Beef Bourguignon

It may be hard to pronounce, but what isn't hard is making this one pot French meal. Feed a crowd, or enjoy leftovers the next day. Beef marinated in wine and vegetables until it melts in your mouth......'nuff said!

My godmother was French and this is a version of the recipe she taught me. Her version takes hours, and I'll definitely post it some day, but, in the meantime, this captures ALL the delicious flavors in less time.

I love using a big bold red wine and make sure that whatever wine you use it's wine you would love to drink. That doesn't mean it has to be expensive, but it DOES mean it has be GOOD!

Ingredients

Pepper
Salt
8 ounces bacon, diced
2 teaspoons chopped garlic, about 2 cloves
½ cup brandy
1 (750 ml) bottle good dry red wine (if you would drink it, then that’s the bottle to use for this)
2 – 2 ½ cups beef bone broth (yes, usually I love using chicken broth, but you really need the richness of the beef broth for this dish)
4 tablespoons (1/2 stick) unsalted butter, at room temperature
3 tablespoons all-purpose flour
1 pound mushrooms, discard the stems, thickly slice the caps
1 garlic clove, cut in half
½ cup chopped fresh Italian parsley
1 pound carrots, sliced diagonally into 1 inch cubes
1 tablespoon olive oil
2-½ pounds beef chuck, cut into 1 inch cubes
2 yellow onions, thinly sliced
1 tablespoon tomato paste
1 teaspoon fresh thyme leaves
1/2 bag frozen pearl onions (keep the frozen, because you'll add them at the end)
1 loaf good country bread, sliced and toasted

Instructions

Preheat your oven to 250 degrees. In a large Dutch oven, or large skillet, heat the olive oil.
Add the bacon and cook over medium heat until the bacon is lightly browned, about 8-10 minutes. With a slotted spoon remove the bacon and set it aside.
Dry the beef really well with paper towels. The drier the beef, the better it will brown. Sprinkle with salt and pepper. Add the beef to the Dutch oven, and over high heat, sear the beef on all sides until it’s nicely brown. Once it’s nicely brown on all sides, remove it with a slotted spoon and set aside. Depending on the size of your Dutch oven or skillet, you may need to brown the meat in a couple of batches. Be careful not to crowd too much beef in the pan at once, or it won’t brown.
Add the carrots, onions, 1 tablespoon of salt and 2 teaspoons of pepper into the fat in the pan. Cook over medium heat for 10-12 minutes, stirring occasionally, until the onions are lightly browned. Add the garlic and cook for another minute.
BEFORE YOU ADD THE BRANDY: if using a gas oven, remove the pot from the flame.
Gently pour in the brandy. After you add the brandy use a lighter stick to light the edge of the pot. Allow the brandy to burn off, then set the pot back on the flame. DO NOT LIGHT if you're pouring straight from the bottle. If you’re nervous about the whole match and fire thing, just make sure to bring the cognac to a boil for a few minutes, until the liquid evaporates and this will also burn off the alcohol. You'll get a deeper flavor if you burn off the brandy, but if you boil it a few minutes the dish will still taste delicious!
Stir in the tomato paste and cook for a couple of minutes.
Add the meat and the bacon back into the pan with any accumulated juices. Add the wine and enough broth to just cover the meat. Stir in the thyme. Bring to a boil, cover pot and cook in the oven for about 1 1/2 - 2 hours.
While the meat is cooking, sauté the mushrooms in a medium pan with 2 tablespoons of butter over medium high heat, until lightly browned, about 10 minutes. Set aside.
The meat is done with it's tender -- remove a piece and you should be able to cut it with a fork and it should taste gorgeous and melt in your mouth. Remove from oven and place back onto the stove.
Bring to a boil and mix 2 tablespoons of butter and the flour with a fork and stir into the stew. Add the mushrooms to the stew. Once the stew is boiling, lower the heat and simmer, uncovered, for 15 minutes. Season to taste.
Rub each slice of bread on one side with garlic, and toast in a toaster or under the broiler.
Place slice of bread in bottom of a bowl, ladle the stew over the bread and garnish with parsley.

Have you made this recipe?I'd love to know! Leave a comment or recipe rating and tag me @amenuforyou on social media!

Beef Bourguignon