Newsletter  #15 –  Beef Bourguignon

This is delicious hearty beef stew attributed to the Burgundy Region of France. Not particularly old and without a pedigree, it only became popular in the mid 20^th Century after Volume 1 of  ‘Mastering the art of French Cookery’ was published in 1961.

Key components for a flavoursome stew include the cut of beef; the dryness of the red wine; the quality of the beef stock and whether or not to marinate the beef. I use chuck steak, which is excellent stewing beef. Blade steak would be another option, but you may find it a drier meat and it will take longer to cook.  Cabernet Sauvignon  was in my wine cupboard and possibly a better option than Pinot Noir. Powdered beef stock was used this time; choose a lower salt variety as it will give you greater control over the seasoning. If you choose to marinate the beef the overall flavour of the finished product will be better than not marinating the beef. Firstly the meat needs to be marinated at least 6 hours before you start cooking. Naturally the meat needs to be drained before sautéing and you have an additional job to do. The retained marinade needs to be slowly simmered and the gently strained to clarify the liquid before adding to the stew. Common problems (that can be overcome) include the smokiness of the bacon and selection of the onions. The nitrites in bacon can eventually give the cooked beef a ‘pink’ hue. While not detracting from the taste of the stew or making the dish unsafe you may find the colour unappealing. Try giving the bacon a quick blanch in boiling water or adding the sautéed bacon towards the end of the cooking process. Pearl onions are small white onions and can be difficult to obtain. One solution is to blanch and rinse small cocktail onions to minimise the vinegar flavour, before adding them to the stew late in the cooking process. I don’t particularly recommend this idea. You could use pickling onions (if available) and just take off a few layers of the peeled onion to get closer to the size you need. Chop finely the outside of these onions and sauté them after the beef.

Beef Bourguignon

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Prep Time 15 minutes mins

Cook Time 3 hours hrs 30 minutes mins

Marinating time 6 hours hrs

Servings: 6

Course: Main Course

Ingredients Equipment Method Notes

Ingredients

  

• 50 ml olive oil
• 1 kg chuck steak 800g trimmed
• 1 bay leaf
• 1 cup red wine
• 250 g carrots peeled and cut to approximately a similar size as the onions
• 2 sprigs of fresh thyme
• 12 pearl onions peeled, kept whole
• 200 g shortcut rind less bacon
• 2 garlic cloves finely chopped
• 400 g mushrooms quartered.
• 1 tbsp tomato paste
• Plain flour a little to help absorb fat
• 1 cup cold beef stock
• Salt and cracked pepper to season

Equipment

• I used a single Dutch oven for the stew. Alternatively you could use a slow cooker but you will need a frypan to do all that sautéing.

Method

 

1. Assemble ingredients
   
2. If the onions are bigger than say a 20 cent piece then take off a some layers
3. Finely chop any of those onion layers
4. In a bowl marinate the beef, thyme, bay leaf, carrots and pearl onions in the red wine; cover it and refrigerate for between 6 and 24 hours.

Ready to cook:

1. Drain the meat and retain the liquid
2. Heat the Dutch oven on the stove and add a little oil
3. Evenly sauté the pearl onions and carrots for 5 minutes. Take out and keep on the side.
   
4. Add a little more oil to the Dutch oven and sauté the mushrooms. Take out and keep on the side
   
5. Add a little more oil and sauté the beef in batches. Take out and keep on the side
6. Add a little more oil to the Dutch oven and on a lower heat sauté the chopped onion and garlic for 5 minutes. Do not scorch the onion.
   
7. Take off the heat and add the tomato paste. Stir in.
8. Add a little flour to absorb any oil of fat. Return the Dutch oven to medium heat
   
9. Stir in the beef stock and dissolve any roux lumps before the liquid boils
   
10. Meanwhile slowly bring the marinade to the boil. The beef juices will coagulate.
    
11. Strain the relatively clear liquid into the Dutch oven and stir in
    
12. Add the beef, pearl onions, carrots, thyme and bay leaf.
    
13. Lid the pot and slowly simmer the stew for 2-3 hours, stirring occasionally
14. In a separate pan gently sauté the bacon pieces. Do not make the bacon crispy. When ready drain the bacon and add it to the stew for the last 15 minutes of cooking
15. Check the tenderness of the beef after 2 hours. This can be done by selecting a piece of beef of the Dutch oven pressing it firmly between two fingers to see if the meat separates.
16. Check the seasoning. Find, remove and discard the thyme and the bay leaf.
17. When cooked serve the Beef Bourguignon with mashed potato and a steamed green vegetable.

Notes

I used the bacon fat (from the sautéing pan) in the mashed potato. 
Fried bread croutons are a tasty topping when plating up.