Boeuf Bourguignon

Yum, yum, yum. I am already a huge fan of beef stew, and seeing it exquisitely prepared in Julie and Julia inspired me to attempt Julia Child's classic recipe. I had to wait several weeks until the weather cooled off, but then today was the perfect day for such a dish.

Here is the original recipe from Mastering the Art of French Cooking.

Here is the adapted version from the NY Times (it has everything listed as one recipe, rather than the original version which is one main recipe and two others).

And here is the version I made - an adaptation of the NYT adaptation - since I don't like pearl onions and Rainbow doesn't sell chunks of bacon :)

Boeuf Bourguignon

6 oz of thick-sliced bacon
3.5 T olive oil
3# lean stewing beef
1 sliced carrot
1 sliced onion
Salt and pepper
2 T flour
3 c full-bodied, young red wine (like Beaujolais, Cotes du Rhone or Burgundy)
2.5 to 3.5 cups beef stock (preferably unsalted / low sodium)
1 T tomato paste
2 cloves garlic, crushed
.5 teaspoon thyme
a crumbled bay leaf
2 large white onions
3.5 T butter
Herb bouquet (4 parsley sprigs, one-half bay leaf, one-quarter teaspoon thyme, tied in cheesecloth)
1# quartered fresh mushrooms (preferably baby bellas)

1. Cut the bacon into 1.5-2" pieces. Simmer it in 6 c water for 10 min. Drain the bacon, set it aside. Dry the pan. (Why does bacon need to be simmered? No idea. But Julia said so, and I didn't want to start making too many changes already.)



2. Preheat the oven to 450 degrees.

3. Sauté the bacon in 1 T of olive oil in a flameproof casserole over moderate heat for 2 to 3 minutes to brown lightly. Remove to a side dish with a slotted spoon. (That's right, I'm sauteeing bacon in oil...)


4. Dry the beef in paper towels; it will not brown if it is damp. Heat the bacon fat in the casserole until its almost smoking. Add beef, a few pieces at a time, and sauté until nicely browned on all sides. Set aside with the fried bacon.



5. In the same fat, brown the sliced carrot and onion.


6. Return the beef and bacon to the casserole and toss with 1/2 teaspoon salt and 1/4 teaspoon pepper. Then sprinkle on the flour and toss again to coat the beef lightly. Set casserole uncovered in middle position of preheated oven for 4 minutes. Toss the meat again and return to oven for 4 minutes (this browns the flour and coves the meat with a light crust). Remove casserole and turn oven down to 325 degrees. (I didn't read this closely enough and only put it in once for 4 min, not twice. I also forgot to take a photo. Oops.)

7. Stir in the wine and 2 to 3 cups stock, just enough so that the meat is barely covered. Add the tomato paste, garlic, and herbs. Bring to a simmer on top of the stove. Cover the casserole and set in lower third of oven. Regulate the heat so that liquid simmers very slowly for 3 to 4 hours, stirring every 60 minutes or so. The meat is done when a fork pierces it easily.


8. While the beef is cooking, prepare the onions and mushrooms. Heat 1 1/2 tablespoons butter with one and one-half tablespoons of the oil until bubbling in a large saucepan. Add onions and sauté over moderate heat until nicely caramelized.


9. Add 1/2 cup of the stock, salt and pepper to taste, and the herb bouquet. Cover and simmer until the liquid has reduced by about half.


10. Add mushrooms. Saute until the muschrooms are softened. Discard the herb bouquet.


9. When the meat is tender, pour the contents of the casserole into a sieve set over the onion/mushroom pan. Transfer the beef to the new pan, and discard everything else (i.e., the cooked carrot/onion and the bacon). Simmer sauce for a minute or 2, skimming off additional fat as it rises. You should have about 2 1/2 cups of sauce thick enough to coat a spoon lightly. If it's too thin, boil it down rapidly (or add some flour, like I did, to make a thick gravy). If too thick, mix in a few tablespoons stock. Taste carefully for seasoning. Serve with boiled potatoes, noodles, spaetlze, or rice.


Enjoy!