Julia Child’s Boeuf Bourguignon (Beef Stew in Red Wine, with Onions and Mushrooms)

There was no debate that Julia Child proclaimed this recipe her favorite. The flavor is so complex and very comforting. It’s easy to make and actually is better made the day before as the flavors continue to meld. Super easy for guests as you can make it a day before, leave it in the refrigerator and just heat it up when the guests arrive. I have altered it just a tad, adding additional carrots and some wild mushrooms in the end in addition to the button mushrooms. For the wine, you can use a Beaujolais, Burgundy, Cotes du Rhone or Bordeaux. The 3.99 bottle of Pinot Noir from Trader Joes was good enough. Do not ever use cooking wine when you cook with wine, it has too much salt and the quality is low. There are plenty of very non-expensive wines available that serve the purpose. Also, Julia would have served it over mashed potatoes, with a suggestion of serving it with a side of peas. I served it over buttered wide egg noodles cooked Al Dente. A Perfect meal for a cold winter’s day.

Prep Time: 15 minutes

Cooking time: 3 hours

Ingredients:

3 lbs. lean stew beef cut into 2 inch cubes

6 slices thick cut bacon, cut into ½ inch pieces

2 Tbs olive oil

1 medium white onion, sliced into rounds

1 carrot sliced into rounds

3 cups of a full bodies red wine

2-3 cups prepared beef stock

1 Tbs tomato paste

4 cloves minced garlic

½ teaspoon thyme

3 bay leaves

18-24 frozen small white onions

3 Bay leaves

1 lb button mushrooms sautéed in 1 Tbs butter

½ lb wild mushrooms sautéed in 1/2 Tbs butter

4 extra carrots sliced in 4 large pieces ( I used tri-color carrots of purple, yellow and orange)

fresh parsley sprigs

Directions:

Preheat your oven to 450 degrees. Place a couple of cups of water in a small saucepan. If using lardon (very fatty large chunks of bacon), simmer it in the water for 10 minutes. Drain, set aside. Then brown the bacon in a large frying pan. Remove it and set aside. Dry your beef with a paper towel. It will not brown well if it is wet. All meat should always be dry when sautéing to get the crisp brown crust on the outside. Heat 1 Tbs of your olive oil in the frying pan and brown the meat in small batches. If you put too much meat in the pan at once, it will not brown. Remove from heat and place the meat on a plate with the bacon.

Brown the carrot and sliced onions in the remaining oil. If there is not remaining oil then use another 1 Tbs of olive oil to brown them.

Place the meat and the bacon in a large dutch oven. Toss with the salt, the pepper and the flour. Place in the oven uncovered for 4 minutes. Lower oven temperature to 325 degrees.

Remove the pan, stir in the wine, enough stock or bouillon so that the meat is covered. Add the tomato paste, the garlic, herbs and bacon, stir. Cover the casserole and bring it to a simmer on your stovetop. Set it in the lower part of the oven. Simmer slowly for 2½-3 hours. The meat is done when it is tender when pierced with a fork. Check it occasionally to make sure that it is not boiling but simmering and that you have enough liquid covering the meat. Add more beef stock if necessary.

While the meat is cooking. Saute your mushrooms and set aside.

After about 2 hours and 20 minutes, add the sautéed mushrooms, the pearl onions and the 3 carrots cut into larger pieces to the stew. When meat is tender remove from the oven and adjust the salt and pepper adding more to your personal taste.

Serve over mashed potatoes or wide buttered egg noodles and sprinkle fresh parsley leaves over the top.