Boeuf Bourguignon 101 Recipes

BOEUF BOURGUIGNON

Steps:

• Heat oil in a large, heavy skillet over medium heat. Add onions; cook and stir until tender, about 10 minutes. Transfer to a bowl.
• Cook and stir beef in the same skillet until browned, 1 to 2 minutes per side. Sprinkle flour, marjoram, thyme, and pepper over beef. Pour red wine and beef broth into the skillet; stir well. Reduce heat to low and simmer until beef is tender, 1 1/2 to 2 hours.
• Stir onions into the skillet. Add mushrooms. Cook, stirring, until mushrooms are tender and sauce is thick and dark brown, about 30 minutes.

BEEF BOURGUIGNON

Steps:

• Preheat the oven to 250 degrees F.
• Heat the olive oil in a large Dutch oven. Add the bacon and cook over medium heat for 10 minutes, stirring occasionally, until the bacon is lightly browned. Remove the bacon with a slotted spoon to a large plate.
• Dry the beef cubes with paper towels and then sprinkle them with salt and pepper. In batches in single layers, sear the beef in the hot oil for 3 to 5 minutes, turning to brown on all sides. Remove the seared cubes to the plate with the bacon and continue searing until all the beef is browned. Set aside.
• Toss the carrots, and onions, 1 tablespoon of salt and 2 teaspoons of pepper in the fat in the pan and cook for 10 to 15 minutes, stirring occasionally, until the onions are lightly browned. Add the garlic and cook for 1 more minute. Add the Cognac, stand back, and ignite with a match to burn off the alcohol. Put the meat and bacon back into the pot with the juices. Add the bottle of wine plus enough beef broth to almost cover the meat. Add the tomato paste and thyme. Bring to a simmer, cover the pot with a tight-fitting lid and place it in the oven for about 1 1/4 hours or until the meat and vegetables are very tender when pierced with a fork.
• Combine 2 tablespoons of butter and the flour with a fork and stir into the stew. Add the frozen onions. Saute the mushrooms in 2 tablespoons of butter for 10 minutes until lightly browned and then add to the stew. Bring the stew to a boil on top of the stove, then lower the heat and simmer for 15 minutes. Season to taste.
• To serve, toast the bread in the toaster or oven. Rub each slice on 1 side with a cut clove of garlic. For each serving, spoon the stew over a slice of bread and sprinkle with parsley.

BOEUF BOURGUIGNON

Steps:

• Combine the meat and the red wine. Cover and refrigerate overnight. The next morning, remove the meat from the red wine and pat dry. Reserve wine. Toss meat in the flour, shaking off any excess. In a large casserole over high heat, add the bacon and render. Add the butter to the bacon fat and melt. Add the beef and brown on all sides. Remove the meat as it browns to a plate. Add the carrots, onions, and garlic and cook until the onions are translucent, about 5 minutes. Add the beef back to the pot with the reserved wine, veal stock, bay leaves, thyme, and parsley. Cover and cook for 2 hours over a low heat, until the meat is very tender. Add the mushrooms and cook for another 15 minutes. Season, to taste, with salt and pepper. Serve with boiled potatoes.

BOEUF BOURGUIGNON 101

Steps:

• Cut two 12-by-22-inch pieces of cheese-cloth; lay them on a clean work surface, overlapping each other perpendicularly in the center to form a cross. Pile the chopped onion, carrots, garlic cloves, parsley sprigs, thyme, rosemary, bay leaves, and peppercorns in the center.
• Gather the ends together to enclose contents completely, and tie the top with kitchen twine. Place in an 8-quart Dutch oven, and set aside.
• Preheat oven to 300 degrees. Heat oil in a large skillet over medium heat. Add salt pork, and saute until brown and crisp, about 7 minutes. Using a slotted spoon, transfer pork to Dutch oven, leaving rendered fat in skillet.
• Season beef cubes with salt and pepper. Working in two batches, place beef in skillet in a single layer; cook until dark brown on all sides, about 6 minutes total.
• Using tongs, transfer beef to Dutch oven, reserving fat in skillet.
• Whisk the flour into fat in the skillet. Slowly whisk in beef stock, and bring to a simmer over medium heat, stirring frequently until thickened.
• Pour mixture into Dutch oven around cheesecloth bundle. Add wine and tomato paste, and season with salt and pepper; stir to combine. Bring to a boil over high heat. Cover; transfer to oven. Cook until beef is very tender, about 2 1/2 hours.
• Remove pot from oven, and transfer cheesecloth bundle to a large sieve set over a bowl. With a wooden spoon, press on bundle to release as much liquid as possible. Discard bundle, and pour accumulated juices into Dutch oven.
• Remove beef and pork from Dutch oven; reserve. Return liquid to a boil over high heat; reduce to 4 cups, about 10 minutes. Skim surface as needed with a large metal spoon. Reduce heat to low; return beef and pork to Dutch oven.
• While sauce is reducing further, set the skillet over high heat. Add the pearl onions, the water, butter, sugar, and a large pinch of salt. Bring to a boil, and reduce heat to medium; simmer until almost all the liquid evaporates, 5 to 8 minutes. Raise heat to medium-high, and add the mushrooms. Cook, stirring occasionally, until vegetables are browned and glazed, about 5 minutes. Remove from heat. Transfer contents to Dutch oven, and simmer over medium heat until heated through. Adjust seasoning with salt and pepper as desired, and serve at once. Garnish each serving with chopped parsley.