Beef Bourguignon – Recipe of the Week

This week’s recipe takes us to the Burgundy Region of France with Beef Bourguignon. This dish is a perfect example of a meal once predominantly consumed by peasants only to evolve into haute cuisine as the years have gone on. Simmering beef in red wine served as a means of tenderizing chunks of meat that would otherwise be too tough to consume, whereas today, it’s both a means of flavoring and tenderizing the beef. Julia Childs once called this dish “certainly one of the most delicious beef dishes concocted by man.” We’ll let you decide!

For more recipes from France and other countries across Europe, check out our World Cookbook!

This week’s entry was submitted by Tom Heigham, Regional Director of International Programs from our Boston Office. Enjoy!

Beef Bourguignon

Yield: 8 servings

Total Time: 3 hours 10 minutes
Prep: 40 minutes
Cook: 2 hours 30 minutes

Ingredients

For the stew:
4 pounds boneless stew beef, such as chuck or sirloin tip, cut into large chunks
2 tablespoons pork fat or olive oil, plus more if needed
2 carrots, peeled and halved
2 onions, peeled and halved
4 cloves garlic, just crushed
1/4 cup all-purpose flour
1 (750ml) bottle red wine
4 cups beef stock
1 bouquet garni (made from bay leaf, parsley stems, and thyme sprigs)

For the garnish:
1 tablespoon olive oil
6 to 8 slices bacon, cut into lardons
40 baby onions, peeled
16 ounces mushrooms

Directions

Preheat the oven to 325 degrees F.

Remove the meat from the refrigerator and bring to room temperature, about 20 minutes.

Heat the oil in a large casserole. Working in batches, brown the stew meat well on all sides, removing as you go. When the meat is done, cook the carrots and onions in the same pot until tender and lightly golden. Add the garlic, and cook one minute. Add the flour and cook, stirring for 2 minutes. Pour over the wine and the stock. Add the bouquet garni. Return the meat to the pot, cover, and transfer to the oven until the meat is very tender, about 2 hours.

While the meat cooks, prepare the garnish: Heat the oil, in a pan and brown the bacon, and remove. Add the onions and cook until browned all over, remove. Finally, brown the mushrooms, and remove. Deglaze the pan with 1/2 cup water, reduce, and then pour over the garnish. Set aside.

When the meat is done, remove it from the pot. Strain the stock, discarding the vegetables. Pour the liquid back into the pot, and boil until thick enough to coat a spoon. Return the meat to the pan and add the garnish. Cover, and simmer until the onions are tender and the flavors have blended, 10 minutes. Adjust the seasonings. Serve.

If you give the recipe a try, make sure to come back and leave a comment to let us know how it came out!