Traditional Beef Bourguignon

As with pasta al ragù, I first met with the Beef Bourguignon at my school cafeteria. It wasn't perfect, as you can guess, but it was as beef bourguignon is supposed to be served : with a big ladle and no fuss. Any cook armed with patience and love for food can make it work. I've never had one that wasn't satisfying, because this dish is, by itself, comforting and lovely ; and because the French are too proud of it to mess it up ! I crafted a recipe for this iconic dish, trying to research the subject as much as possible to make it authentic and tasty. I did not want to make a personal interpretation ; I wanted to bake THE beef bourguignon. What any person familiar with it pictures, in its ideal version, thinking about it. A meaty, flavourful and bold wine sauce, thickened but still liquidy ; some pull-apart, deliciously soft and moist beef ; a few vegetables, not mushy ones, bringing texture as well as taste. My companion said -and he doesn't say it without meaning it- that it was the best he had ever eaten. This is the biggest win for me. If you ever feel like making a wonderful Sunday meal, a true crowd pleaser, do consider my Beef Bourguignon ! It will warm you up inside and out. It may be long, but as with most Sunday dishes, you essentially assemble everything, then let it cook for a few hours. The real active time for this recipe, except for checking occasionnally on your dish, is no more than 1 hour. I chose to serve this Traditional Beef Bourguignon with coquillettes, which are tiny pasta. I find that it pairs wonderfully with this dish, and it's also significantly simpler to boil pasta than to make a purée -which pairs very well with Beef Bourguignon, too, and is more traditional. You could also boil some potatoes, if you wish, or even use rice.

Traditional Beef Bourguignon - Recipe

Ingredients - Advice & key points

• Beef :
  • I usually use a mix of beef chuck (on the fattier side) and Silverside/topside beef (on the leaner side), but you can also use beef cheek or any kind of stewing beef ; ask your butcher for a meat that will tenderize after a few hours of cooking on low temp. Ideally, ask for a mix of two meats, as leaner meats will bring a nice texture, and fattier cuts add depths of flavour.Here, you want to use some cuts that are collagen-rich. Gentle, long cooking transforms collagen fibers into melting gelatin ; this is how you get a pull-apart meat after a few hours.
  • In order to get the right richness for the sauce, it is important to add, besides your beef, the fattier lard.

• Wine options :
  • Ideally, you'd want a Burgundy wine, but you also need a full-bodied, quite tannic wine, because it needs to hold the temperature and cooking length of your stew ; a rich Burgundy wine like this means you'd have to buy an expensive bottle ! Try to go instead for southern wines like Syrah wines,  from the Rhône Valley, which are aromatic, warm and slightly peppery. This will enhance the flavors and persistence of your sauce.
• The classic recipe you'd be served in nice French restaurants uses pearl onions and will require you to cook them separately in a pan, as for your carrots and mushrooms. But personally, I've never seen a French cook his Bourguignon this way ! I tried it though, because I thought the taste would be worth the effort, and if anything I found it less tasty than the mix-it-all together version.
  • • I simply recommend you to cut you onions and carrots in big chunks so that they don't turn to mush ;
    • However, the mushrooms' delicate texture requires you to add them towards the end. You could skip the browing and add them straight to the pot if you're feeling lazy, they will turn quite soft with the sauce anyway.
• Veal stock : I use store-bought here, since the large amount of meat already brings in lots of flavour. Feel free to use homemade if you can !

Cooking your Beef Bourguignon - Pieces of advice

• Do not compromise on the cooking time ! Your stew won't be tasty if you don't cook it for a minimum of 2,5 hours, ideally 3 at least, possibly 4 or 5 if you want -or if your meat is not tender enough.
• You can skip the roasting flour step though, as I didn't find it to make a big difference in texture -it is supposed to cover you meat with a thin crust. However, do add the flour for the sauce's texture ! Just wait for it dissolve right on the stovetop.

Let's Bourguignon !