Adam Ragusea's Orange braised Beeflogo copyheart icon

Trim any very large chunks of fat out of the beef as you cut it into big pieces. Heat some oil in pan (ideally one for which you have a lid) and brown the beef in two batches. Peel the onion and slice it into thin wedges. When all the beef is cooked, remove from pan and put the onion in and fry it for a few minutes until it starts to turn brown. Crush and peel the garlic and throw it in with the onions, whole. Stir in a squeeze of tomato paste. When the fond on the bottom of the pan is about to burn, deglaze with two cups (475mL) of water. Return the beef to the pan. Zest in both of the oranges and squeeze in their juice. Throw in the chilis, if using. Grind in some pepper and stir in two pinches of salt. Bring to a boil, reduce to a simmer and cover. It’ll take 4-5 hours to braise until the meat is soft. Check on it once or twice to stir things around, make sure nothing is sticking to the bottom, and make sure all the liquid isn’t evaporating out. If it needs more water, give it some. When the beef is about as soft as you want it, uncover and let the sauce reduce a bit while you prep the sides. Heat the oven to 200ºC. Peel the carrots and cut them into 1cm slices. (You could simply simmer them with the beef for the last hour of braising if you don’t want to roast them.) Throw them on a roasting tray, toss with oil salt and pepper, and roast for about 20 minutes until golden and tender. Stirring halfway through helps. Zest the lime, and toss the zest through the carrots right before you eat. (Save the lime itself for the beef.) Get the egg noodles boiling in salted water. Drain when done, and toss with a little butter to keep them from sticking to each other. When you’re ready to finish the beef, turn the heat off. Pull the chilis out and discard. Pull out all the beef chunks, being careful not to break them apart. Taste the braising liquid, and give it more of whatever you think it needs — salt, pepper, a pinch of sugar, a little lime juice. With the heat off and the sauce definitely not bubbling, stir in one or two egg yolks, depending on how thick you want the sauce. Turn the heat back on and bring the sauce to a simmer, stirring constantly. (If you really boil it, the egg will go grainy.) You should notice the sauce thicken a little when it simmer and the eggs cook, but it’ll thicken more as it cools to eating temperature. Put the beef back into the sauce, and carefully coat the pieces without breaking them apart. You could also stir in some fresh herbs at this point, and maybe a little water if the sauce is too thick. Put all the food on a plate and eat it. When you reheat any leftovers, do it gently so you don’t overcook the egg in the sauce.