Beef Bourguignon
Beef Bourguignon. Boeuf Bourguignon. Beef Burgundy. I think we grew up with this dish. No, not the first two. My Mom made beef burgundy often. The cuts of meat may have started out a bit tough requiring extra cooking love, but the end result was melt in your mouth wonderful. This year’s Christmas Eve Prime Rib was as good as any we’ve had in the past.
Prime Rib has become a Christmas Eve tradition. Three consecutive years of repeat behavior qualifies as a ‘tradition’ in this house. We always have more than we can eat. That is the plan after all. We LOVE our leftovers, and deciding how to repurpose them is a challenge we look forward to. Yesterday we decided on Beef Bourguignon.
When it comes to tender meat, braising is where it’s at. The process is relatively effortless, yet turns out the most tender and flavorful results. Always reading and absorbing what the masters have worked so hard to perfect, I’ve become a bit of a geek and I mean that in the most affectionate way. Cooking is an art and also a science. That’s when we’re at our best in the kitchen.
My Mom was a newspaper editor. Our kitchen table was her home office. No matter where we lived, mom gave Sarah and I the bedrooms. She claimed the kitchen. We both have elementary school drawings of Mom. Beautiful, with big hoop earrings, hair tied up in a knot, a glass of burgundy (Gallo Brand sold by the jug), and a Tareyton cigarette burning in the ashtray. She was passionate. About everything. We were often whisked out of bed in the middle of the night to ‘catch’ a story. And if there wasn’t a story that week, we became the story. Mom had such a gift with words and fought for every story. She would have been a masterful blogger with life experiences I’ll never achieve.
I described ‘mom’ at the kitchen table to and the response was “you may be the modern version.” I’d love to be that.
Beef Bourguignon
Ingredients
- 4 strips bacon cut into lardons
- 2 lbs. beef cubed we used standing rib roast
- 3 Tbl. flour
- 12- ounces button mushrooms quartered
- 1 Tbl butter
- 1/2 tsp. dried thyme
- 1 onion diced
- 3 carrots diced
- 1 celery rib diced
- 3 garlic cloves minced
- 1 Bouquet Garni thyme, sage, parsley, bay leaves
- 2 cups beef broth
- 2 cups red wine
Instructions
- In a large Dutch oven, sauté bacon until crispy. Remove from pan; drain and reserve.
- Toss beef cubes in flour, then brown in Dutch oven in batches; reserve extra flour. Remove browned beef and reserve.
- Add butter & thyme to the pan. Add mushrooms in batches and sauté until golden; remove and reserve.
- Add celery, carrot and onion to pan and sauté until carrots are tender; about 7-10 minutes. Add garlic and remaining flour and sauté for another minute.
- Return bacon, beef and mushrooms to the Dutch oven. Add equal amounts of beef broth and red wine to just cover. Simmer for 1-2 hours until meat is tender.
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5 Comments
Chris David
Really delicious recipe. I love it yummy!!! It’s really awesome
Libby Zappala
Thanks so much Chris!
Barbara
Ok. I tweaked your recipe just a little. No safe so used parsley. I also had no red wine. I used Marsala cooking wine as that was in the fridge. I did double the sauce due to amount of beef being more than a cup. This was delicious. This is a keeper. Thank you to you and your Mom. Meant to give it 5 Stars. This feature doesn’t work very well.
Julie
What a beautiful dish and a warm story of your mother. I loved it!
libby
Thank you so much Julie. Every time I have the chance to share ‘mom’ it makes me very happy.