Beef Bourguignon

Elena Butuc

A few years ago, it used to be very fashionable to cook this Boeuf Bourguignon recipe, thanks to the movie about Julia Child. I was juggling with the idea, I even had about two attempts, but only after our short trip to Paris did I return to the recipe. I then insisted on eating Boeuf Bourguignon in about 3 places. Each time it was different and the funny thing was that the best one was in a low-cost restaurant, yet with a simple and delicious menu.

Only then did I understand its taste. I knew now what I had to obtain and that was not necessarily Julia Child's Boeuf Bourguignon. After all, it's a beef ragout, but made in the French style, a simple peasant food and not a juggling show with strange and hard to find ingredients. I cooked the recipe at least 5 times, in several variants, even one with chocolate! They were ok, but not the best, lacking that particular whole and simple taste of the meat cooked in wine.

So, below I am showing you a simplified Boeuf Bourguignon recipe. I would say it's a basic one - a veal ragout with wine and vegetables, very good and even handy. Might be harder to find baby onions, if you can't find any, stick just to the mushrooms or use simple onions cut into small pieces.

I even tried to cook it without flour, for a low-carb dish. I added the carrots cut into bigger pieces and we all enjoyed this wonderful food together. So, keep it simple, everything will be fine and tasty.

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Ingredients

Metric US

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Veal meat

1 kg

I also cooked it with beef, but it boiled for 6 hours and the meat was still hard...

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Bacon

200 g

I took some smoked bacon

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White onion

2 pieces

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Carrots

2 pieces

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White mushrooms

250 g

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Red dry wine

250 ml

here I used a Cabernet-Sauvignon

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Ground black pepper

0.25 tsp

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Salt

2 tsp

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Tomato paste

1 tbsp

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Laurel leaves

2 pieces

if you have, you can also add some fresh thyme, rosemary

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Butter

50 g

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Baby onions

200 g

optional, if you find any

Step by step

Step 1

It's very important to choose the right meat - I chose the veal in the end, usually the neck or the shank. I tried to use beef, but it takes too long to cook, even 6 hours, and it's still tough.

Step 2

Cut it into medium pieces, about 2x2cm.

Step 3

Prepare the rest of the ingredients - cut the onions and carrots into large pieces and the bacon into thin slices.

Step 4

Don't forget about the 2 bay leaves, tomato paste, thyme and rosemary, optional.

Step 5

And, of course, a good semi-dry wine, the one you like to drink.

Step 6

Place the bacon in a pan with no oil.

Step 7

Once it has browned well and released the fat, carefully remove with a spatula and transfer to a dish or Dutch oven in which we will continue to cook the ragout in the oven.

Reserve the fat in the pan, we still need it later on.

Step 8

In this hot fat, cook the meat we cut at step 2.

The pan must be hot, cook the meat just until it browns slightly, it shouldn't release the juice.

Step 9

When nicely browned on all sides, transfer the meat in the dish with the bacon.

I cooked the meat in 2 rounds. Avoid crowding it in the pan because it will release the juice and, instead of frying, it will boil.

Step 10

When you finished with the meat, place the onions and carrots in the same pan.

Stir and cook until they begin to brown.

Step 11

Add tomato paste, mix and cook for another 2 minutes.

Step 12

Pour 500ml water over the vegetables, stir and boil for another 2 minutes.

Step 13

Then pour the water with vegetables into the dish with the fried meat.

Step 14

Add the bay leaves, thyme and rosemary (if you have any).

Step 15

Pour about a glass of wine, or more, so that the meat and vegetables are well covered.

Step 16

Place the dish without a lid in the oven. Cook for 3-4 hours at 150 C.

The cooking time depends on the meat, but usually it doesn't take less than 2-3 hours, maybe longer. You have to add more water if the juice level drops too much.

Step 17

While the meat is cooking, we will prepare the vegetables which are normally added to the ragout at the end, as a kind of filling - the sauteed baby onions and onions.

I found baby onions in the market. Now it's the season for planting the onion, so I could find onion sets. To peel them faster and easier, I sink the baby onions in hot water for 10 minutes.