beef Bourguignon

2017-12-10

Beef Bourguignon is a recipe of French origin that for good reason has become popular around the world.

This is a long-winded recipe, but worth the effort for a special occasion. No need to worry about drunk driving. After 3+ hrs. of simmering, all the alcohol will have evaporated. What remains is pure flavor. Like most stews, this one tastes even better the next day. Make it a day ahead if you can.

In French cuisine, this sauce is derived from espagnole and demi-glace. I don't bother with that. This sauce is not even prepared separately, but is made in the same pot while the meat is stewing.

The 3 defining ingredients of this sauce are bacon, mushrooms and red wine. When you have those three, the rest is pretty much optional and if you leave some of them out, the sauce will still be recognizable.

For the same or a very similar (beer instead of wine) sauce, see also: coq au vin, hunter's sauce and granny's chicken.

INGREDIENTS

This is what you need for 6-8 servings:

3 lbs. boneless beef chuck
¼ lb. thick-sliced bacon
1 lb. mushrooms, quartered if large
4 large carrots, sliced
butter / olive oil
flour
8 potatoes
2 onions, finely chopped
3 large garlic cloves, finely chopped
1 bottle dry red wine
(preferably Burgundy or Côtes du Rhône)

optional:

bouquet garni
1 4” piece of celery, 4 fresh parsley stems (no leaves), 4 fresh thyme sprigs, 2 bay leaves, 2 cloves, 1 tsp. peppercorn
½ cup brandy
1 tbsp. tomato paste or tomato powder
up to 2 cups pickled pearl onions, drained

Pic1: beef Bourguignon

Directions

Pic2: brown
Pic3: stew
Pic4: mushrooms separately

Boil the bacon in salted water 3 min and reserve.
Heat 1 tbsp. oil, 1 tbsp. butter.
Cut the meat in bite-sized pieces.
Optional: Roll the meat pieces in flour.
Brown the meat in batches. Reserve.
Optional: deglaze the pot with brandy.
- Pour the remainder of the oil from the pot and add the brandy.
- Deglaze by boiling 1 min while stirring and scraping the baked-on bits.
- Pour this over the meat.
Heat 1 tbsp. butter in the cleaned pot.
Sauté the bacon a few minutes.
Add chopped onions, garlic, and carrots, then sauté 5 min.
Optional: Stir in the tomato paste.
Optional: Tie the celery, parsley and thyme together with kitchen string to make a bouquet garni.
Place the bay leaves, cloves and peppercorn in a tea egg.
Add the wine, meat with juices, tea egg and optional bouquet garni.
Bring to a near boil, simmer gently partially covered until meat is tender, 2-3 hours.

Mushrooms:

Heat 1 tbsp. butter or olive oil in a large nonstick skillet over moderate heat.
Sauté the mushrooms for 10 minutes while stirring until they turn brown.
Add S&P.
Add the mushrooms to the stew; simmer 10 minutes.
Don't stew the mushrooms for hours. They tend to get chewy when overcooked.

Optional: pickled pearl onions

Soak the pickled onions in salted water 10 minute.
Drain in a colander and rinse under cold running water.
Heat 1 tbsp. butter in a saucepan over moderate heat.
Sauté the pearl onions while stirring occasionally until some start browning.
Add the pearl onions to the stew toghether with the mushrooms, simmer 10 more minutes.

Potatoes:

Peel and boil the potatoes.
Optional:
- Add the potatoes to the stew.
  Instead of adding the potatoes to the stew, you can serve them separately, tossed with butter and parsley.

Finishing up:

Pic5: all together now
Pic6: served
Pic7: with fries

Remove tea egg and bouquet garni.
Adjust seasoning if necessary.
Serve and enjoy.

If made for the following day, allow to cool and refrigerate.

Remove congealed fat before warming up again.
Simmer the stew 15 minutes before serving.

See also: Deming, NM gardens, animals and more and avemariasongs.org

See also: Deming, NM gardens, animals and more
and avemariasongs.org