In my experience, this is one of the most talked about dishes done by Julia Child. I can remember hearing about it for years. I wasn't into classic French cookery enough to worry about it and we were never at any restaurant where it was served. Fast forward to a couple of years ago and my good wife brings in the movie, Julie and Julia. If you are not familiar with this movie, it is the story of a woman that sets a goal of cooking her way through Julia Child's book the Art of French Cookery with flashbacks to Julia Child's life. Boeuf Bourguignon is portrayed by Julie as a challenge she is not ready to accept until later in the movie. Indeed, her first attempt is a dismal failure. In the end, she makes a great Boeuf Bourguignon. The movie is worth watching if for nothing else than to learn more about Julia Child's life.
A few months ago, I bought a beef chuck roll and processed it into roasts of various sizes, some stew meat, and some chuck eye steaks. Then, about a month ago, we were at a wine tasting featuring French wines. One of those sampled was a nice Burgundy and the wheels started turning. We bought that bottle and labeled it as being specifically for Boeuf Bourguignon.
During the recent holiday I decided that supper that night should be the Boeuf Bourguignon. I used a combination of Julia Child's techniques and modern techniques. A Google search of recipes will show that most modern recipes throw everything together and then serve it after cooking. Basically a beef stew by a different name. The classic technique involves removing the meat and straining the remaining stuff to be left with a smooth rich broth. The beef and bacon lardons are added back to the broth and pearl onions and mushrooms are stirred in and you're ready to serve. That's the quick and dirty version anyway.
I had a package of peppered bacon ends from slicing some bacon a while back so I cut them into match sticks rather than lardons and it was removed with the seasoning vegetables. The herb bundle came from my herb garden. To reduce cooking time, I cut the meat into 1 inch cubes rather than the 2 inch cubes Julia Child calls for. So, the recipe as follows is how I did it.
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| Boeuf Bourguignon |
Boeuf Bourguignon
2 - 3 lbs beef chuck, cut into 1 inch cubes
6 - 8 oz bacon, chunk is best
1 lb carrots
1 medium/large white onion
2 Tbs tomato paste
1 lb baby bella mushrooms
10 oz pearl onions
1 bottle Burgundy wine
1 container beef broth
Herb bundle containing Parsley, Basil, Bay leaves, Thyme
2 - 4 cloves garlic
2/3 cup Brandy, divided
flour
vegetable oil
3 Tbs butter
salt
pepper
It is best to get everything ready before you turn the stove on. The fancy term is mise en place. Dice the onion and two of the carrots to a fine dice and put in a bowl together. Cut the stems from the mushrooms and put the diced stems in with the onion and carrots. Slice the garlic and add to the bowl. Cube the chuck roast and spread out on a tray. Cut the bacon into either matchsticks (modern) or lardons (classical) and put in a separate bowl. Cut the remaining carrots into 1 inch slices. Now you're ready.
Pre-heat the oven to 375 F.
Sprinkle salt and pepper on the cubed beef. Sprinkle beef with flour and toss to coat adding more flour if necessary. Put your Dutch oven on the stove with the bottom coated with oil and turn on Med-High heat. Start browning the beef being sure not to crowd it. Brown at least two sides and remove to a plate. It took 5 batches to get mine done. There should be a good layer of fond on the bottom of the pot. After the beef is done, add the bacon to the pot. Let it cook till it's brown and has rendered its fat. For the classical approach, remove the lardons to the plate with the beef. For the modern approach, add the diced vegetables to the pot with the bacon. Cook and stir until the onions start to turn translucent. Stir in the tomato paste. Add 1/3 cup Brandy and allow the alcohol to cook off.
Now the fun begins. Add the beef, and bacon if using the classical approach, back to the pot. Add the sliced carrots on top. Pour in the bottle of Burgundy. Add beef broth until the meat and carrots are covered. Bring the whole to a boil then turn off the stove. Put the herb bundle in the middle of the pot and put the lid on. Put pot in the oven and cook for 2 hours. During this time, prep the pearl onions by cutting off the ends and removing the dry outer skin. Prep the mushrooms by cutting them in quarters.
After 2 hours, check the beef. If it is fork tender, and 1 inch dice should be, remove the pot from the oven. Remove the beef and carrots to a plate. Pour the rest through a strainer and catch the gravy in a pot. Wash the cooked vegetables in the strainer with beef broth till all the good gravy is in the pot. You should end up with about 2 1/2 cups in the pot. Put the pot on the stove and bring to a simmer.
Melt the butter in a large skillet and add the pearl onions and try to get them evenly browned all around. You just need a hint of golden color. Remove the onions to a bowl. Add the mushrooms to the skillet and sprinkle with salt and pepper. They will soak up the butter. Let them cook until they start to brown then shake the skillet to turn them. Add the remaining 1/3 cup Brandy to the skillet and let the alcohol burn off. If you want to get fancy you can burn it off to make it go faster. Just don't burn down the kitchen.
Now, add the beef and carrots back to the original pot. Pour the gravy over the beef and carrots. If the gravy is too thin, thicken with a bit of corn starch and water before you pour it in. Add the pearl onions and mushrooms. Stir to combine and bring everything to a simmer. Remove from heat and serve.
Notes:
Next time I'll reserve some of the wine and use more beef broth at the beginning. The reserved wine would then be added at the end to have a more pronounced flavor.
The chunks of carrot are a modern addition.
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| A rich tasty supper |
We had hot crusty bread with it. It can also be served with noodle, potatoes, or rice.
A good enameled cast iron Dutch oven works very well.
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| Enameled cast iron Dutch oven. This one was a thrift store find. |
If you can't find a good Burgundy wine then use Pinot Noir as they are from the same grape.
It is a fair bit of work but the results are well worth it. My total time was about 3 hours compared to the 6 or 7 required for the completely classical preparation. I hope you give this a try. I think you'll be pleased with the results.
Uncle T
