1 kg boneless braising beef in one piece, 7500 ml bottle tannic red wine, 60 ml brandy, 4 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil, 2 carrots, 2 bay leaves, 3 ribs celery, 1 5 inch sprig rosemary, 1 tsp whole black peppercorns, 1/2 cinnamon stick
3 ltr heavy flameproof casserole with a lid, combine the beef, wine, brandy, 4 tbsp of the olive oil, the carrots, the bay leaves, celery, rosemary, crushed peppercorns and cinnamon stick.
4 whole cloves, 2 medium onions
Stick a clove into each of the onion halves and add to the casserole.
Cover and refrigerate for at least 12 hours or up to 24 hours. Turn the meat form time to time.
At least 2 hours before cooking the meat, remove the casserole from the refrigerator to bring the mat to room temperature.
Remove the meat from the marinade and pat dry. Pour the marinade into another container and reserve.
Rinse and dry the casserole.
3 tbsp olive oil
Add the remaining 3 tablespoons of olive oil to the casserole and heat the oil over a moderately high heat. When the oil is hot but not smoking, add the beef and brown evenly on all sides, 3 to 4 minutes per side.
sea salt and freshly ground black pepper
Season the beef generously with salt and pepper.
Add the marinade to the casserole. Bring it to a simmer, then reduce heat to very low and cover. Simmer gently for about 3 hours until the beef is fork tender.
Turn the meat from time to time, and do not let much of the liquid evaporate. You should have about 250ml of liquid remaining for the sauce.