Brrrr. With all apologies to our northern neighbors for whining…us Floridians are really sissies when it comes to cold weather, and these last few weeks have been really cold. While we haven’t had snow (although our brethren in the panhandle have) our tropical plants are wilted and looking quite pathetic, our lips and cheeks are chapped, and almost nobody I know here has enough winter clothes—so we’re all wearing the same sweatshirts, sweaters and pants over and over and over again. Like I said brrrr.
The good news is that this weather has given us an unprecedented opportunity to cook our favorite winter comfort foods—and eat them in front of a warming fire. And in my family, Beef Bourguignon is at the top of the list of comfort foods. Who doesn’t like a long-simmering rich, deeply flavored stew studded with beef that is dark brown on the outside and tender to the fork, our favorite sturdy winter vegetable trilogy of onions, carrots and mushrooms with a sauce that is happy to be spooned next to mashed potatoes, over wide egg noodles, or wiped clean with a crusty sourdough or other fresh baked bread. Add a salad and a glass of red wine or cider, and feel the warmth of family contentment. This recipe makes enough to feed a party—or for a family of four to enjoy the leftovers through the week.
Beef Bourguignon
(Adapted from The New Basics Recipe by Julee Rosso & Sheila Lukins)
Serves 8 to 10 generously
Preparation time: 1 hour
Cook time: 2 hours
Total time: 3 hours
Ingredients:
½ pound bacon, diced
3 pounds beef chuck, cut into 1-inch cubes
1 large onion, chopped
Salt and pepper to taste
4 tablespoons all-purpose flour
3 cups of a hearty red wine (burgundy if you have it)
3 cups beef stock
2 tablespoons tomato paste
1 tablespoon rosemary (fresh or dried is fine)
4 large carrots, peeled and cut into 1 inch pieces
1 bag of frozen white pearl onions
8 ounces fresh mushrooms (any kind you like, but wild is nicest)
1 tablespoon unsalted butter
1 tablespoon red currant jelly
Preparation:
Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.
In a Dutch oven or ovenproof casserole, sauté the bacon until crisp. Remove the bacon with a slotted spoon and set aside. Pour off all but 2 tablespoons of the bacon drippings. Brown the beef in the bacon fat in batches so as not to overcrowd the beef. When all are brown, return the beef to the pot and add the onion. Sprinkle the beef and onion mixture with salt, pepper and the flour. Stir to combine well and cook, continuing to stir for 3 minutes (the idea here is to make sure that the flour has cooked enough to lose its “flour” taste—it should brown a bit with the onions and the beef). Add the wine, the beef stock, the tomato paste, the rosemary and the reserved bacon. Stir to deglaze the pot and bring the mixture to the boil. Cover and place in the oven to cook for two hours or until the meat is very tender.
While the beef is cooking, prepare the vegetables. Drain the pearl onions in a colander (they can be thawing while they’re draining). Bring water to the boil in a small saucepan. Add the cut carrots and parboil for about 7 minutes until crisp tender. Add them to the colander with the onions and drain. Wipe the mushrooms clean, remove their stems and cut the caps into quarters. In a small sauté pan, melt the butter and then sauté the mushrooms until they have released all of their juices and are slightly browned. Set aside.
When the meat has cooked for 1 ½ hours, add the onion, carrots, mushrooms and jelly to the pot. Return to the oven and continue to cook for another 30 to 40 minutes to heat the vegetables through. Serve immediately or cool and store in the refrigerator. This stew improves with age.
Very beautiful presentation 🙂 Interesting use of red currant. I don’t believe I’ve had it in boeuf before.
Thank you Shree, you could easily leave out the red currant jelly–because it doesn’t flavor the dish at all. What it does do is give the sauce this wonderful shininess which looks so appetizing to me that I keep it in the recipe–but I definitely wouldn’t go buy a jar just for the one tablespoon…
I just received this! I can’t believe how long email takes to get from Cypress Point to Kissimmee! Anyway, it DOES look absolutely yummy.
It really is yummy…definitely a go-to recipe for winter comfort food….thanks Jo Anne…
Hi,
At what point do you re-introduce the bacon, or do you?
Thanks
The bacon goes back in with the wine, stock and rosemary. I have updated the instructions accordingly and I thank you for the close reading…mea culpa.
I just made this for a party of mine and everyone absolutely love it!!! Thanks very much for sharing this. Definitely going to make it again.
That looks really good! The gravy looks nice and rich and tasty!
I’m so glad you liked it Damien, thanks for stopping by.
I used your recipe variation the other night. I’ve written the changes in to my New Basics. The frozen pearl onions make it so much easier! I’m not much of a cook, but this was SO good!
Thanks for writing Lisa–I know what you mean about the pearl onions, the first few times I made this–I used fresh–and oh, what a job–I had used the frozen for another recipe and they were wonderful! I will never blanch and peal again!
very good presentation, it sound good by eyes.
Good Morning! I just put this all together and it is in the oven!! I need to run out and buy some mushrooms 🙂
Your photo of the finished dish is beautiful!
I think I will present mine that way 🙂
I can’t wait for dinner tonight!!
Thanks for posting!! 🙂
Have a wonderful day!!
diane~
Thank you for writing Diane, I’m so glad you liked this recipe–one of my all-time favorites.
Actually –this IS the best BB recipe ever… we’ve used it for 2 decades and tried others, but always come back to this one. I have to say, though, don’t leave out the red currant jelly! There is something about the flavor of currants that pairs perfectly with beef, and it does bind the sauce and make it shine!
Looks delicious! I’d like to make this today but was wondering if I could use a crock pot instead?
Christiane,
You can absolutely make this in a crock pot. You’ll get best results if you follow the recipe as written and then transfer to your crock pot after you have deglazed your pan. Go ahead and add the vegetables and cook on low heat for four to six hours.
Greetings from Zanzibar,
I am so glad for this your recipe and for me really new knowlage amazing,as you know my back ground only Asian food but ,accordingly my position right now Sous Chef so i like to learn also all the culinery in the world,
once again thankyou for your sharing,,,,,,
May Godbless,,,,,,,,,
While the beef is cooking, peel the button onions. Put the onions in a heatproof bowl and cover with just-boiled water. Leave to stand for five minutes and then drain. When the onions are cool enough to handle, trim off the root close to the end so they don’t fall apart and peel off the skin.