Beef Bourguignon

Beef Bourguignon is a classic French dish that comes from the Burgundy Region of France. The region is located 100 km southeast of Paris and is well know for its Burgundy Wines, architecture, and rich cuisine. Examples are Escargots, Oafs en meurette, Gougere, and Coq au vin. The Capital of the region is Dijon of the mustard fame.

Dijon was most prosperous in the 18th Century when it was also an intellectual center of France. The city declined after the French Revolution. We can thank Dijon for food products such as Mustard, Vinegar, and Gingerbread. Dijon holds an International Gastronomic Fair. The fair offers a wide variety of both amateurs and professional cooks. The Fair is held normally in Late October/Early November. There are normally over 500 exhibitors and over 200,000 visitors.

Beef Bourguignon started out in the middles ages as peasant food. It was a great way to cook the ‘tougher’ meats because of the long slow cooking process which was popular in the region at that time. The dish was made with the Charolais Cattle which are reputed for their distinct taste, low fat and gentle temperament from the Charolles region of southern Burgundy.

Traditionally the dish took two days to prepare. The longer you cooked the tougher meats the more tender they became and you also get a more flavorful dish.

The travel guide Baedeker’s Paris and its Environs is the first time the dish is mentioned in 1878 for place to eat and dish to try at Bouillon Duval Chain restaurant. At first according to Jim Chevallier, a French food historian, the dish “did not enjoy a great reputation”. Manly a result of dry leftovers being disguised in a heavy wine-soaked sauce.

By the 20th Century with the use of fresh Beef and the proper cut that can handle the slow long cooking process the popularity of the dish has changed and doesn’t look to be going anyway anytime soon. In 2017 the French overwhelming voted it there top National Dish.

TIMELINE

1847 Antonin Carême’s L’Art de la Cuisine Française au XIXe Siècle has a recipe for eel in a sauce ‘a la bourguinotte’.
1867 The first mention of ‘boeuf bourguignon’ appears in Pierre Larousse’s Grand Dictionnaire Universel du XIXe Siècle.

1878 The first evidence of boeuf bourguignon being served in a restaurant appears in Baedeker’s Paris and its Environs.

1885 The first printed recipe for the dish, in M Butler’s La Bonne Cuisine pour Tous, recommends using leftover meat.

1894 Swiss chef Joseph Favre’s Dictionnaire Universel de Cuisine Pratique has a recipe similar to the dish we know today.

1907 A translation of Escoffier’s Le Guide Culinaire features the first recipe for a bourguignonne sauce in English.

1961 Mastering the Art of French Cooking (Julia Child, Simone Beck and Louisette Bertholle) popularises the dish in the US.

2017 Boeuf bourguignon is the winner in a Toluna Institute survey to find France’s top national dish.

SOURCE: HTTPS://WWW.NATIONALGEOGRAPHIC.CO.UK/TRAVEL/2020/08/THE-STORY-BEHIND-THE-CLASSIC-FRENCH-DISH-BOEUF-BOURGUIGNON

Julia Child’s Beef Bourguignon

Tender beef and vegetables slow simmered in a richly flavored red wine sauce. This is probably the best stew you'll ever make

Prep Time1hour hr

Cook Time5hours hrs

Total Time6hours hrs

Course: Dinner

Cuisine: French

Keyword: beef, dinner, main course, stew

Servings: 8

Calories: 681kcal

Author: Tricia

Ingredients

6 thick slices uncured bacon (about 6 ounces)
1 tablespoon olive oil
3 pounds lean chuck roast cut into 2-inch cubes
2 large carrots cut into 2-inch pieces
1 large onion rough chopped
salt and pepper
2 tablespoons tomato paste
2 tablespoons all-purpose flour
3 cloves garlic minced
3 cups full-bodied red wine like Beaujolais, Cotes du Rhone or Burgundy
4 cups beef stock divided
1 teaspoon fresh thyme leaves
1 bay leaf

For the vegetables:

18 to 24 small white pearl onions peeled
3 tablespoons unsalted butter divided
3 tablespoons olive oil divided
salt and pepper
5 fresh thyme sprigs
1 bay leaf
1 ½ pounds mushrooms cleaned and quartered

For serving:

fresh parsley leaves chopped for garnish
cooked buttered noodles
boiled potatoes
mashed potatoes
green peas

Instructions

Adjust the oven rack to the lower middle position. Preheat oven to 325°F.
Cut bacon crosswise into ¼-inch thick strips (lardons). Heat a large Dutch oven over medium heat and add 1 tablespoon of olive oil. Once shimmering add the bacon and cook until lightly browned. Use a slotted spoon to remove the lardons to a large bowl and set aside. Leave the fat in the pot.
Dry the beef cubes with paper towels. Re-heat the Dutch oven over medium-high heat until almost smoking. Add the beef in batches, a few pieces at a time, and cook until browned on all sides. Don’t crowd the pan as the beef will not brown properly. Remove the browned beef to the bowl with the lardons. Repeat with any remaining beef cubes.
Add the carrots and chopped onions to the now empty pot. Cook the vegetables over medium-high heat stirring frequently until lightly browned. Remove all but 1 tablespoon of the fat and discard.
Add the tomato paste and garlic to the carrots and onions. Cook and stir for a few minutes or until the garlic is fragrant and the tomato paste slightly darkens in color.
Return the beef and bacon to the pot and season with ½ teaspoon salt and ½ teaspoon pepper. Sprinkle the flour over the beef and toss to coat.
Cook over medium heat, stirring occasionally, until a dark fond forms on the bottom of the pot, about 5 minutes.
Pour 1 cup of wine over the beef and deglaze the pot by scraping the bottom to release any browned bits. Add the remaining 2 cups of wine and 3 ½ cups of stock enough to cover the beef. Add the thyme and bay leaf and bring to a simmer.
Once simmering cover the Dutch oven and transfer to the oven. Cook so the broth simmers slowly for 3 to 4 hours. Reduce the heat or increase as needed to ensure the stew simmers but doesn’t boil. Continue to cook stirring gently a few times, until the beef is very tender and pierces easily with a fork.

While the beef is cooking prepare the onions and mushrooms.

Heat a large nonstick skillet over medium-high heat. Add 1 ½ tablespoons butter and 1 ½ tablespoons oil until bubbling. Add the onions and reduce the heat to medium. Sauté the onions for about 10 minutes, carefully rolling them around so they brown as evenly as possible.
Add ⅓ cup of beef broth, ¼ teaspoon salt and ¼ teaspoon pepper, thyme sprigs and bay leaf. Cover and simmer slowly for 30 minutes or until the onions are tender but still hold their shape and the liquid has evaporated. Discard the thyme sprigs and bay leaf and transfer the onions to a bowl.
Heat the remaining 1 ½ tablespoons of butter and 1 ½ tablespoons of oil in the now empty skillet over medium-high heat. When the butter stops bubbling add the mushrooms. Toss the mushrooms to coat then leave in a single layer to brown without stirring, about 5 minutes. Once browned on one side, stir and continue cooking until the moisture is released and then evaporates.
Remove the cooked mushrooms to the bowl with the onions. Cover and refrigerate until needed.

Assemble the stew

Once the beef is tender remove the pot from the oven. Allow the stew to rest for 5 minutes then tilt the pan to skim off and discard any fat that pools on top. Don’t worry if you can’t get it all, a little fat is okay.
Set the Dutch oven on the stovetop over medium-low heat. Add the pearl onions and mushrooms and stir gently to combine. Cover and simmer for 3 or 5 minutes or until heated through.
Serve directly from the Dutch oven or arrange the stew on a platter surrounded with boiled potatoes, buttered noodles or rice. Garnish with fresh parsley leaves and serve.

Notes

Adapted from Mastering the Art of French Cooking

Nutritional information is calculated using an ingredient database and should be considered as an estimate. When multiple ingredient alternatives are given, the first listed is calculated for nutrition. Garnishes and optional ingredients are not included.

Nutrition