Recipe for Boeuf Bourguignon

Alright, let’s tackle one of the most famous recipes in French gastronomy. Because of its simplicity but also the techniques that are required, it is one of the dishes that you first learn to make when in culinary school around the world. This is a slow-cooked type of dish, where you let the ingredients “melt” while the sauce simmers for hours. You don’t need a tone of fancy ingredients for this, although each person has its own way of doing it! The temperatures are still low, so get on it quickly as this is the ultimate comfort winter food!

Ingredients

  • 500 grams of brisket, chuck steak and stewing beef
  • One thick slice of pork belly
  • 1 bottle of red wine (bourgogne, but can also be south of France)
  • Beef broth
  • 1 sliced onion, a few spring onions and 4 cloves of garlic
  • Sliced mushrooms, 2 carrots
  • Herbs: parsley and a bouquet garni (thyme and 2 bay leaves)
  • 1 cup of concentrated tomato sauce
  • 2 tablespoons of regular flower
  • Olive oil
  • Salt and pepper

Preparation

  1. On a hot pan, pour a generous amount of olive oil.
  2. Once hot, drop your sliced beef and let it brown on very high heat. The idea is to get some nice cooking juice. This step should take 5 mins top, the meat doesn’t need to cook, but to mark the pan.
  3. Add the sliced onions and chopped garlic in the pan until they are brown and salt and pepper.
  4. Add the rather-thinly sliced carrots into the pan.
  5. Add the 2 tablespoons of flour to the pan.
  6. Add about 60cl of the wine bottle. There is a bit of arguing going around about the wine being from Bourgogne or not. Some believe to choose a more tanique and full body wine like you find in the south of France (Cahors, côtes du Rhône). No need to open your best bottle here, but an overly cheap bottle (we call it “piquette” in French) will have an impact on the taste of the sauce.
  7. Take a large pot and pour everything into it and bring to medium high heat to bring to a boil.
  8. Add the tomato sauce
  9. Add the beef broth until the contents of the pot are fully submerged. Leave half a cup on the side.
  10. Add the bouquet garni (aromatic herbs)
  11. Set heat on medium low and let it simmer for 1 hour.
  12. On a separate pan, put the diced pork belly on high heat, and add half way the spring onions and the mushrooms
  13. Once nicely brown and cooked, add the content of the pan in the main pot.
  14. Once cooked, pour the remaining beef broth in the pan in order to get the cooking juices from the pork belly, onions and mushrooms. It is recommended to take out the excess of fat if needed.
  15. You’ve got everything! All you need now is PATIENCE. Put on low heat. You will need at least another 2 hours to let it simmer. I recommend up to 5 hours. You can add water if the level of the sauce gets too low.

Tips

  • You can totally let it slow cook for hours, then turn off the heat overnight while leaving the pot out. The day after, just heat it up again on low heat, it will be even more delicious!! Make sure to add a bit of water to make it more liquid. You can really make large quantities, it keeps getting better!
  • You can eat beef bourguignon with many different sides – potatoes, all kinds of root vegetables and even pasta! The kids in France love it with macaroni!

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