Beef Bourguignon is a very yummy and very ‘French’ slow cooked beef dish that sounds hard to make. Nothing could be further from the truth, especially if you grew up calling it Beef Burgundy. The hardest part of this recipe is waiting the 4 hours to get to eat it. 🙂 🙂

The French sure know how to take basic peasant farm yard ingredients, the chewier cuts of meat and turn them into a meal fit for royalty.

 You will be:

1. Preparing everything
2. Boiling the wine
3. Rendering the bacon
4. Browning the meat
5. Softening the vegetables
6. Cooking low and slow
7. Serving

You will need:

• Ingredients:
  • 1kg (2.2lb) beef chuck steak (a bit more or less is fine too), cubed
  • 6 slices short cut bacon, cut into strips
  • 2 cups red wine (plus a splash for glazing the casserole dish)
  • 1 cup stock (any will do but I used beef)
  • A Bouquet Garni
  • 2 garlic cloves, peeled and diced
  • A handful of dried mushrooms (or 2 of fresh)
  • 2 brown onions, peeled and sliced
  • 3 celery stalks, chopped
  • 6 baby carrots, scrubbed clean but left whole
  • 3 Tbsp duck fat
  • Salt and pepper to taste
•  Equipment:
  • 2 chef’s knives (or 1 if you wash it after the meat)
  • 2 chopping boards
  • 1 large casserole dish or equivalent
  • 1 slow cooker
  • 1 slotted spoon

Preparing everything

I like to bring everything together before I start cooking. Not only does it look and smell amazing but it leads to stress free cooking.

I used a handful of rough chopped dried mixed forest mushrooms (Bolets, Pleurotes and Champignons noirs). I am sorry mushroom haters (I used to be one so I understand) but the mushrooms are integral to the dish.

I had already premade my Bouquet Garni bag with my go to mix of bay leaves, thyme, savoury and parsley.

Boiling the wine

1. Pop the casserole dish on the hob and slowly bring the 2 cups of red wine to the boil, keep it there for a few minutes.
2. Turn your slow cooker on to low and transfer the wine to it when safe to do so.
3. Also add the 1 cup of stock and the bouquet garni bag to the slow cooker.
4. Wipe the casserole dish clean.

Rendering the bacon

1. On medium heat, add the 3 Tbsp duck fat to the casserole dish along with the 2 garlic cloves.
2. Add bacon strips to the fat, stirring occasionally, for 10 minutes.
3. We are trying to get the bacon fat to render down and release its flavour into the duck fat, not trying to crisp it up, so adjust the heat accordingly,

Browning the beef

1. Season the 1kg of cubed beef with salt and pepper.
2. In batches, brown the meat in the fat and transfer to the slow cooker (using the slotted spoon) as you go.

Softening the vegetables

1. Now add the 2 brown onions, 3 celery stalks and 6 baby carrots to the casserole dish.
2. Cook them on low heat, occasionally and very gently moving them around, until they have softened somewhat.
3. Add them and the handful of dried mushrooms to the slow cooker.
4. Deglaze the casserole dish with a splash of red wine and then add that to the slow cooker too.

Cooking low and slow

Cook on low for 3 to 4 hours, turning everything over occasionally.

Serving

The options are endless but I served it with some boiled peeled potatoes and garnished with parsley. Perhaps the most interesting serving idea I have seen on the internet was on a bed of flat pasta.

Enjoy,

PK

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