Beef Bourguignon

I think one of my biggest takeaways from culinary school has been my new appreciation for meat. Six months ago, I would have never guessed that I would intentionally make a beef dish for myself. Or pork. Or lamb. Unless it was ground, the meat section of the grocery store made me go cross-eyed. I pretty much just stuck to shrimp and chicken thighs. Those were my safety net. I remember watching the Julie & Julia movie and thinking to myself, blegh beef bourguignon? No, thanks.

I had this idea in my head that unless it was ground up, beef is chewy. Period. And don’t even get me started on sauces with a significant amount of red wine in them. I liked those as much as I like bloody mary’s (aka alcoholic gazpacho). Thanks, but no thanks. I’ll take my booze in a glass. Level three changed everything. I fell in love with this stew. Beef had a whole new meaning. What was once my chewy enemy, was suddenly a tender goddess of juicy, beefy goodness.

I actually liked a dish that had bacon in it that wasn’t a breakfast sandwich (granted I like my version of this dish more. In school we cut them into “lardons”, which is just a hunk of chewy fat in my opinion). Furthermore, this sauce is like 90% red wine! The meat is soaked in it overnight. And I willingly made it at home. Mind still blown. And I will make it again. and again. and again. Because it’s dope, y’all. And so much easier than it sounds. I honestly think this dish is harder to spell than it is to make.

I decided to make this dish for my mom for our Christmas dinner together. I had class the day after Christmas, so I didn’t have the opportunity to go home to New Orleans this year. I’m still so happy that my mom actually decided to come stay with me in New York. It was asking a lot of her to leave home, so I couldn’t be more grateful. We had such an amazing time together just the two of us. My parents have been so supportive of my decision to go to culinary school, that I wanted to give her a (literal) taste of what i’ve learned so far; and you can’t make a more classic dish than beef bourguignon, right?

Beef Bourguignon

 

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Prep time

24 hours

Cook time

2 hours

Total time

26 hours

 

Don't be afraid of the lengthy instructions. This hearty beef stew is a timeless recipe that is easy to master and will impress even the pickiest beef easters.

Author: Suzanne Bruno

Recipe type: Stew

Cuisine: French

Serves: 4

Ingredients

• Beef Marinade
• 1 bottle dry red wine
• 1 airplane bottle brandy or cognac (I used Hennessy)
• 1 spanish onion, sliced
• 2 large carrots, roughly chopped
• bouquet garni (parsley stems, crushed black peppercorns, bay leaf, 1-2 crushed garlic cloves)
• 1½ to 2 lbs braising beef (such as chuck, sirloin tip, or top-blade), cubed

• Stew
• 2 tsp. canola oil
• 2 tbs all purpose flour
• 2 plum tomatoes, peeled and roughly chopped
• 1 Tbs tomato paste
• 
  
• Garnish
• 1 bag frozen pearl onions
• 1 tbs butter
• 2 pinches of sugar
• pinch of salt
• 6 pieces of thick cut bacon, cut into strips
• 1 quart container button mushrooms, quartered

• Pasta
• 1 tbs chopped parsley
• 1 package of fresh or good quality fettuccine (I used Buitoni)
• 3 tbs butter
• salt and pepper, to taste

Instructions

For the Marinade

1. Wrap the bouquet garni ingredients in a double lined sachet made of cheese cloth, tied with butchers twine.
2. Combine all of the ingredients for the marinade, including the bouquet garni, in a large bowl, cover with a plate, towel or aluminum foil and place in the refrigerator overnight. (the beef is ready when it has turned purple. The marinade also smells slightly less alcoholic.)

To Peel Tomatoes

1. Have a bowl of ice an water large enough to hold the two tomatoes ready to go.
2. Bring 4 cups of water to rigorous boil. Place the tomatoes in the boiling water for about 30 sec. Remove from the boiling water and place in the ice bath immediately.
3. The skin should peel off easily with your hands or a pairing knife.

For the Stew

1. Preheat the oven to 400 F.
2. In a large skillet, cook the bacon until extra crispy (even if you don't like it that crispy, it will soften in the stew)
3. Drain off the fat and reserve.
4. Dry the bacons strips on paper towels.
5. Strain the the beef and vegetables, and reserve the liquid. Separate the beef from the vegetables and dry both thoroughly with paper towels.
6. Heat a heavy bottom pot with a teaspoon of oil and about 2 teaspoons of the bacon fat. When the pan is almost smoking, brown the meat on all sides. (this should take about 3-5 minutes).
7. Remove the meat and set aside.
8. Pour off the oil and deglaze the bottom of the pan with water. Reserve the deglazing liquid (you're gonna want those crispy bits for flavor)
9. Sprinkle the meat with the flour.
10. Add a touch more oil and sauté the marinated vegetables.
11. Add the meat back to the pan and stir for several minutes - just long enough to cook off the raw flour taste. Then add the tomato paste.
12. Pour the reserved marinade over the meat, along with the tomato and bouquet garni. If the meat is not completely covered with liquid by about ½ inch, add water.
13. Bring to a simmer.
14. Cover with parchment paper cut in a circle slightly larger than the circumference of the pot.
15. Then cover again with the pot lid.
16. Place the pot in the oven. After 10 minutes, reduce the temperature to 375. After 1 and 30 minutes, check the meat. If it is not very tender, cook for an additional 30 minutes. Depending on the strength of your oven, this time can vary. (I cooked mine for about 2 hours and 15 minutes)

For the Garnish

1. With about a tablespoon of the reserved bacon fat, sauté the mushrooms over medium low heat.
2. Pour off the excess fat and set aside.
3. In a shallow pot, add just enough onions to cover the bottom (if using the entire bag, you will probably have to do this twice). Pour enough water to cover the onions about halfway. Add the pinches of salt and sugar and butter.
4. Cover with a parchment lid or pot lid. Cook for about 7 minutes or until the onions are almost fully tender.
5. Remove the lid and let the remaining water evaporate. (If they are completely tender, pour off most of the water and add a touch more salt and sugar).
6. When the water has evaporated, begin to move the pot around constantly until the onions have become almost golden in color (the sides of the pan will start to look dark golden brown from the sugar). Add a splash of water to release the sugar from the sides of the pan and continue to move the onions to give them that nice golden, caramelized color.
7. Remove from the pan and set aside.
8. minutes before the stew is finished, add the bacon, onions and mushrooms to the pot to bring them up to temperature.

Pasta

1. Cook the pasta according to the package directions. (be sure to properly season the water)
2. Strain and return to the pot. Add the butter, parchment and additional salt and pepper to taste.

To Finish

1. When the meat is tender, remove with a slotted spoon, place in a separate bowl and cover to keep warm.
2. Strain the liquid through a strainer lined with cheese cloth. After squeezing out as much liquid as possible, pour the cooking liquid back into the pot, and discard the remaining vegetables.
3. Add the meat, bacon, onions and mushrooms to the pot and cook for an additional 10-15 minutes, or until the stew has reached the desired constancy.
4. Reheat the pasta, and serve.

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