Beef Bourguignon
Considered by many to be the mother of all stews, Beef Bourguignon is a French dish made with beef, bacon lardons, carrots, onions and mushrooms slow-cooked in a rich red wine sauce. For the most magnificent stew of your life, start this 2 days before you plan to serve it, do not shortcut pan roasting ingredients individually, and use homemade beef stock if you can!
πππππππππππ
Beef chuck, cut into large cubes
Carrots, cut into chunky pieces
Pearl onions
Bay leaf
Fresh thyme
25 oz Pinot Noir or other dry red wine
Neutral oil
Salt and freshly ground black pepper
6 to 8 oz mushrooms, sliced or quartered
8 oz bacon, cut into lardons
3 tbsp butter
Garlic, minced
2 tbsp tomato paste
6 tbsp all-purpose flour
3 cups beef consommΓ© or rich beef stock
Optional: homemade beef stock in place of commercial consommΓ©
1/4 tsp salt, plus more to taste
2 tsp chopped fresh parsley, plus more for serving
πππ πππ
π. ππππππππ πππ ππππ
Place the beef, carrots, pearl onions, bay leaf, thyme and red wine in a large non-reactive ceramic dish or zip-top bag.
Cover and refrigerate overnight.
Marinate at least 12 hours and no longer than 24 hours.
πππ πππ
π. ππππππ πππ ππππππππ
Strain the marinade into a bowl and reserve all the liquid.
Separate the beef, carrots and pearl onions.
Pat the beef very dry with paper towels.
Wet beef steams instead of browning, so really dry the hell out of it.
π. ππππππ πππ ππππ
Pour the reserved wine marinade into a saucepan.
Bring to a boil over medium-high heat.
Simmer vigorously, skimming off any impurities that rise to the surface, until the wine has reduced by about half.
Set aside.
π. πππππππ πππ ππππ
Heat oven to 350Β°F.
π. πππππ πππ ππππ
Season the dried beef generously with salt and black pepper.
Heat about 2 tbsp oil in a large, heavy, ovenproof pot over high heat.
Brown the beef aggressively in batches.
Do not crowd the pot.
Brown each batch deeply on several sides, then transfer to a bowl.
Add more oil between batches if necessary.
You are building the fond that will eventually become the sauce, so do not be shy about getting real color on the beef.
π. π ππ πππ πππππ
Add the bacon to the pot.
Cook for about 3 minutes, until golden and beginning to crisp.
Transfer the bacon to the bowl with the beef.
π. πππππ πππ πππππππππ
Add the mushrooms to the pot.
If the pan is dry, add a little neutral oil.
Cook over medium-high heat until the mushrooms are deeply browned.
Let them sit long enough to color instead of constantly stirring them.
Once they release their moisture, keep cooking until the liquid evaporates and they begin frying and browning again.
Transfer the mushrooms to a separate bowl.
Do not put them into the stew yet. We worked for those mushrooms.
π. πππππ πππ πππππ ππππππ
Add a little more oil if needed.
Add the pearl onions and cook for about 5 minutes, until they develop golden-brown patches.
Transfer them to the bowl with the mushrooms.
π. πππππ πππ πππππππ
Reduce the heat to medium.
Add the carrots.
If the pan needs fat, add a little oil first.
Cook for 3 to 4 minutes, until the carrots have picked up some color.
Add the butter toward the end, once the pan is no longer screaming hot.
Add the garlic and cook for about 1 minute.
ππ. ππππ πππ ππππππ πππππ
Add the tomato paste.
Cook for about 2 minutes, stirring frequently, until it darkens from bright red to a deeper brick color.
You want it cooked and caramelized, not raw.
ππ. πππ πππ π ππππ
Sprinkle in the flour.
Cook for about 2 minutes, stirring constantly.
The flour should become fully incorporated into the fat and tomato paste.
ππ. πππ πππ πππππππΓ πππ ππππ
Slowly pour in the beef consommΓ© or stock while stirring constantly.
This helps the flour dissolve without forming lumps.
Add the reduced wine.
Stir thoroughly, scraping the bottom of the pot so every browned bit ends up in the sauce.
Bring to a simmer.
ππ. ππππππ πππ ππππ
Return the beef and bacon to the pot.
Add the thyme, bay leaf, 1/4 tsp salt and plenty of freshly ground black pepper.
Stir well.
The liquid should come most of the way up the beef without completely drowning it.
ππ. π ππππ ππππ ππππππ
Bring the pot back to a gentle simmer.
Cover.
Transfer to the 350Β°F oven.
Cook for 1 hour.
ππ. πππ πππ πππππππππ πππ πππππ ππππππ
Remove the pot from the oven.
Stir in the browned mushrooms and pearl onions.
Cover again.
ππ. π πππππ πππ ππππππ
Return the pot to the oven.
Cook for another 1 1/2 hours, or until the beef is very tender.
A fork should slide easily into the beef.
If it needs another 15 to 30 minutes, give it the time. Chuck does not care about your schedule.
ππ. ππππππ πππ πππππ
Remove from the oven.
Taste and adjust the salt and black pepper.
If the sauce is thinner than you want, simmer it gently uncovered on the stove for a few minutes.
If it is thicker than you want, loosen it with a splash of beef stock.
ππ. πππ ππππππππ πππππππππ
Highly recommended.
Let the bourguignon cool, then refrigerate overnight.
Like virtually all great stews, it gets better after sitting.
Once chilled, you can remove any excessive hardened fat from the surface very easily.
Leave some. This is beef bourguignon, for Godβs sake.
πππ πππππ
ππ. ππππππ ππππππ
Reheat the bourguignon slowly over low heat.
Stir occasionally and do not boil it aggressively.
If the sauce has thickened significantly overnight, add a small splash of beef stock until it reaches the consistency you want.
Taste again for salt and pepper.
ππ. π πππππ πππ πππππ
Stir in or sprinkle with chopped fresh parsley just before serving.
Serve over buttery mashed potatoes.
The potatoes are essential for mopping up every drop of sauce.