Looking to make beef bourguignonne? This recipe, adopted from a Julia Child version, is one variation on the classic French dish. This page will show you how to make beef bourguignonne step by step.
Introduction
Beef bourguignonne is a traditional french recipe of beef, onions, carrots, mushrooms and herbs simmered in red wine and beef stock to make a rich stew. This dish is great served over an egg noodle. Don't let the number of steps or the time needed to prepare this dish scare you off; the basic techniques are fairly simple.
Step 1: Ingredients
- 6 Ounces of bacon
- 3 Pounds of stewing beef (Like chuck)
- 1 Carrot (About 3/4 Cup)
- 1 Medium onion (About 1 Cup)
- 2 Table spoons of flour
- 3 Cups of red wine (do not use cooking wine, use something you would drink). Burgundy goes great in this dish.
- 3 Cups beef stock, low sodium.
- 1 Tablespoon tomato paste
- 2 Cloves of garlic
- 1/2 Teaspoon thyme
- 1 Bay Leaf
- 20 Small white (boiling) onions
- 3 1/2 Tablespoons of butter
- 1 Pound of mushrooms
- Salt and pepper to taste
- 1 casserole dish
- 1 Large frying pan
Step 2: Preparation - Before You Cook
The first thing you want to do is get all of your chopping, slicing and dicing done up front. This will make the cooking process go smoothly.
- 1. Cut the bacon into 1/4 Inch by 1 1/2 Inch long strips
- 2. Slice the carrots into 1/4 inch rounds
- 3. Slice the onions
- 4. Trim the fat from the beef, and cut into 2-inch cubes.
- 5. Peel and smash the garlic, a mortar and pestle works great for the smashing
- 6. Cut the mushrooms into quarters
Step 3: Preparation - Cooking the Dish
Now let's get into the cooking part of this.
1. Preheat an oven to 450 Degrees, set the racks so that you can place the casserole dish in the center of the oven.
2. Under low to medium heat, render the bacon (release the fat) in the casserole dish until the bacon is lightly brown, then remove the bacon from the pan and set it a side leaving the fat in the pan
3. Turn the heat under the casserole to high, pat the beef dry and brown the beef. You should do this in small batches, being careful not to crowd the meat in the pan. Set the beef aside with the bacon after it browns.
4. In the same bacon fat, add the sliced onions and carrots, and brown.
5. Add the beef and bacon back to the casserole dish with the sliced vegetables and season with salt and pepper.
6. Add the flour to the beef and vegetables and mix to coat everything.
7. Place the casserole dish in the oven, uncovered for 4 minutes.
8. Stir the meat and vegetables and place back in the oven for another 4 minutes.
9. Remove the casserole from the oven and turn it down to 325 degrees
10. Add the wine, and just enough of the beef stock to cover the meat and vegetables.
11. Add the tomato paste, garlic, and herbs, and bring to a simmer on the stove.
12. Once the pot is simmering, cover it and place it in the 325 degree oven, cook for 3-4 hours. Check the pot after the first 15 minutes or so, then every 30 minutes after that to check to see if the stew is boiling rapidly, if it is you should turn the oven down a bit, the idea is to gently simmer it so that it does not break up the meat.
13. While the beef is cooking, in the large frying pan heat 1 1/2 tablespoons of the butter and 1 1/2 tablespoons of the olive oil.
14. Add the boiling onions and gently roll them around the pan to brown them.
15. Add 1/2 cup of the beef stock, cover, and simmer the onions slowly over low heat, cook them until just tender, you don't want the onions to disintegrate. After the onions are cooked, set them aside with the beef stock that is left in the pan.
16. Clean the pan, then heat the remaining butter and olive oil over medium heat. Add the mushrooms. Saute them until lightly brown, then remove the pan from the heat.
17. When the meat is done, strain wine/broth from the beef into a sauce pan.
18. Clean out the casserole, and add the strained beef back to it. Spread the cooked onions and mushrooms over the beef.
19. Slowly simmer the strained sauce to thicken it up, skim any excess fat from the sauce as it simmers. The sauce should lightly coat a wooden spoon.
20. Pour the reduced sauce over the beef, onions, and mushrooms and simmer the mixture for a few minutes.
Video of Beef Bourguignonne
The following video on youtube shows the preparation of beef bourguignonne in manner very similar to the recipe here. A few key differences are:
1. In the video they do not use flour before simmering the stew. This makes the dish a little less rich, as the flour thickens the sauce.
2. In the video the mushrooms are sliced. Cutting the mushrooms in quarters instead of slicing them can give the stew more of a rustic texture.
3. In the video, the sauce is not strained before adding the mushrooms and onions. Rather, the simmered onions are remove. This may be done to include the carrots as part of the final dish. This is certainly an option, in which case cut the onions as the presenter has to make it easier to fish out of the pot. Another option would be to prepare some carrots similar to the boiling onions, and add them to the stew at along with the mushrooms and onions.
