Beef Bourguignon

BEEF BOURGUIGNON

1/6/2020

Beef Bourguignon (Beef Burgandy)

For as many years as I've been making this traditional French recipe, I'm still excited at how wildly popular it is! I still have memories of ordering this at the "Cafe de Paris" at the Lexington Hotel in Minneapolis during a fun French Club event - you can only imagine all of us pre-teens being dressed up and dropped off at a fancy downtown hotel, and required to order and speak only in French during the five-course meal. We started off with a wonderful French Onion Soup, and I ordered Boeuf Bourguignon (or "Beef Burgandy"). Each course was more wonderful than the last, and this savory beef dish and the menu from that night remain a personal favorite to this day!

Beef Bourguignon is a classic French beef stew, rich with onions, carrots, garlic, mushrooms, all cooked together low and slow in red wine from the French Burgundy region. It's best made the day before you plan on serving, so that all of the flavors mingle. But even with a fancy name, there's nothing fussy about this recipe. Just layer upon layer of wonderful flavor that slowly develops over time!

Beef Bourguignon

Because you make this savory stew a day before you plan to serve it, it makes it a fabulous dish to prepare ahead of time for a special dinner or party. I like to serve it with roasted potatoes or over buttery mashed potatoes, some crusty bread to soak up all of the savory goodness, and a big tossed salad for a meal that everyone will go crazy over! And it just gets better with age - the day after that it is even BETTER!

And if you decide to start your dinner off with a bowl of melted-and-cheesy French Onion soup, everyone will be impressed with your French cooking skills! HAH! We'll never tell them just how simple it really is!

This melt-in-your-mouth stew gets off to a great start when you cook bacon in your heavy Dutch oven, and then brown the boneless beef chuck in the bacon fat. Add lots of fresh onion, carrots and mushrooms, and simmer the most delicious beef & wine sauce until its perfectly tender.

And don't get all worried and crazy about the wine. When you visit the wine shop to pick up a bottle of "Burgandy" wine, march right over to either the French or Italian Pinot Noir section like you own the place and grab a couple bottles of something nice and wonderful. ("Red Burgandy" is just wine made in the Burgandy region of eastern France using 100% Pinot Noir grapes. That's right, Red Burgandy is just a Pinot Noir! White Burgandy is also made in Burgandy, but, since it is white, it is made from 100% Chardonnay grapes.) For this recipe you want a good red. That's it - your wine primer for today!

A good rule of thumb is that you want a red wine (or blended red wine) that YOU ENJOY drinking all by itself. It doesn't have to be expensive, it just needs to be something that YOU enjoy! (I hope that Julia Childs doesn't hate me for telling you that some of the Italian and California Pinot Noirs are pretty darn good in this too.) And the chef always should enjoy a glass of wine while making this, don't you think?

Bon Appétit,
Mama V

Beef Bourguignon

BEEF BOURGUIGNON

Beef Bourguignon is a classic French beef stew, rich with onions, carrots, garlic, mushrooms and red wine from the French Burgundy region. Best made a day ahead of time so that the savory flavors mingle! But even with a fancy name, there’s nothing fussy about this recipe – just layer upon layer of wonderful flavor that slowly develops over time!

Beef Bourguignon

INGREDIENTS:
8 oz. bacon, cut into 1-inch pieces
3 lbs. boneless beef chuck (trimmed and cut into 2-inch pieces)
4 tablespoons butter (divided)
2 yellow onions (finely chopped)
3 garlic cloves (minced)
3 carrots (cut diagonally into 1/3-inch pieces)
2 teaspoons dried thyme or 1 tablespoon fresh thyme
3 tablespoons all-purpose flour
1 (750 ml) bottle good Pinot Noir (red wine – both French or Italian work well)
2 bay leaves
1 tablespoon dried parsley
1 teaspoon black pepper
½ teaspoon salt
1 lb. mushrooms (sliced)
½ lb. pearl onions (in freezer section) or boiling onions (produce section, peeled)

SERVE WITH:
Creamy Mashed Potatoes or Hot Noodles
Crusty French Bread!

HOW WE MAKE THESE:

In a large Dutch oven, cook the bacon over medium-high heat until fully cooked; remove bacon with a slotted spoon and set aside.
Working in batches, brown the beef on all sides in remaining bacon fat over medium-high heat. If your pot becomes dry, add a tablespoon or two of vegetable oil. Remove beef with slotted spot and set aside.
Add 2 tablespoons of butter to pan and melt. Add onion and carrots to pan, continue to cook over medium heat, stirring occasionally for about 4 minutes. Add garlic and thyme and continue cooking for 1 minute, stirring frequently.
Push vegetables to side of pan, add remaining 2 tablespoons of butter and allow to melt. Sprinkle flour over melted butter, stirring constantly until it starts to turn golden brown, about 1 minute. Stir everything in pan together.
Slowly pour in wine, and add bay leaves, parsley, salt and pepper. Scrape all of the dark bits of goodness from the bottom of the pan and stir well. Return beef and bacon to pan. Bring to a simmer. Reduce heat to low, cover and cook for 2-1/2 t 3 hours, or until meat is fork tender.
Add mushrooms and pearl onions. Cover and cook over low heat until the mushrooms and pearl onions are tender, about 30 minutes.
Remove from stove, allow to cool for 2 hours. Cover Dutch oven and place in refrigerator overnight.
The next day, skim off fat from surface. Over medium heat, cook until mixture is hot, or place in a preheated 350 degree oven and cook for 40-60 minutes or until hot and bubbly. Remove bay leaves before serving.
Serve with hot mashed potatoes or noodles.

YIELD: 8 servings

Originally published January 2018; revised and reposted January 2020.

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