Step 1 of 6

Flour and brown the beef

Heat the oven to 325°F. Toss the beef cubes with the flour, the salt and the pepper until lightly coated. Heat the beef tallow in a heavy ovenproof casserole and brown the beef hard in batches, lifting each batch out as it colors.

— Three batches, not one. Beef piled into a pan steams in its own juice and never browns, and browning is where the flavor of a braise comes from.