Beef Burgundy

Without a doubt this dish always makes me happy and I thoroughly enjoy making it. The amazing smells that come from your kitchen today will be heavenly. It’s that kind of smell when everyone is asking when dinner will be ready. Beef Burgundy or if you want to get fancy Beef Bourguignon; is a traditional french dish which originated in Burgundy France. My version of the dish is a riff off of Julia Child’s Beef Bourguignon but less complex and bit simpler for your novice cook such as myself. I will say though I have made Julia’s version and it’s fantastic…just be prepared to spend the day in the kitchen! For most of us who are a bit short on time I promise you this dish will be a “show stopper” and once you get passed the 25-30 minutes of prep work you really don’t have to do more. You are going to want to serve this over egg noodles or mashed potatoes, I’m a fan of mashed potatoes so if your going that route your prep time will be a bit longer. Without further ado…lets get to cooking!!!!

Prep time: 30 min/ total time 3 hours

Ingredients

• 2# of stew meat cut into 1 1/2 inch pieces
• 4 strips of thick cut bacon
• 1 tbsp of cold butter
• 1 tbsp of olive oil
• 1 tbsp of tomato paste
• 2 tbsp of flour
• 12 oz of pearl onions (you can get this in the freezer section and typically comes in a 12 oz bag)
• 8 oz of portabella mushrooms quartered
• 4 cloves of garlic crushed
• 1/4 cup of fresh parsley chopped plus a little extra to top off your dish when finished
• 1 1/2 cups of red wine (I typically go for Pinot Noir or Chianti)
• 2 1/2 cups of beef broth
• 1 tsp of Worcestershire
• 3 sprigs of thyme stems removed
• 1 bay leaf
• Salt and Pepper to taste

Directions:

Preheat your oven to 350 degrees. I like my dutch oven for this dish as I start on the stove top  or you could use a heavy bottom pot with a lid that can go into the oven. Over medium/high heat you want to start with cooking the bacon until crisp, remove bacon and set aside, next brown your beef into batches using the bacon fat you may need to add some olive oil for this step. Once meat is browned set aside. Next add olive oil and saute mushrooms, garlic, and pearl onions until mushrooms are tender (about 3-5 minutes.) Add beef to mixture and sprinkle with 2 tbsp of flour and mix to incorporate. Add wine and broth and turn heat up a notch until you get a good simmer for about 3 minutes.  Turn down heat and add tomato paste, parsley, Worcestershire, thyme, bay leaf, and chopped bacon to pot. Add a pinch of salt and fresh ground pepper to dish and place in oven for about 2 1/2 hours. Once finished add your tbsp of butter and stir in to get a velvety texture. Serve over egg noodles or mashed potatoes and top with fresh chopped parsley.

Note: If the dish is too thick add some more broth to the dish or if too runny for your liking you can thicken up with flour. If your thickening with the  flour technique you add a little water to your flour to create a liquid-like paste, or slurry. When using flour as a thickener, double the amount—use 2 tablespoons of flour per 1 cup of liquid. Use a whisk to incorporate, stirring constantly until you thicken the gravy to the desired consistency.

Enjoy,

XOXOXOXOJessi