Serves: 4
Approx cost: €7
Approx calories (per serving):
Approx preparation time: 3 hours
I wanted to make this a while ago but realised once I’d bought the meat that I didn’t actually have a functioning oven… sigh. Oh well, I do now, so here we go. Boeuf Bourguignon was originally a French peasant food, which has risen greatly in popularity in recent times, and I can see why. You don’t get much more luxurious than good chunks of tender beef cooked almost purely in wine, fresh, colourful vegetables, a beautiful aroma of thyme and bayleaf, served up with some delicious accompaniment of your choice. It’s as beautiful as it is simple, as it is delicious. Perfect for a lazy sunday or a dinner party when you want to give the impression that you’ve been doing incredible, gourmet things to this meat when actually it’s all been pretty much happening by itself!
Some people like to add mushrooms – I’m one of those people, but on this occasion I had no mushrooms on hand. If you do then simply add them in about half-way through the cooking time for best results. Additionally there are some who specify that you absolutely must use a Burgundy. If you can get your hands on a good Burgundy then by all means use that, but as long as you’re using a red wine which is decently drinkable then your results will be pleasing (Ok, ok, I know – don’t cook with wine you wouldn’t want to drink, and all that jazz, but it’s supposed to be a roughly “Five Euro” budget here people!). Furthermore, you’ll find my method of creating the sauce maybe… a little… odd. I like the sauce a little more thick and a little less boozey than others so bear with me on that, ok? Great! Let me know what you think, and have a good Thursday 🙂
Instructions
– ~700g – 1 kg lean Braising Steak
– 1 x 75cl Red Wine, preferably Burgundy
– 3 sticks Celery
– 3 Carrots
– 2 Onions
– 5 cloves Garlic
– A few sprigs of fresh Thyme
– 1 Bay-leaf
– 2 tbsps Plain Flour
– 30g Butter
– 2 tbsps Olive Oil + 1 tbsp
– Salt
– Pepper
Instructions
- About 24 hours in advance, start by preparing the beef. Cut it into good sized chunks – each one a little bigger than an average “bite-size” and transfer to a food-safe bag, such as a freezer bag. Add in one Onion, chopped, and the Garlic, peeled and minced. Mix in with the meat in the bag before adding in about 1tsp each of Salt and Pepper, the fresh thyme, chopped, and 1 tbsp of Olive Oil. Pour in a good “slosh” of red wine. It’s difficult to say how much you’ll need but roughly 100ml should be enough for these purposes. Seal the bag and store in the refrigerator overnight, shaking around every so often.
- Once your meat has been marinating for 24 hours or so it’s time to start cooking the Bourguignon. Wash and peel the Carrots and Onion and scrub the Celery. Chop the Carrot and Celery into rough pieces and slice the Onion
- Drain the beef from the plastic bag or container. Do not discard the marinade as you will need this later. Heat the 2 tbsps Olive Oil in a large frying pan and when hot, add in the meat and chopped onion (both the freshly chopped and that from the marinade bag) and quickly fry the chunks on each side, searing well to seal in the delicious flavours. Transfer to a large, oven-proof, lidded cooking pot. Add in the carrots and celery to the frying pan and fry lightly for about 5 minutes, stirring well to ensure even cooking. Add to the cooking pot with the meat.
- In a large frying pan, melt the butter and when melted, add the flour and whisk well. Add about 100ml of Red Wine and whisk until thickened, before adding another 100ml or so of Wine. Whisk again before adding the marinade which you drained off the meat earlier. Whisk to incorporate into the wine sauce.
- Pour the Wine Sauce on top of the meat and vegetables and mix well. Top up with some extra wine if desired – many people use an entire bottle on such a dish – I like to fill the dish to just below the level of the meat. Add in the bay-leaf to the pot.
- Cover and place in the oven at about 120 degrees Celsius for at least two hours. Different ovens will give different results, much like different meats will give different results. Experiment a bit yourself but if you have a well marbled, fatty meat, try to cook it for about 3 hours, lowering the temperature slightly to about 100 degrees Celsius. Lean meats will cook (and become dry) faster so try not to maybe go above 2 hours. After this time, remove from the oven and plate up with some accompaniment of your choice, and enjoy!
Marinate is fantastic, dish looks really good…..
Thanks Inessa – it was really rich and tasty, but definitely something which is best for colder weather! 🙂
I just adore this recipe. We've been making this in my house for years. My mother sometimes uses other cuts of steak for this dish as well. I remember, as a child, I got sick of it because my mother wanted to eat this all the time lol. But now I appreciate it. Great recipe
Absolutely – If you only have "bad" cuts of meat available (or even if you have prime stuff) you can do amazing things with it. Alcohol will help to break down any tough, sinewy parts while cooking so while regular braising steak is used normally these days, you can get wonderful results with much more poor quality meat!
Charles, you keep on surprising me! Boeuf bourguignon! I have never cooked it on my own, assuming it's not easy, but you make it sound not difficult. And the result looks fabulous! I will bookmark your recipe for colder days. It reminds me of another French classic I adore, coq au vin, but a real "coq" is not that easy to get.
Absolutely – you don't see coq very often… I did see one once in a supermarket nearby… but don't live in that area anymore so haven't gone back to see if it's still there, but that's something I'd love to try, as well as "eggs poached in red wine" (OMG NOM NOM!). I always get very worried when I post my recipes for certain things because I'm always scared someone is gonna say "wait a second, that's NOT a boeuf bourguignon"… I mean, perhaps I oversimplify some things, and perhaps it's not exactly the same as some Michelin chef might prepare it, but it seems to please the people who eat it at any rate 🙂
Charles, don't worry: I'm not sure if there is at least one chef in the Michelin guide who still serves this old-fashioned dish. I'd rather bet it can be found in small traditional non-fussy restaurants.
If I have doubts about a dish I look in the classical French cookery books or in big chefs' books (if someone says it's not the genuine recipe, I can always say it's the way the master prepares it!).
Yeah, true – I love food like this, I wish I wasn't afraid to go into small country bistros and order this kind of food though, where it's undoubtedly best. 🙁 Oh well… one day 😉
Charles, we have to go somewhere together! I will confess something: I feel so good in French restaurants and cafés, I sometimes feel I could live there 😉 I was always wondering why people say French waiters are rude (unless you speak English with them, I was told 😉 ). I have never had a single "rude waiter" experience in France while in other countries… well, I prefer to forget it.
(Replying here, won't let me respond below (grr).)
Definitely – it's a date! 😀 The next time you guys are over here we can all go to a good place maybe. I heard of a really popular traditional bistro in Paris with a 6 month waiting list! I need guidance on everything… protocol, how to get seated etc 😀 As for rude waiters in France… I don't know where you've been eating… Magical Fluffy Happy Land perhaps. Seems like 90% of the waiters I get act like they want to murder me (and I really don't do anything wrong… I'm nice, super polite, always tip decently, even though it's not even required) :/
Delightful! I just love red meat cooked in red wine. If it were up to me that would be the only way I'd ever eat it. 🙂 This sauce may actually get me to eat a cooked carrot too. 😉 I'm glad you posted this recipe. I've heard of Bourguignon before, but never really knew what it was – now I do! Oh, and I'm with you. I prefer a thicker sauce (although I'll still take it boozey). Have a good one!
Thanks Kristy – red meat cooked in red wine is the best isn't it?! So rich and tasty. Even the carrots are delicious afterwards, so I'm sure you can manage them! 😀 Take a bite and enjoy the carrottey wine flavour (lol – that sounds repugnant but it's really quite decent!)
I would definitely want mushrooms too, but I add them to almost everything. This is a classic with or without them. Great post. Now if only it'd get a little cooler.
Thanks Greg – I'm thinking some roughly chopped portobello mushrooms would go great in this… not too small, decent sized chunks to soak up some of the wine sauce… mm, would be wonderful for next time!
Hmm, I have no idea how I managed to comment twice. But I really was excited about the recipe!
lol, in fact you didn't post twice, but I find it hilarious that you commented to mention that you'd posted twice, and in doing so actually have posted twice 😀
Yeah! I'm so excited to have this recipe. I've been wanting to make boeuf bourguignon forever (a little like 'coq a l'orange' which I finally got around to) – this looks fantastic Charles, and so well illustrated too. I find it really helpful to have a clear picture of what I'm doing and where I'm going the first time I make a recipe, so this is great. The wine sauce looks delicious and I love mushrooms so I will add those in. This will be perfect for a fall night. Yum!
Hi Kelly, as I mentioned to Greg above, I think big pieces of portobello mushrooms would go beautifully in this dish, so I'm going to add that in next time 🙂 I never tried "coq au vin" or "coq à l'orange". Is the taste of rooster (it is a rooster, right?) very much different from regular hen? I'll have to go seek out a source for them I think, although if I make "coq à l'orange" I'll be making it for me alone I think. I spent ages making my wife and I some delicious crispy, delicately fried chicken, with a glossy, tangy, orange sauce one day and she hated it (like, actually detested it with the passion of a thousand suns!) :'(
Oh no… sorry to hear about the crispy orange adventures. So it is, opposites attract 🙂 Yes, the convention is rooster in the coq a l'orange but I use chicken so I would adore your orange glazed chicken. Cheers.
Ha, an excuse to inflict my orange glazed chicken on my wife again! She'll be SO pleased 😀 (I'll blame you 😉 )
This is my husband's specialty, I am not allowed to make it :-)! Your version looks mouth-wateringly delicious, Charles. We're heading right into Boeuf Bourguignon season now with the cooler temperatures!
Hi Eva, hehe, I'd love to see/hear your husband's version too! Any chance of getting him to do a guest-post on your blog? It's definitely a cooler weather dish, but I have a terrible habit of cooking completely season-inappropriate things all year round, which is why you'll see posts for hot soups in winter, and then chilled beet salads in winter 😀
Not many Indians eat Beefs but I am one of those who loves beaf. This is one great recipe that I can't wait to give a try.
Hi Kankana, I do think it's a wonderful meat… so versatile! Let me know if you try it, I'd love to know what you think 🙂 Have a good weekend!
This looks so delicious! I adore stewed beef. I will make this soon as we are just heading into Autumn over here in Cambridge, England so it's going to get chillier and this is just the recipe to warm us up! Thanks. Jenny.
Thanks Jenny! I sometimes serve it with a Gratin Dauphinois – it's a perfect accompaniment! 🙂 Let me know if you try it!
Wow, this recipe is so unique!! I guess burgundy really adds a different dimension to this dish!! Loved your perfection!!
Hi Purabi! Thanks for stopping by! To be honest, I normally prefer to drink the Burgundy (haha) – even in France it's a little more expensive than other red wines. To be truly authentic in this post I did use a burgundy and the taste was delicious, but it will always be good as well with any good red wine! Hope you're having a good weekend!
Charles, Your boeuf bourguignon looks delicious. Thanks for the detailed instructions. I make my beef stew almost the same way except I put potatoes in my stew and you serve your potatoes on the side of the boeuf bourguignon. I'm making your recipe this fall.
Hi Karen, thanks for stopping by 🙂 Mm, potatoes added in would be awesome too, especially little fingerling potatoes, maybe if they'd been lightly roasted before with some kosher salt and rosemary… ooooh! Will do this next time 😀 Hope you're having a good weekend!
Dear Charles, This is such a classic recipe. Thank you for posting a good old fashioned meal. Thank you for your visits to my blog. I hope you visit again real soon. Blessings, Catherine
Thanks Catherine – that's the perfect summary for it, isn't it? "Good, old-fashioned meal" – doesn't need any fancy innovation or jazzing up… it's just hearty and traditional and delicious 🙂 Thanks for stopping by, hope to see you again soon!
It took me a week but I was inspired by your tasty post and finally got around to making a pretty good version of beef stew though I had to sub in water and balsamic vinegar for the red wine so the bourguignon part was lacking. 🙂
Nice! I should try some balsamic vinegar next time – I bet it gives a *lovely* flavour… even in place of wine! I love balsamic vinegar… it's so freaking versatile!
I have a nice (not super expensive but not cheap either) little jug of the stuff and haven't used it very much so I was actually happy to see the workaround to not having a cup of red wine was 1 cup of water and 1 tbsp balsamic vinegar.
Ah, nice – awesome tip, thanks a lot! 🙂
one of my favorite things to eat! love your pictures!
Thanks Melissa – do you have any family favourite recipe of your own for this? People make it in so many different ways – I'm always curious to read other peoples' methods.
I'm hopelessly devoted to Julia Child's recipe 🙂