Beef Bourguignon
I’ve actually never made Beef Bourguignon, and let me tell you, I was BLOWN AWAY at this dish. Ever since watching the movie Julie & Julia, I’ve always wanted to try out the dish that Julie made in this movie using the Julia Child recipe. While recipe searching, Ina Garten’s version popped up as well. After comparing the two, I decided to pick the best of each recipe and combine them. Ina added cognac to her version, and she also bumped up the amount of vegetables, which I liked. Julia added a little flour, and put more care into the pearl onion and mushroom step towards the end of the recipe. And then I put my spin on it by just bumping the quantities of everything up a little bit as well… ; )
To serve, I ladled the stew on top of creamy parmesan polenta and served with some buttered peas. I also made some homemade no-knead bread that is my favorite Jim Lahey recipe ever!! This recipe is 10/10 perfection- I ate it for 7 days in a row and was in heaven the whole week.
This recipe is a little step-y, but just relax and make it over the course of 48 hours. The end result is beyond worth it!
Some Cooking Essentials:
9 Qt Dutch Oven
Shun Cleaver
All Clad Measuring Cups
Immersion Blender
Julia Child Mastering the Art of French Cooking
Ina Garten Barefoot in Paris Cookbook
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Beef Bourguignon
Ingredients
- 3 lbs Chuck, cut into 2 inch cubes
- 12 oz bacon, sliced thinly
- 3 tablespoons olive oil
- 1 lb carrots, peeled and sliced
- 2 medium yellow onions, peeled and diced
- 4 cloves of garlic, minced
- 1 sprig of thyme or 1/2 tsp dried
- Kosher salt
- Freshly ground black pepper
- 1/2 cup cognac
- 1 bottle of a good red wine, like a pinot noir
- 4 cups beef stock
- 2 tablespoons tomato paste
- 1 bay leaf
- 18-24 white pearl onions, peeled
- 1 ½ tablespoons butter
- 1 ½ tablespoons olive oil
- 1/3 cup beef stock
- Salt & freshly ground black pepper
- 1 bay leaf
- 1 sprig of thyme
- 1 lb cremini mushrooms, stems discarded and caps sliced
- 2 tablespoons butter
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
- kosher salt
Instructions
- Adjust oven rack to lower middle position and preheat oven to 325°F
- Dry beef cubes with paper towel and sprinkle with salt and freshly ground black pepper. Set aside.
- Heat oil in a large Dutch oven over medium heat. Add the bacon and cook until crispy, stirring occasionally. Use slotted spoon to remove and place in a large bowl.
- Add the beef in batches to the dutch oven over medium-high heat. Cook until browned on all sides, and then remove and place in the bowl with the bacon. Finish browning the remaining batches. Do not crowd the pan, doing so will prevent proper browning.
- Add the carrots and chopped onions to the pot that you just removed the beef from. Cook over medium heat until lightly browned, stirring frequently. Add the garlic and stir for a couple of minutes or until fragrant. Add the tomato paste and stir until combined and has darkened in color.
- Pour in the cognac and ignite with match or grill igniter to burn off the alcohol. STAND BACK when you go to light it, the flames will go up very quickly! Once the flames subside, add the beef and bacon back into the pot along with any juices. Sprinkle flour over beef and toss to coat. Continue cooking over medium heat while stirring occasionally until a dark fond forms on the bottom of the pot, about 5 minutes.
- Pour a cup of wine into the pot to deglaze, scraping the bottom to release any of the brown bits. Add the rest of the wine, and the beef broth. The beef should be covered. Add in the thyme and bay leaves and bring to a simmer. Cover the pot with a tight-fitting lid and place in the oven for 3-4 hours or until the meat is very tender when pierced with a fork. When done, I like to cool to room temperature and then refrigerate overnight. Then on the day I am serving, I will remove the fat, and then heat the pot back up on the stove.
- Before serving:
- In a large non-stick pan, add 1 ½ tablespoons of butter, and 1 ½ tablespoons of oil until bubbling over medium-high heat. Lower the heat to medium and then add the onions and sauté them for about 10 minutes. Occasionally gently roll them around to get even browning.
- Add in the 1/3 cup of beef broth, thyme sprigs, bay leaf, and a dash of salt and pepper. Cover the pan and simmer for about 30 minutes or until the onions are tender and the liquid has evaporated. Remove the thyme and bay leaf and relocate the onions to a bowl.
- In the same pan, melt another 2 tablespoons of butter, and 1 tablespoon olive oil over medium heat. Add the mushrooms and sauté until lightly browned. Remove, and then add the onions and the mushrooms both to the stew and gently fold them in.
- Serve the beef bourguignon over creamy parmesan polenta along with some buttered peas and some crusty buttered bread for scooping. Mashed potatoes and noodles are excellent as well!
