate Information
As an Amazon Associate, this website earns from qualifying purchases. Some recipes, posts and pages may have affiliate links. If you purchase via these links, we receive a small commission that does not impact your price. Thank you in advance for supporting our work to maintain Perfectly Provence.
Related Provence Articles
For a Hearty Winter Stew try Grillade Saint Gilloise
January 4, 2022
A slow-cooked meat stew, Grillade Saint-Gilloise, might be the perfect winter recipe. A hearty meat dish, this recipe typically includes beef or bull (taureau) chuck, onions, anchovy fillets, and capers. Sometimes called agrillade, aigriade, in Arles broufade, in Provencal broufado. The key to this recipe is the long marinating time. We recommend at least overnight. …
Mediterranean Fish with a Vegetable Tian a Provencal Dish
May 15, 2015
This easy-to-make savoury dish combines some of the best local ingredients from Provence into a single dish. Gilles at Provence Gourmet brings Perfectly Provence readers his recipe for Mediterranean fish accompanied by a classic Provencal vegetable tian. A main course that is simple to prepare along with and a vegetable side dish. More Seafood …
A Dish of Tender Leeks – Poireaux en Vinaigrette
June 6, 2017
This easy recipe for Provencal tender leeks in a simple vinaigrette. The markets of Provence are a bit like a food-filled treasure hunt. The produce changes with the seasons and even within the region local specialties might not be found outside a limited geography. …
Steak au Chocolat a Sauce Recipe for Friends
January 8, 2020
This chocolate-based sauce for the steak adds a slightly decadent finish to the grilled meat. The sauce worked well in a pairing with the Hermitage La Petite Chapelle (2012) from Paul Jaboulet-Aîné, a red wine from the Northern Rhône Valley.…
No Comment