Welcome to our second cooking video, another French classic, Beef Bourguignon. Hope you try it.

Here’s the tres, tres, tres easy recipe!

BEEF BOURGUIGNON

Serves 2.

 

¼-½ inch thick slice of bacon with rind (aka lardon)

3½   tablespoons olive oil

1 ½  pounds lean stewing beef, cut into 2-inch cubes

1 carrot sliced

½ onion diced

Salt and Pepper

1-2 tablespoons flour

1 ½ cup red wine, young and full bodied (Pinot Noir is classic}

1 ½ cups beef stock

½ tablespoon tomato paste

2 crushed cloves garlic

10-12 small onions (pearl onions)

2 Tablespoons butter

2 Tablespoons Olive Oil

Herb bouquet – fresh parsley sprigs, bay leaf, thyme sprigs tied in a cheesecloth

½ pound fresh mushrooms (the smaller the better) sliced if necessary

 

Preheat oven to 450°

Remove bacon rind and cut into lardons (sticks about ¼ inch thick and ½ inch long)

Sauté lardons in 1 tablespoon of the olive oil in a dutch oven or heavy oven proof pot for 2 to 3 minutes to brown lightly.  Remove to side dish with a slotted spoon.

Dry beef in paper towels, add to hot fat in dutch oven a few pieces at a time (do not crowd together – can be done in batches) and sauté until nicely browned on all sides.  Add beef to the lardons.  In the same fat, sauté the chopped onion and carrots until the onions are transparent.

Return the beef and lardon to the pot and toss with ½ teaspoon salt and ¼ teaspoon pepper.  Sprinkle on the flour and toss to coat the beef lightly.  Set the pot, uncovered, in the preheated oven for 4 minutes.  Toss the meat again and return to the oven for another 4 minutes (this browns the flour and covers the meat with a light crust).  Remove pot and turn down the oven to 325°.

Stir in wine and stock in equal quantities to cover the meat.  Add the tomato paste, garlic herb bouquet and bacon rind.  Bring to a simmer on top of the stove.  Cover the pot and put in oven for 3-4 hours.  The meat is done when a fork pierces it easily.

About 1 hour  before the meat is done, prepare the onions.  Heat about 1 tablespoon of olive oil and 1 tablespoon of butter in a skillet and sauté the small onions over moderate heat for about 6 or 7 minutes rolling them so they brown as evenly as possible.  Add to the meat and sauce in the oven.

About 20 minutes before the meat is done, sauté the mushrooms in olive oil and butter for about 5 minutes, and add to the pot in the oven.

When the meat is tender, turn off the oven and pour the contents of the pot through a sieve  over a saucepan.  Place the meat and vegetables back into the pot and return to the warm oven.  Skim any excess fat off the sauce, and simmer until it thickens enough to coat a spoon lightly.  If too thin, boil it down rapidly.  If too thick, mix in a few tablespoons of stock.

Place meat and vegetables on a serving plate and pour sauce over.

Serve with boiled potatoes or noodles.

 

Related articles

• Cooking in France (colleenfriesen.com)