Beef Bourguignon
I have recently finished reading ‘Kitchen Confidential’ by Anthony Bourdain, which inspired me to cook this recipe (amongst others). This recipe for beef bourguignon is loosely based on Anthony Bourdain’s own beef bourguignon recipe, which you can find online, with a few tweaks of my own. I chose to slow cook this beef stew recipe in my Dutch oven, rather than the Instant pot, as I had plenty of time to spare, but either way is possible.
The main reason I wanted to cook this meal is that, when in the book Bourdain asks Scott Bryan, a talented and famous New York chef, what he liked to eat when it is after hours and he is hungry – the guy replies with ‘beef bourguignon’.
This just proves that chefs who spend the whole day producing culinary masterpieces also just really enjoy the simple food as well.
Beef Bourguignon in Dutch oven
It also reminded me how easy and fantastic this dish is. This fantastic French beef stew is really very easy to make and the taste is absolutely out of this world. It is important to get some good meat as the basis to the stew, but the ingredients are so simple. You really cannot go wrong.
Which wine to use?
In this beef stew recipe, I used my own home-made red wine (a Chiraz), but really you can use any drinkable red wine to make this. Normally, of course, a French Burgundy would be used for this traditional beef stew recipe, but I do not think it matters too much.
What I am trying to say is : please do not use your last bottle of Château Lafite Rothschild to make this!
The alcohol evaporates during cooking, but the wine imparts the taste to the meat that is so wonderful. This is the only stew I make without using any form of stock. This is much smoother in taste than my beef in beer stew, which is a bit more bitter in comparison (but also good).
French Beef Stew
What makes for a good Dutch oven?
The Dutch oven I use is actually a French oven – it is an enamelled oval Le Creuset pan, which I have had for nearly 30 years (I am lucky to have a full set of pans). It looks just like this one:
Le Creuset Enameled Cast-Iron Oval French (Dutch) Oven
These things are not cheap, but they will last you a lifetime. This thing is pretty indestructible and the best thing is that because the material is cast iron, the lid is very heavy, meaning that you get a very good seal on the pan. This is essential when slow cooking, so that you do not lose too much of your cooking fluid.
If this is beyond your budget, you could also try Uno Casa. They have some great, more affordable cast-iron Dutch ovens pots like this one below:
Also great for making this recipe.
What to serve with beef bourguignon?
This recipe has come carrots, onions, shallots and mushrooms in the pot, but it does need something to mop up the delicious meat and wine gravy that accompanies this meal. I served this up with a simple mashed potato, but you could also serve it with some boiled new potatoes or even just some tasty crusty bread to mop up the juices.
The meat should be so tender that it will fall apart when you touch it.
This dish is also really quite good on its own, but a nice glass of red is always a good accompaniment.
I hope you enjoy this easy family recipe. It really is amazing. Enjoy!
How to cook beef Bourguignon in a Dutch oven
Beef Stew (Dutch Oven)
This French beef bourguignon stew made in a Dutch oven is probably THE tastiest way to eat braised beef. Smooth and full of flavour thanks to the copious amount of red wine in the sauce 🙂
Ingredients
- 1 kg chuck (or braising) steak, cut into large 1,5"-2" pieces
- 2 onions, chopped
- 1 shallot, halved
- 10 pearl onions (baby onions/creamers) (I used some rinsed pickled silverskin onions here)
- Vegetable oil
- 2 tbsp flour
- 600ml Red Wine (something affordable but drinkable - do not waste any good wine!!)
- 4 carrots (about 350g peeled), chopped
- 2 cloves garlic, minced
- 1 bouquet garni
- 120g button mushrooms, halved
- Salt and Pepper
To garnish
- A handful of flat parsley, finely chopped
Instructions
- Trim the meat of any excess fat. Cut into large 1,5-2" sized chunks. Then season the meat with salt and pepper.
- Brown the meat in vegetable oil in a pan. (You can do this in the Dutch oven if you wish but I prefer to do this in my wok, so I can use the Dutch oven to fry the onions at the same time. )
- Do this in batches so the meat does not get crowded and boil. The outside needs to be nicely seared. When browned on all sides, remove the meat to a plate.
- At the same time fry the chopped onions for about 5 minutes on a low heat in the Dutch oven. Then add the flour to the onions and cook for a further 3-4 minutes.
- Then add 450ml red wine and the browned meat to the Dutch oven. Add the bouquet garni and the garlic and mix well. Place the Dutch oven in a pre-heated oven at 170C for 1 hour 45 minutes.
- In the meantime, peel and chop the carrots and mushrooms and baby onions. If you are using pickled onions (as I did) then soak them in water for 1/2 hour to reduce the taste of the vinegar and rinse well.
- After the 105 minutes in the oven, remove the Dutch oven and remove the lid. The sauce will have thickened and reduced by now, so add the remaining 150ml of red wine, the carrots, the mushrooms and the baby onions, and mix well.
- Place the Dutch oven back in the oven for another 75 minutes or until the carrots are cooked through.
- Remove from the oven, dispose of the bouquet garni, garnish with the chopped parsley and serve.
Notes
This recipe does not use any form of stock as it is not necessary. The red wine does the trick and imparts a delicious succulent taste to the meat.
Serve with some mashed potatoes or boiled new potatoes or on its own with some crusty buttered bread.
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Nutrition Information:
Yield: 6 Serving Size: 1Amount Per Serving: Calories: 625Total Fat: 33gSaturated Fat: 12gTrans Fat: 2gUnsaturated Fat: 18gCholesterol: 160mgSodium: 189mgCarbohydrates: 16gFiber: 3gSugar: 5gProtein: 49g
This nutrition information was automatically calculated by Nutritionix, but may not be 100% accurate.