Ingredients
-
2 tbspe oil
-
about 4 pounds/ 2 kilos Beefany kind that is good for a stew
-
2 marrow bones
-
2 cubed Carrot
-
1 diced finely Onions
-
2 stalks diced Celery rib
-
150g/ 5oz cubed BaconIts possible to use duck breast as well
-
1 bottle Red wine
-
2 liters/ 8 cups Beef stock
-
2 tbsp Flour
-
300g/ 10 oz mushroomschampignon, Portobello, Cremini
-
3 Bay leaves
-
8 branches Thyme
-
2 tbsp Kosher Salt
-
1 tbsp Black Pepper
Directions
Beef Bourguignon is one of the French cuisine signature dishes, no doubt about that.
Like every classic dish, Beef Bourguignon used to be peasant food which resemble the need to create a full meal from anything you can find in your pantry, similar conception we can see in another great “all in one” French stew called pot au feu.
The long cooking purpose was to soften hard meat making it edible. The origins of this dish is from Burgundy region and as the name indicates the original recipe used red Burgundy wine.
Beef Bourguignon was introduced to a larger audience and took its central place in the French cuisine only after Ms. Julia Child who made a few changes to the original dish and refined it to the place of “haute cuisine”.
What is so special about Beef Bourguignon?
I believe that the importance of Beef Bourguignon is in the process. we start by sautéing the onions carrots and celery, we add the bacon or duck breast and pour wine over this mix which is a huge flavor enhancer, this is the base of our beef stew.
The use of beef stock and mushrooms gives a great body to the dish, usually when a beef stew created the beef stock takes a few hours in order to form its flavors, in this case adding beef stock will make this dish hold stronger in flavors, it’s genius, adding beef stock to a beef stew!
The texture of the stock comes from the bones that add gelatin to the liquids and from adding a bit of flour which thickens the sauce a bit more and create a much denser rich body silky sauce (Julia child actually used a roux and combined equal parts of butter and flour which added a much thicker texture to the sauce).
The kind of meat I used here are Chuck and osso buco, they are great in long stew and will come tender and juicy after a few hours. I didn’t bother in searing the meat, it is a misconception that if you don’t sear the meat it will come out hard a chewy, just throw it in, don’t worry it will be soft and tender.
one of the best advantages of this great stew, aside from its delicious taste… is that it can be a great leftover dish and I often give this great beef sauce new life, check out the fresh pasta Bourguignon dish which is one of my favorites.
Steps
|
1
Done
30 minutes
|
Starting the dishPreheat oven to 150°c/300°F. |
|
2
Done
3-4 hrs
|
Bake the stewAdd the beef chunks, marrow bones, thyme, bay leaves and beef stock, bring to a gentle simmer. |
|
3
Done
5 minutes
|
finishing and servingRemove stew from the oven, skim fat from the top and let cool a bit for 15 minutes. |
