I figured the inaugural recipe in my first ever blog should be that of Julia Child. This is her Bouef Bourguignon recipe from her 1961 The French Chef Cookbook. I nabbed a 1968 copy off eBay for about $10 and it’s in decent shape (says the vintage cookbook junkie). This recipe takes some time, but I’ll tell you, it’s one of the best beef recipes I’ve ever made. I whipped this up for the family for Valentine’s Day. The husband & youngin’ let me know it was their favorite meal I had ever cooked, aside from spaghetti…that’s the pasta-eatingest duo I’ve ever met. The recipe is rather long, so hang with me! I’ll put a shopping list at the end of the recipe so you don’t miss out on the Mushroom & Onion Garniture & Sauce and Serving and it’s all in one place.
Boeuf Bourguignon (Beef Stewed in Red Wine)
a 6 oz. chunk of unsmoked, unsalted lean pork belly (fresh bacon) or salt pork or lean bacon (if you can’t find it, grab some lean, thick cut bacon)
Olive oil or cooking oil
Large Skillet
3 lbs. lean stew beef cut into 2-3 inch chunks, dried on paper towels
a 4-qt flameproof casserole or baking dish (my mother-in-law gave me a bean pot for Christmas a few years ago, works perfect for this!)
3 c full bodied, young red wine (her suggestions: Macon, Burgundy or Mountain Red)
About 2 c beef boullion
1 T tomato paste
2-3 cloves mashed garlic
1/2 t thyme
1 bay leaf
salt & pepper, as necessary
Preheat oven to 325 degrees.
Cut the bacon or pork into 1 x 1/4 inch sticks; these are called lardons. If you are using smoked bacon or salt pork, place in a saucepan with 2 quarts cold water, simmer for 10 minutes, rinse in cold water, drain & dry; this is to remove the smoky taste from bacon or the salt from salt pork. You will have about 3/4 c of lardons. Brown the lardons lightly in a frying pan with a little oil, to render out the fat; this you will use for browning the beef.
Pour the rendered fat into a large skillet, adding a little oil if necessary. Set over moderately high heat. When almost smoking, brown the beef, a few pieces at a time so as not to crowd the pan; turn beef frequently to brown all sides. Place the beef, as it is browned, into casserole or baking dish.
Pour browning fat out of skillet, pour in the red wine and scrape up into it all the flavorful brown bits, then pour wine into casserole. Add the browned lardons to the casserole, and enough beef bouillon almost to cover the meat; stir in the rest of the ingredients and bring casserole to simmer on top of the stove. (I’ll be honest, I don’t simmer before I throw it in the oven…)
Cover the casserole and set in lower third of oven. Regulate heat so liquid simmers slowly for 2 1/2 to 3 hours, or longer, until beef is tender when pierced with a fork. (If you keep oven at 325 degrees [depending upon your meat] it generally takes the full 3 hours]). There’s a side note here “You may simmer the stew on top of the stove if you wish, or use an electric skillet or kettle”.
Now, once you’ve got your beef bubbling away in the oven, take a moment and a sip of wine or soda or water, whatever your poison, and know you are on your way to one seriously delicious meal! Okay, back to the rest of the recipe…
The Onion & Mushroom Garniture
Do this while the beef is simmering, or at any convenient time.
about 1 lb. fresh mushrooms
1/2 T olive oil
1 1/2 T butter
1/4 t salt
18-24 pearl onions (about 1 inch diameter)
1 T butter
1/2 t salt
water
Trim mushroom stems, drop mushrooms in a large basin of cold water, swish about for a moment, life out into a colander, and dry on a towel. Cut the caps into quarters, and the stems on the bias. [Side note: another “learning moment” for me. Cut on the bias means to cut at a hard angle (so no radial stem cuts, use your forefinger as a guide, put your knife at an angle, cut from tip to heel of knife) Ta-da! You just cut on the bias! :)]
Heat oil and butter in a skillet until butter foam begins to subside, add the mushrooms, and toss over high heat for 3 to 4 minutes to brown the mushrooms very lightly. Remove to a side dish until needed, then toss with the salt.
Drop the onions into boiling water, bring rapidly back to the boil for several seconds to loosen the skins. Drain. Peel carefully so as not to disturb the onion layers; to prevent onions from bursting while cooking, pierce a cross 1/4 inch deep in the root ends. Place in one later in a heavy saucepan; add the butter and salt and enough water to come halfway up the onions. Cover and simmer very slowly for 20-30 minutes, or until onions are tender. Set aside. Saving cooking liquid.
Sauce & Serving
3 T softened butter
3 T flour
When the beef is done (trust me, you’ll know when you pierce that fork through it and take a bite!), set cover askew and drain the cooking liquid into a saucepan. You should have about 2 1/2 cups; if liquid has boiled down too much, add a little more beef bouillon. Skim off fat, bring liquid to the simmer, and taste very carefully for seasoning, adding salt and pepper as necessary.
Cream the butter and flour in a small bowl with a rubber spatula (I’ve also used just my fingers), to make a smooth paste.
Pour in several (2 or 3) spoonfuls of the beef cooking liquid and blend with butter & flour with a whisk, then pour this mixture into the beef liquid. Pour in the onion-cooking juices (now, I poured in a little bit, we’re not the biggest onion lovers in this house, but you pour to your taste) and bring the beef liquid to a simmer, stirring. This is now your sauce.
Add the mushrooms and onions to the beef, pour on the sauce, cover and simmer slowly for 5 minutes to blend flavors, swirling to baste meat and vegetables with sauce. The dish is now done (about time!). If you are not serving immediately, uncover; when cool, cover, refrigerate, and reheat later.)
Serve the bouef bourguignon in its casserole dish (I actually transfer everything to my big skillet to simmer, add onions, mushrooms, etc. on the stove top, but you can always pour it back in your casserole dish, too! Presentation, presentation, presentation!) or arrange on a hot platter surrounded, if you wish, with boiled potatoes, noodles, or rice, and decorated with parsley (yes, I skip the parsley). Accompany with hot French bread, buttered peas or tossed salad and the same red wine you used for cooking. Our Valentine’s Day menu consisted of this fantastic dish along with oven roasted asparagus, mashed potatoes and homemade French bread. It tied together very well.
And that’s the recipe. Don’t let it overwhelm, it’s completely do-able and completely worth it!
Also, here’s your shopping list:
6 oz. bacon
olive oil
red wine (I used Valoroso Toscana)
3 lbs. Lean stewing beef
1 lb. fresh whole mushrooms
butter
salt & pepper
18-24 small white (pearl) onions
flour
beef bouillon (I absolutely love the Better Than Bouillon brand…)
1 small jar tomato paste (I divide this out by the tablespoon into ziplock bags and throw in the freezer)
fresh garlic
thyme
bay leaf