Potée bourguignonne

Desalt the cured pork. Place the demi-sel pork ribs and belly in a non-reactive container, cover with cold water and refrigerate for 60 minutes soaking, then drain and pat dry. The soaking water tastes distinctly salty and the meat surface is clean and dry after draining. A controlled soak moderates excess curing salt without pretending to remove all sodium. Keep cured meat refrigerated during soaking and discard the used water.

Prepare the vegetables. Cut the cabbage into firm wedges and prepare the remaining vegetables in large pieces so they can withstand a long simmer. The cabbage wedges are compact and the root vegetables are in pieces large enough to hold their shape. Large cuts prevent the potée from turning into an undifferentiated soup. Keep the vegetable board separate from raw meat equipment.

Start the meats. Put pork ribs, pork belly, beef shank, onions, garlic, celery and bouquet in a large pot with exactly 3000 ml water. Bring to a gentle simmer over medium heat for 10 minutes and skim. Foam has been skimmed and the liquid has settled to a gentle simmer. Skimming controls broth harshness and keeps the finished potée cleaner. Hot broth and bones are burn and cut hazards.

Tenderise the main meats. Lower the heat and simmer gently for 100 minutes. The beef shank is beginning to yield around the bone and the cured pork is tendering without shredding. The beef shank needs a longer head start than sausage and potatoes. Intact pork and beef must reach at least 63 °C; the long braise continues well beyond this minimum.

Add cabbage, roots and sausage. Add cabbage, carrots, turnips, leeks and the sausages. Simmer gently for 50 minutes, adding potatoes for the final 30 minutes of this same stage. The sausage centres reach 71 °C, the cabbage is tender but still wedge-shaped, and the potatoes are fully tender without crumbling. Late potatoes and sausages prevent both from overcooking while the cabbage softens. Probe sausage in the centre; ground pork sausage must reach 71 °C.

Rest and portion. Turn off the heat, rest the potée for 5 minutes passive rest, then lift meats and vegetables to a deep platter and ladle a measured amount of broth over them. Serve Dijon mustard separately. The meats slice cleanly, the vegetables hold their shape and each portion receives broth without becoming soup-heavy. A short rest settles the broth and completes the intact-meat rest interval. Warn diners about bones and remove loose bone fragments before serving.