Beef Bourguignon
Ingredients
- 2 1/2 pounds boneless beef chuck trimmed and cut into 1-inch cubes
- 1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
- 1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
- 1/4 cup all-purpose flour
- 8 ounces bacon diced
- 1 yellow onion diced
- 6 carrots diced
- 4 celery stalks diced
- 1 pound cremini or button mushroom sliced
- 4 cloves garlic pressed or minced
- 1/2 cup cognac
- 1 tablespoon tomato paste
- 2 cups dry red wine such as Pinot Noir
- 2 cups beef stock
- 1 tablespoon brown sugar
- 1 teaspoon fresh thyme leaves
- Chopped fresh Italian parsley for garnish
Instructions
Preheat the oven to 350°F.
Add the beef to a large mixing bowl and season it with the salt and pepper then toss with the flour. Set aside.
In a large cast-iron cocotte dutch oven, cook the bacon over medium-low heat until the edges of the bacon are crispy. Remove the bacon to a large bowl, leaving the rendered fat in the pan.
Increase the heat to medium high. Add the beef to the fat in the pan and brown it on all sides. Remove the beef rom the pan to the bowl with the bacon.
Add the onions, carrots, celery, and mushrooms to the pan. Reduce the heat to medium and cook for 5 to 7 minutes, until softened. Add the garlic and cook for another minute, or until aromatic. Remove the vegetables from the pan to the bowl with the beef.
Deglaze the pan with the cognac and cook until reduced by half, scraping the bottom of the pan to release any browned bits.
Stir in the tomato paste then add the wine, stock, thyme, brown sugar, and a pig pinch of salt an pepper. Bring to a boil, then remove from the heat.
Return the bacon, beef, and vegetable stop the pot, cover, and place in the oven.
Cook for 1 1/2 to 2 hours in the preheated oven, until the beef is fork-tender. Remove from the oven, and adjust the seasoning if needed.
Serve garnished with parsley over mashed potatoes or cauliflower.
Brandy can be used instead of Cognac, but know that all Cognacs are brandies, but not all brandies are Cognacs. The alcohol evaporates as it cooks and while you could skip the cognac, don’t substitute for the red wine or you’ll truly miss what makes this stew special.
Be sure to use a good quality bacon in this boeuf bourguignon recipe. You want pork bacon that doesn’t have any added flavorings.
While you can make the recipe in a slow cooker or Instant Pot, I’ve found the 1 1/2 to 2 hour braise in the cast iron pot delivers a depth and richness that’s hard to recreate with other cooking methods.
Bourguignon refers to Burgundy, France, so naturally there is red wine, and it’s what distinguishes this stew from any other. But it isn’t the wine that deglazes the Staub cast iron coquette. Cognac is what does this job, for adding a sweetness to the sauce.
Once that’s done, stir in the tomato paste, wine, stock, thyme, brown sugar, and a pig pinch of salt and pepper. Then, add the beef, bacon, and veggies back to the pot.
The stew starts on the stove to brown and deglaze, and is finished in the oven for a braise to cook down and allow the flavors to meld together for a sauce like no other. Sprinkle with fresh parsley just before serving, if desired.
The stew starts with crisping bacon from a cold cast-iron Dutch oven for a salted depth of flavor. This method ensures the bacon doesn’t become chalky and brittle or lend a burned taste instead of its pure, bacon flavor.
The beef chuck is then seared in the bacon renderings, and is just the beginning of layers of amazing flavor.
Dice the celery, onion, and carrots to the same size so they cook evenly. Because the mushrooms are softer, they will cook faster so can be cut larger—that’s the way I like them.
Because the meat is removed from the pot before the vegetables are cooked until soft, they hold their shape and don’t turn into mush. Then it’s their turn to leave the pan so the deglazing can begin.
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