Baeckeoffe — Alsatian beef, pork and lamb with potatoes

Cut each type of meat into similar-sized cubes about 3–4 cm across. Remove tough membranes and any remaining pieces of bone, keeping the small natural streaks of fat. Weigh out 100 g onion and cut into thin half-moons, then finely chop all the garlic. Keep the remaining 150 g onion in the refrigerator for the next day.

In a large glass or stainless steel bowl, combine all three meats with the 100 g sliced onion, all the garlic, thyme, bay leaves, 6 g salt and all the pepper. Pour in all 600 ml wine and mix thoroughly. Cover and refrigerate for about 12 hours. Do not marinate at room temperature; all the liquid in the bowl will later cook in the oven with the meat.

The next day, preheat the oven to 170°C with conventional top and bottom heat, without the fan. Choose an enameled cast-iron pot of about 5 l with a well-fitting lid; the entire pot and lid must be ovenproof. Cut the potatoes into slices about 4 mm thick, the leek into thin rounds, the carrots into slices about 3 mm thick and the reserved 150 g onion into half-moons. Rinse the leek thoroughly to remove any grit and drain.

Take the bowl of meat out of the refrigerator while assembling the dish. Gently toss the potatoes with the remaining 8 g salt. Spread one third of the potatoes over the bottom of the pot. Use a slotted spoon to lift half the meat, along with onion and garlic, from the marinade and arrange over the potatoes, then add half the leek, carrots and freshly sliced onion. Repeat with another third of the potatoes, the rest of the meat and the remaining vegetables. Spread the final third of the potatoes over the top.

Pour all the remaining marinade into the pot, including the herbs and meat juices. Measure out 200 ml water, use it to rinse the marinating bowl and pour that into the dish as well. The liquid should reach roughly halfway up the layered ingredients; the top layer of potatoes does not need to be submerged. Put the lid on the pot. Do not add flour, cream or extra fat, and do not seal the lid with dough.

Place the covered pot slightly below the middle of the oven and bake for about 3 hours. Do not open it repeatedly. After this time, carefully lift the lid, directing the steam away from your face, and test the meat and potatoes with a fork. The meats should be tender and yield easily to pressure, and the potato slices must not remain firm in the center. If necessary, cover again and bake for about another 30 minutes.

Once the meats and potatoes are tender, remove the lid and bake for about another 15 minutes at the same temperature, until the surface turns lightly golden. Do not evaporate all the sauce: some should remain between the layers. Wearing oven mitts, remove the pot, set it on a heatproof trivet and leave for about 10 minutes. The lid and handles also remain very hot.

Remove the bay leaves and woody thyme stems. Scoop from the bottom of the pot with a broad spoon so each portion contains potatoes, vegetables and all three types of meat. Divide the entire dish into six portions, sharing all the sauce and rendered fat as well; do not drain anything away. Serve hot, without additional ingredients.