Cookbook:Boeuf Bourguignon

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Boeuf Bourguignon
Category	French recipes
Time	3 hours
Difficulty

Boeuf bourguignon (French for Burgundy beef) is a well known, traditional French stew prepared with beef braised in red wine (originally Burgundy wine) and beef broth, flavored with garlic, onions, carrots, a bouquet garni and garnished with mushrooms.

Formerly, chefs larded the meat with lardons, but modern beef is so tender and well marbled that this time-consuming technique is rarely necessary.

Julia Child included a recipe for Sauté de Boeuf à la Bourguignonne in Mastering the Art of French Cooking, her famous first book.

Child recommends serving this dish "in a casserole, or on a platter surrounded with steamed rice, risotto, or potato balls sautéed in butter", and also states that "buttered green peas or beans could accompany it, and a good red Bordeaux wine". She also points out that this is a dish that benefits from a day in the refrigerator.

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Fortunately you can prepare it competely ahead, even a day in advance, and it only gains in flavor when reheated.

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History

Boeuf bourguignon is one of many examples of peasant dishes slowly evolving into haute cuisine. Most likely, the method of slowly simmering beef in wine originated as a means of tenderizing cuts of meat that were too tough to cook any other way. Also, simmering these two ingredients together helps to create a unique and pleasant flavor.

French culinary expert Auguste Escoffier first published the boeuf bourguignon recipe once the dish became a standard of French cuisine. However, over time it has undergone subtle alterations, owing to changes in cooking equipment and available food supplies.

Variation I – Julia Child adaptation

Ingredients

From Page 333 "Mastering the Art of French Cooking" - Volume 1

• 6 ounces (170 g) of chunk bacon
• 3 ½ tablespoons olive oil
• 3 pounds (1360 g) lean stewing beef, cut into 2-inch cubes
• 1 carrot, sliced
• 1 onion, sliced
• Salt
• Pepper
• 2 tablespoons flour
• 3 cups red wine, young and full-bodied (like Beaujolais, Côtes du Rhone or Burgundy)
• 2 ½–3 ½ cups brown beef stock
• 1 tablespoon tomato paste
• 2 cloves mashed garlic
• ½ teaspoon thyme
• 1 crumbled bay leaf
• 18–24 white onions, small
• 3 ½ tablespoons butter
• Herb bouquet (4 parsley sprigs, ½ bay leaf, ¼ teaspoon thyme, tied in cheesecloth)
• 1 pound mushrooms, fresh and quartered

Preparation

1. Remove bacon rind and cut into lardons (sticks ¼-inch thick and 1½ inches long). Simmer rind and lardons for 10 minutes in 1½ quarts water. Drain and dry.
2. Preheat oven to 450°F (230°C).
3. Sauté lardons in 1 tablespoon of the olive oil in a flameproof casserole pan over moderate heat for 2–3 minutes to brown lightly. Remove to a side dish with a slotted spoon.
4. Dry beef in paper towels; it will not brown if it is damp. Heat fat in casserole until almost smoking. Add beef, a few pieces at a time, and sauté until nicely browned on all sides. Add it to the lardons.
5. In the same fat, brown the sliced vegetables. Pour out the excess fat.
6. Return the beef and bacon to the casserole and toss with ½ teaspoon of salt and ¼ teaspoon of pepper.
7. Sprinkle on the flour and toss again to coat the beef lightly. Set casserole uncovered in middle position of preheated oven for 4 minutes.
8. Toss the meat again and return to oven for 4 minutes; this browns the flour and covers the meat with a light crust.
9. Remove casserole and turn oven down to 325°F (160°C).
10. Stir in wine and 2–3 cups stock (just enough so that the meat is barely covered).
11. Add the tomato paste, garlic, herbs and bacon rind. Bring to a simmer on top of the stove.
12. Cover casserole and set in lower third of oven. Regulate heat so that liquid simmers very slowly for 3–4 hours. The meat is done when a fork pierces it easily.
13. While the beef is cooking, prepare the onions and mushrooms.
14. Heat 1½ tablespoons butter with 1½ tablespoons of the oil until bubbling in a skillet.
15. Add onions, and sauté over moderate heat for about 10 minutes, rolling them so they will brown as evenly as possible. Be careful not to break their skins. You cannot expect them to brown uniformly.
16. Add ½ cup of the stock, salt and pepper to taste, and the herb bouquet.
17. Cover and simmer slowly for 40–50 minutes until the onions are perfectly tender but hold their shape, and the liquid has evaporated. Remove herb bouquet and set onions aside.
18. Wipe out skillet and heat remaining oil and butter over high heat. As soon as you see butter has begun to subside, indicating it is hot enough, add mushrooms.
19. Toss and shake pan for 4–5 minutes. As soon as they have begun to brown lightly, remove from heat.
20. When the meat is tender, pour the contents of the casserole into a sieve set over a saucepan.
21. Wash out the casserole and return the beef and lardons to it. Distribute the cooked onions and mushrooms on top.
22. Skim fat off sauce in saucepan. Simmer sauce for a minute or two, skimming off additional fat as it rises. You should have about 2½ cups of sauce thick enough to coat a spoon lightly.
23. If too thin, boil it down rapidly. If too thick, mix in a few tablespoons stock. Taste carefully for seasoning.
24. Pour sauce over meat and vegetables. Cover and simmer 2–3 minutes, basting the meat and vegetables with the sauce several times.
25. Serve in casserole, or arrange stew on a platter surrounded with potatoes, noodles or rice, and decorated with parsley.

Variation II

Ingredients

• 1 kg beef (blade steak or stewing shoulder cut)
• 3 large onions, chopped
• 1–2 cloves of garlic
• 300 g of chopped carrot
• 300 g of button mushrooms
• Bouquet of herbs: basil, rosemary and thyme tied with string
• 2–4 cups of red wine
• Salt
• Pepper
• Olive oil
• Flour

Preparation

1. Cut beef into large, 5 cm chunks. Season with salt, pepper and olive oil.
2. Cook beef a small amount at a time in a dutch oven or large saucepan until it's golden brown on the outside. Remove each portion as it's done and set aside.
3. Add onions and garlic to the same pot and cook till golden brown.
4. Sprinkle with 2 tablespoons of flour. Cook a few minutes longer.
5. Add 1–2 cups of red wine.
6. Bring wine to a boil then simmer for 5 minutes.
7. Add beef, carrots, herbs, and mushrooms.
8. Add another couple cups of red wine and water (enough to cover the meat and vegetables).
9. Cook for 2–3 hours, stirring occasionally. Remove surface scum as required.

Notes, tips, and variations

• Use leftovers to make meat pies or puff pastries.
• Add a small amount of dried Trompettes de la mort (Craterellus cornucopioides). For a dish serving 4, 4 trompettes can be used depending on taste. Cut off parts that may contain sand, rinse, cut in small pieces, soak for 5 minutes in warm water and add to the dish after adding the wine. Can be used instead of garlic.
• Use a low-fat cut of beef and serve with boiled potatoes or steamed rice on the side to lower the fat and calories of this dish.