For our recipe today, we’re going a little French! I’ll be making Boeuf Bourguignon, or better known as BEEF Bourguignon! This is my take on Julia Child’s infamous recipe. I got her cookbooks for Christmas and have slowly been braving them, so here we go!

 

To start, here’s the recipe:

Beef Bourguignon

For the Beef:

1/2 TBSP olive oil

8oz thick sliced bacon (you can use salt pork,  but I prefer bacon)

3 lbs beef stew meat (personally, I prefer to cut a roast, so that’s what I did. I used a chuck roast and cut it into 2″ chunks)

salt & pepper

1-2 carrots, sliced

1 red onion, sliced

2 TBSP all-purpose flour

2 1/2 C red wine (I know nothing about wine, but Julia calls for chianti, so I got chianti)

1 C beef broth

1 TBSP tomato paste

2-3 sprigs fresh thyme

2 fresh bay leaves (or 2 dried ones, just crush them up)

3 cloves garlic, smashed

 

For the onions:

1 1/2 TBSP unsalted butter

1 1/2 TBSP olive oil

around 2 dozen broiler onions, whole and peeled (I used less and halved them)

1/2 C beef broth

3-4 fresh sprigs parsley, chopped

2 fresh bay leaves

3 sprigs fresh thyme

salt & pepper

 

For the mushrooms:

1 TBSP olive oil

2 TBSP unsalted butter

1/2 lb white button mushrooms, cleaned and quartered

 

COOKING

Preheat the oven to 450

First, heat your olive oil in a large enameled dutch oven. This will help it to not stick to the pan, but will also help build your flavors. Add your bacon into the pan and cook until browned, but not crispy. There should be plenty of fat accumulated in the bottom of your pan. Scoop the bacon out and set aside (I used a glass plate to contain any juices). Keep the fat/oil hot, but not smoking!

Next, the beef.

Pat it all dry with a paper towel, then sprinkle with salt and pepper. Add it in batches to the fat and brown on each side, DO NOT COOK! A few seconds on each side should be fine, as long as every side is seared. Set each batch aside on the plate with the bacon.

Once all the meat is seared, add the sliced carrots and onion to the dutch oven and fats. Cook them just long enough to brown and the onion to be translucent.

Add the beef back into the pot with the vegetables. Sprinkle and toss with the flour to coat everything, then put it in the preheated oven for four minutes. Stir it around, then put it back in the oven for another four minutes. Take it out and reduce the oven temp to 325.

This is where things get good. Stir in the broth, wine, tomato paste, herbs, and smashed garlic. Get all that stuff dancing together! Cover and cook for 3 – 3 1/2 hours. I did 3 hours in my oven and it was PERFECT.

And just so you know…if you’re like me and don’t drink wine, a regular screw works great in place of a cork screw when you need to get the bottle open 😂

Anyway…Now that the meat is taken care of, it’s time to move on to the mushrooms and onions!

 

For the onions:

Start by melting the butter & oil together in a skillet over med-high heat. Add the onions and sauté for about 10 minutes. I halved my onions, so it took less time. Once they are slightly browned, add your herbs and broth. Reduce heat to low, cover, and simmer for 40ish minutes.

For the mushrooms:

Quarter the mushrooms and start another pan with butter and oil over high heat. When the butter gets a little foamy, add the mushrooms and cook them until they’re golden. Remove from heat and set to the side.

Remove the beef from the oven, and TA-DA! Beef Bourguignon! Just skim off the fats,  scoop some of each onto a plate, and eat! I served mine over a bed of garlic mashed potatoes and everyone all but licked their plates.

This will be something I think we make again and again because…yummmm! Questions or comments? Drop them below! See you next time, friends!

-Lauren B.