Boeuf Bourguignon

Boeuf bourguignon is an easy dish which makes fantastic use of beef. One of the French classic dishes and a casserole indeed, for a cold day. Having said classic, the earliest recipes start in the 1800s which suggest it was developing as a dish for all rather than one of the original classics. It is naturally ideal for the festive season.  The term bourguignon or à la bourguignonne refers to the use of an onion and mushroom garnish.

The dish is of course a beef stew which is braised in red wine and is often a Burgundy. The beef stock is usually flavoured with vegetables like onion and garlic, carrot, plenty of herbs in the form of a bouquet garni. Some chefs will also add lardons and bacon with mushrooms to make a garnish. The casserole is served with small boiled potatoes and in some cases rice or noodles although that is a rarity.  

Preparation time: around 40 minutes, cooking time: 2-3 hours; Serving size: 6

Ingredients for boeuf bourguignon:

• 1.4 kg (3lb) of high-quality braising steak, a shin of beef, chuck steak cut into large cubes (4-5cm/1½-2in). Remove any hard fat and sinew as gristle is not attractive to chew on at the best of times.
• 2 tbsp. plain or corn flour
• 2-3 tbsp. olive oil although suflower will also cut it.
• 180-200 g lardons (smoked/unsmoked), streaky bacon or pancetta, cut into small 2cm/¾in chunks
• 1 shallot, finely chopped
• 2 onions, sliced and chopped
• 1 or 2 garlic cloves, crushed or minced
• (optional) 75 ml brandy. Do not overdo as the brandy heat can skew the flavor.
• 750 ml (75cl) red wine.. Burgundy or a deep red equivalent such as a shiraz will work
• 500 ml beef stock or  a couple of beef stock cubes
• (optional) 1-2 tbsp tomato puree
• 1 bouquet garni – 2 bay leaves, 2 sprigs of thyme, 2 sprigs of flat-leaf parsley, tied with string. If you don not have the herbs, use some free thyme sprigs
• 25 g/1oz. butter
• 250 g baby, button or pearl onions, peeled but left whole. Some chefs throw in about 20 baby onions and be done with it.
• 200 g chestnut mushrooms, quartered if large.
• Sea salt (Maldon, flaked) and freshly ground black pepper
• 300g/10½oz button chestnut mushrooms, wiped and halved or quartered if large
• (optional) 2 large chopped carrots
• 2 tbsp cold water

Preparation: 

1. Season the beef well with salt and pepper.
2. Put all the cut-up braising steak into a large bowl with the bay leaves, a small bunch of thyme, red wine and some pepper, cover and leave to marinade in the fridge overnight. A bouquet garni is ideal here.
3. Heat oven to 200C/180C fan/gas 6.
4. Place a colander over another large bowl and strain the marinated meat, keeping the wine.
5. Heat 2 tbsp vegetable oil in a large frying pan on a medium-high heat, and brown the meat on all sides in batches. It probably takes three attempts to cover all the beef. Add more oil if you run out – it does need a bit of frying to get a decent colour. Transfer all to a plate once browned.
6. When all the meat is browned, pour a little wine into the now-empty frying pan and deglaze it with bubbling to release any caramelized pieces from the pan. This is the crtical step in teh preparation of an authentic tasty boeuf bourguignon
7. Heat 1 tbsp oil in a large flameproof casserole and fry the chopped up carrots (optional), along with 2 roughly chopped onions until they start to colour.
8. Stir in 3 tbsp plain flour for 1 min, then add the tomato purée.
9. Add the beef and any juices, the wine from the frying pan and the rest of the wine and herbs. Season and bring to a simmer. Give everything a good stir, then cover.
10. Meanwhile, heat a small knob of butter in a frying pan and add bacon lardons. Fry for 2 or 3 minutes until the fat sizzles and crisps up. Place over the meat.
11. With any oil left, add any peeled pearl onions, chopped onion or small shallots. Sizzle for about 10 mins so the onions soften and colour. Add the garlic and continue cooking for another minute. Add all to the casserole dish.
12. Transfer to the oven and bake for 2 hrs. until the meat is really tender.
13. Will freeze for up to 3 months.
14. To serve, defrost completely overnight in the fridge if frozen, then place on a low heat to warm through.
15. While the beef is cooking, peel the button onions. Put the onions in a heatproof bowl and cover with just-boiled water. Leave to stand for five minutes and then drain. When the onions are cool enough to handle, trim off the root close to the end so they don’t fall apart and peel off the skin.
16. Simmer and add any herbs. Add these to the casserole.
17. Add mushrooms and fry for another 5 mins, then stir everything into the stew and heat for 10 mins more. The alternative is to add the mushroom to the casserole and just cook as usual.
18. Serve your boeuf bourguignon scattered with chopped parsley. Delicious!