Another Beef Bourguignon Delight
Although this delicious beef stew originates in Burgundy, many other regions of France make it, and there are numerous variations on the recipe, all of them well worth the time involved.
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Ingredients
- steak - skirt, chuck, brisket, or similar cheaper cut
- olive oil or rice bran oil
- shallots
- unsalted butter
- fresh garlic
- flour
- good red wine, ideally a Burgundy
- brown stock (I use whatever stock I have on hand.)
- bouquet garni
- bay leaves
- salt and freshly ground pepper
- lardons (low fat bacon)
- button mushrooms
- carrots
- cornflour or arrowroot
- fresh parsley.
How To Make This Tasty Meat Stew
- Preheat the oven to 300°F/150°C/Gas 2. It is the slow cooking in a low oven temperature that makes the cheaper cuts of meat so tender. Get some help with this Oven Temperature Conversion Chart..
- Cut the beef into cubes, about 3cm/1½ inches, removing any fat or gristle. Pat them dry on a kitchen towel (if they are not dry, they won't brown, which results in less flavor).
- Heat half the oil in a large casserole and brown the beef cubes very well, a few at a time.
- The beef cubes must be brown on all sides, put them into a large bowl as they are done.
- If the bottom of the casserole becomes dark or dry, pour in a little warm water and deglaze the pan by scraping up any sediment stuck to the bottom, pour the liquid over the browned meat.
- Continue to brown all the meat, and finish with a final deglaze of the casserole, putting that liquid also with the meat.
- Wipeout and reheat the casserole and sauté the prepared shallots in half the butter and a splash of oil until they are well browned. The splash of oil will prevent the butter from burning.
- Add the garlic and sprinkle the flour in while stirring. Cook, stirring, for about 1 minute.
- Add the wine and stock, and stir until the mixture boils, always scraping the bottom of the casserole pan. There is a list of wine substitutes below if you do not want the alcohol in your meal. Or divide it in half and make one part with wine and one part without. But always replace the liquid amount so your meal is not too dry
- Put the meat back into the casserole and stir it into the wine and stock mix.
- Add the chopped carrots, bouquet garni, and bay leaves, and season quite generously with salt and pepper, but don't overdo the salt – the lardons will be quite salty.
- Cook in the preheated oven for 2-3 hours, or until the meat is tender.
- Prepare the lardons by blanching them in boiling water for 1-2 minutes, remove and pat dry.
- Wipe the mushrooms, but do not peel them, cut the larger mushrooms into smaller sizes.
- Melt the remaining butter in a frying pan and, when the butter starts to foam, add the lardons and the mushrooms and cook fairly briskly until delicately browned.
- When the stew has been cooking for 2 hours, add the lardons and mushrooms (not before), and cook for a further 30-60 minutes.
- Remove the casserole from the oven and test the meat to ensure that it is tender, and taste the sauce; season as necessary, a little at a time to avoid over-seasoning.
- Mix the cornflour with a little water, and pour into the casserole over medium heat on top of the oven, stirring gently for a few minutes while the cornflour cooks out.
- Sprinkle with the chopped parsley and serve immediately either direct to plates, with creamy mashed potatoes, or transfer to a warmed serving dish so that everyone can help themselves.
- A couple of nice chunks of fresh baguette give you something to mop up the sauce with.
- If the unusual happens and there is stew leftover, reserve it to make the filling of a tasty shortcrust pastry pie.
- If necessary, cook some more carrots and add those to make up the bulk.
Substitutions For The Wine
Substitutions For Red Wine (Always replace the liquid amount with something.)
alcohol-free red wine
red wine vinegar (½ vinegar and ½ water)
grape juice
cranberry juice
pomegranate juice
cherry juice
beef broth
chicken broth
water
How To Try The Substitution Of Your Choice?
Place a small amount of the sauce from the stew into a bowl and add a little of the substitute. Taste it to test if you like it. If it is to your liking then go ahead and add the full amount to the stew. You can test a few of the substitutes listed this way to determine which on you like the best.
This will save having a whole pot of stew that you don't care for.
You can use this method for testing herbs and spices too.
Reserve this for winter, when this beef stews heartiness will be even more appreciated, but it’s a great dinner dish to have at any time of year.
Similar Recipes To This One
- Crockpot Beef Stew With Gravy recipe with delicious gravy.
- Here's another yummy version Beef Bourguignon In Slow Cooker!
- Coq au Vin is a great cool weather meal too.
Top Tip:
- Take your time getting everything prepped, and then be methodical and unhurried.
📖 Recipe
Beef Burgundy Recipe
- Total Time: 3 hours 25 minutes
- Yield: 4 1x
Description
Bon Appetit
Like it? ~ Let us know below!
Reserve this for winter, when its heartiness will be even more appreciated, but it’s a great dinner dish to have at any time of year.
Ingredients
- 1 kg/2 lbs steak - skirt, chuck, brisket, or similar
- 2 tbsp olive oil or rice bran oil
- 12 small shallots, peeled and trimmed*
- 1 oz/2 tablespoon unsalted butter
- 3 cloves of garlic, peeled and crushed
- 2 tsp plain flour
- 300 ml/1 ¼ cup good red wine, ideally a Burgundy
- 300 ml/1 ¼ cup brown stock
- 1 bouquet garni
- 3 bay leaves
- salt and freshly ground pepper
- small packet of lardons (low fat bacon)
- 4 oz/1 cup button mushrooms
- 3 large carrots, cut into large chunks
- 1 tbsp cornflour or arrowroot
- * You can peel the shallots more easily by first boiling them in water for 30-60 seconds; trim off the root, but not necessarily the stalk unless it is too long).
- Chopped fresh parsley.
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 150°C/300°F/Gas 2
- Cut the beef into cubes, about 3cm/1½ inches, removing any fat or gristle. Pat them dry on a kitchen towel (if they are not dry, they won't brown, and flavor will be missed).
- Heat half the oil in a large casserole and brown the beef cubes very well, a few at a time.
- The beef cubes must be brown on all sides; put them into a large bowl as they are done.
- If the bottom of the casserole becomes dark or dry, pour in a little warm water and deglaze the pan by scraping up any sediment stuck to the bottom; pour the liquid over the browned meat.
- Continue to brown all the meat, and finish with a final deglaze of the casserole, putting that liquid also with the meat.
- Wipeout and reheat the casserole and sauté the prepared shallots in half the butter and a splash of oil which will prevent the butter from burning, until they are well browned.
- Add the garlic and stir in the flour. Cook, stirring, for about 1 minute.
- Add the wine and stock, and stir until the mixture boils, always scraping the bottom of the casserole pan.
- Put the meat back into the casserole and stir it into the wine and stock mix.
- Add the chopped carrots, bouquet garni, and bay leaves, and season quite generously with salt and pepper, but don't overdo the salt – the lardons will be quite salty.
- Cook in the preheated oven for 2-3 hours, or until the meat is tender.
- Prepare the lardons by blanching them in boiling water for 1-2 minutes; remove and pat dry.
- Wipe the mushrooms, but do not peel them; cut the larger mushrooms into smaller sizes.
- Melt the remaining butter in a frying pan and, when the butter starts to foam, add the lardons and the mushrooms and cook fairly briskly until delicately browned.
- When the stew has been cooking for 2 hours, add the lardons and mushrooms (not before), and cook for a further 30-60 minutes.
- Remove the casserole from the oven and test the meat to ensure that it is tender, and taste the sauce; season as necessary, a little at a time to avoid over-seasoning.
- Mix the cornflour with a little water, and pour into the casserole over medium heat on top of the oven, stirring gently for a few minutes while the cornflour cooks out.
- Sprinkle with the chopped parsley and serve immediately either direct to plates, with creamy mashed potatoes, or transfer to a warmed serving dish so that everyone can help themselves.
- A couple of nice chunks of fresh baguette give you something to mop up the sauce with.
- If the unusual happens and there is stew leftover, reserve it to make the filling of a tasty shortcrust pastry pie.
- If necessary, cook some more carrots and add those to make up the bulk.
Notes
Top Tip:
- Take your time getting everything prepped, and then be methodical and unhurried.
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- Prep Time: 25 minutes
- Cook Time: 3 hours
- Category: dinner
- Method: stove top
- Cuisine: French
If you tried this recipe please let us know.