Beef Bourguignon

Looking for something celebratory? This is our take on the iconic French dish, Boeuf Bourguignon, popularized in America by Julia Child. Less of a stew and more of an event, classic beef bourguignon is beef stewed with aromatic vegetables, herbs and spices which are then strained off, reduced and finished with a butter-flour mixture to create a densely flavored, dark and silky sauce. Yes the sauce is a bit fussy, but truly it is worth it. We made this for the family the other day and not a drop was left.

(You can of course skip all the sauce straining fussiness and prepare this as a traditional stew, but then it would just be a lovely stew, not the dish everyone expects.)

We’ve included dried porcini mushrooms in this dish. They’re called cepes in France, and are frequently used in French stews. Dried porcini are available in many supermarkets, but don’t worry if you can’t find them. For this they’re optional and you’ll still have a fabulous dish without them.

As for the wine, if you can find it, use a Pinot Noir. It is the dominant wine used in Burgundy, France, and it is what gives this dish its name. Obviously you can use a real French Burgundy wine, but they tend to be far more expensive than a California Pinot Noir. Look for a bottle you’d happily drink.

Finally, the thing that usually stops me from making beef bourguignon is the pearl onions. Yes, blanching and peeling them is simply a lot of work. However, salvation may be at hand. According to my sources you can get frozen pearl onions already blanched and peeled. Apparently Trader Joe’s carries them. If you can’t find them, the following instructions include steps for preparing the onions.

Beef Bourguignon Recipe

We are using shiitake mushrooms for the fresh mushrooms in this recipe, even though they are not traditionally used for this dish, because they are just so meaty and good. Feel free to use any fresh mushroom you'd like. If you don't have access to salt pork, you can use bacon, but simmer it first for 8 minutes in water, then drain and rinse, to remove its smokiness. A word on salt. Salt pork is salty. Be sparing with salt as you make this dish until the end, when you can adjust. Commercial beef stock is also salty, so you very well may have enough salt for the dish just from these two sources.

Ingredients

• 6-8 ounces salt pork, cut into 1/2 inch chunks
• 4 Tbsp unsalted butter, divided
• 4 pounds trimmed beef chuck, cut into 2-inch cubes, patted dry with paper towels
• Salt
• 10-12 shallots, chopped, about 2 cups
• 2 large, peeled carrots, 1 chopped, 1 cut into 2-inch chunks
• 4-5 garlic cloves, chopped
• 1 ounce of dried porcini mushrooms (optional)
• 2 Tbsp tomato paste
• 1/2 cup brandy, plus 2 Tbsp
• 1 bottle Pinot Noir, or other red wine
• Beef Stock (low sodium), at least 1 cup, quite easily more
• 1/2 cup chopped fresh parsley
• 2 bay leaves
• 2 teaspoons dried thyme
• 4 whole cloves
• 24 pearl onions, fresh or frozen
• 1 lb fresh shiitake, cremini or button mushrooms
• Beurre manie: 3 Tbsp flour blended with 2 Tbsp butter

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