Beef Bourguignon I Food

BEEF BOURGUIGNON

Steps:

• Tip 1.6kg braising steak, cut into large chunks, into a large bowl with 3 bay leaves, a small bunch of thyme, 2 bottles cheap red wine and some pepper, then cover and leave in the fridge overnight.
• Heat oven to 200C/180C fan/gas 6.
• Place a colander over another large bowl and strain the marinated meat, keeping the wine.
• Heat 1 tbsp oil in a large frying pan, then brown the meat in batches, transferring to a plate once browned. When all the meat is browned, pour a little wine into the now-empty frying pan and bubble to release any caramelised bits from the pan.
• Heat 1 tbsp oil in a large casserole and fry 3 large or 6 normal carrots, cut into large chunks, and 2 roughly chopped onions until they start to colour. Stir in 3 tbsp plain flour for 1 min, then add 1 tbsp tomato purée.
• Add the beef and any juices, the wine from the frying pan and the rest of the wine and herbs. Season and bring to a simmer. Give everything a good stir, then cover.
• Transfer to the oven and bake for 2 hrs until the meat is really tender. Cool. Will freeze for up to 3 months.
• To serve, defrost completely overnight in the fridge if frozen, then place on a low heat to warm through.
• Meanwhile, heat a small knob of butter in a frying pan and add 300g bacon lardons and 500g peeled pearl onions or small shallots. Sizzle for about 10 mins until the bacon starts to crisp and the onions soften and colour.
• Add 400g halved mushrooms and fry for another 5 mins, then stir everything into the stew and heat for 10 mins more. Serve scattered with chopped parsley.

BEEF BOURGUIGNON

Steps:

• Preheat the oven to 250 degrees F.
• Heat the olive oil in a large Dutch oven. Add the bacon and cook over medium heat for 10 minutes, stirring occasionally, until the bacon is lightly browned. Remove the bacon with a slotted spoon to a large plate.
• Dry the beef cubes with paper towels and then sprinkle them with salt and pepper. In batches in single layers, sear the beef in the hot oil for 3 to 5 minutes, turning to brown on all sides. Remove the seared cubes to the plate with the bacon and continue searing until all the beef is browned. Set aside.
• Toss the carrots, and onions, 1 tablespoon of salt and 2 teaspoons of pepper in the fat in the pan and cook for 10 to 15 minutes, stirring occasionally, until the onions are lightly browned. Add the garlic and cook for 1 more minute. Add the Cognac, stand back, and ignite with a match to burn off the alcohol. Put the meat and bacon back into the pot with the juices. Add the bottle of wine plus enough beef broth to almost cover the meat. Add the tomato paste and thyme. Bring to a simmer, cover the pot with a tight-fitting lid and place it in the oven for about 1 1/4 hours or until the meat and vegetables are very tender when pierced with a fork.
• Combine 2 tablespoons of butter and the flour with a fork and stir into the stew. Add the frozen onions. Saute the mushrooms in 2 tablespoons of butter for 10 minutes until lightly browned and then add to the stew. Bring the stew to a boil on top of the stove, then lower the heat and simmer for 15 minutes. Season to taste.
• To serve, toast the bread in the toaster or oven. Rub each slice on 1 side with a cut clove of garlic. For each serving, spoon the stew over a slice of bread and sprinkle with parsley.

BEEF BOURGUIGNON I

Steps:

• For marinade: In a large bowl, combine the wine, cognac, onions, carrots, parsley, bay leaf, garlic, peppercorns and salt. Mix well and add the cubed beef. Cover and marinate in the refrigerator for 2 days.
• Preheat oven to 300 degrees F (150 degrees C).
• For Bourguignon: Strain the meat from the vegetables and marinade; reserve marinade. Dry meat with paper towels. Heat 2 tablespoons of the oil in a large skillet over medium high heat. Add the meat and saute for 10 minutes, or until browned on all sides. Transfer meat to a separate medium bowl with a slotted spoon and set aside.
• In the same skillet, add the bacon and saute until lightly browned. Transfer the bacon to the bowl with the meat. Drain the skillet and return it to the heat. Pour a cup of marinade into the skillet to deglaze the skillet, scraping the bottom to loosen up all the little bits. Return this liquid to the reserved marinade.
• Heat the remaining oil in the skillet. Add the onion and carrot from the marinade, along with the additional onion that you've chopped, and saute for 5 minutes, or until tender. Transfer this mixture to the bowl with the meat and bacon, again using a slotted spoon, and return skillet to the heat. Add the flour to the skillet, combining with the oil and stir until well mixed and brown, about 2 minutes.
• Now add the tomato paste, garlic, beef broth, reserved marinade and salt and pepper to taste. Bring to a boil and whisk to remove any flour lumps. Add this to the meat and vegetable mixture. Place entire mixture into a 9x13 baking dish.
• Bake at 300 degrees F (150 degrees C) for 3 hours, stirring occasionally and adding water as needed. Season with salt and pepper to taste.
• About 15 minutes before meat is done baking, melt butter in the skillet over medium high heat. Add the mushrooms and saute for 5 to 10 minutes, or until lightly browned. When meat is done, add the mushrooms to the meat mixture, stir well and let sit for about 15 minutes.

BOEUF BOURGUIGNON A LA JULIA CHILD

Steps:

• First prepare the bacon: cut off the rind and reserve.
• Cut the bacon into lardons about 1/4" thick and 1 1/2" long.
• Simmer the rind and the lardons for ten minutes in 1 1/2 quarts of water.
• Drain and dry the lardons and rind and reserve.
• Pre-heat the oven to 450°F.
• Put the tablespoon of olive oil in a large (9" - 10" wide, 3" deep) fireproof casserole and warm over moderate heat.
• Saute the lardons for 2 to 3 minutes to brown lightly.
• Remove to a side dish with a slotted spoon.
• Dry off the pieces of beef and saute them, a few at a time in the hot oil/bacon fat until nicely browned on all sides.
• Once browned, remove to the side plate with the bacon.
• In the same oil/fat, saute the onion and the carrot until softened.
• Pour off the fat and return the lardons and the beef to the casserole with the carrots and onion.
• Toss the contents of the casserole with the salt and pepper and sprinkle with the flour.
• Set the uncovered casserole in the oven for four minutes.
• Toss the contents of the casserole again and return to the hot oven for 4 more minutes.
• Now, lower the heat to 325°F and remove the casserole from the oven.
• Add the wine and enough stock so that the meat is barely covered.
• Add the tomato paste, garlic and herbs and the bacon rind.
• Bring to a simmer on the top of the stove.
• Cover and place in the oven, adjusting the heat so that the liquid simmers very slowly for three to four hours.
• The meat is done when a fork pierces it easily.
• While the meat is cooking, prepare the onions and mushrooms and set them aside till needed.
• For the onion, if using frozen, make sure they are defrosted and drained.
• Heat the butter and oil in a large skillet and add the onions to the skillet.
• Saute over medium heat for about ten minutes, rolling the onions about so they brown as evenly as possible, without breaking apart.
• Pour in the stock, season to taste, add the herbs, and cover.
• Simmer over low heat for about 40 to 50 minutes until the onions are perfectly tender but retain their shape and the liquid has mostly evaporated.
• Remove the herbs and set the onions aside.
• For the mushrooms, heat the butter and oil over high heat in a large skillet.
• As soon as the foam begins to subside add the mushrooms and toss and shake the pan for about five minutes.
• As soon as they have browned lightly, remove from heat.
• To Finish the Stew:.
• When the meat is tender, remover the casserole from the oven and empty its contents into a sieve set over a saucepan.
• Wash out the casserole and return the beef and bacon to it (discarding the bits of carrot and onion and herbs which remain in the sieve).
• Distribute the mushrooms and onions over the meat.
• Skim the fat off the sauce and simmer it for a minute or two, skimming off any additional fat which rises to the surface.
• You should be left with about 2 1/2 cups of sauce thick enough to coat a spoon lightly.
• If the sauce is too thick, add a few tablespoons of stock.
• If the sauce is too thin, boil it down to reduce to the right consistency.
• Taste for seasoning.
• Pour the sauce over the meat and vegetables.
• If you are serving immediately, place the covered casserole over medium low heat and simmer 2 to 3 minutes.
• Serve in the casserole or on a warm platter surrounded by noodles, potatoes or rice and garnished with fresh parsley.
• If serving later or the next day, allow the casserole to cool and place cold, covered casserole in the refrigerator.
• 20 minutes prior to serving, place over medium low heat and simmer very slowly for ten minutes, occasionally basting the meat and vegetables with the sauce.

BEEF BOURGUIGNON

Steps:

• For the marinade: Combine the garlic, bay leaves, carrots, celery, onions and wine in a large bowl or container. Add the beef; cover and let sit in the refrigerator at least 4 hours or overnight. (This is a really important step: it makes a huge flavor difference.)
• For the stew: Remove the beef from the marinade. Strain the veggies and bay leaves from the marinade and discard. Reserve 2 cups of the marinade.
• Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.
• Coat a large, wide pan or Dutch oven with olive oil and bring to medium-high heat. Sprinkle the beef with salt and toss with the flour; do not flour the beef until you're ready to brown it. Add the flour-coated beef to the hot pan, but be sure to not crowd the pan; you will need to work in four batches. Brown the meat well on all sides, 12 to 15 minutes. Remove from the pan to a baking sheet.
• After the first two batches, deglaze the pot with 1/2 cup of the reserved marinade, scraping up any browned bits. Drain the liquid into a small bowl. Add more olive oil to the pan to coat and cook the remaining two batches of meat. Add the meat to the baking sheet. Deglaze the pan with 1/2 cup marinade, scraping up any browned bits.
• Add the bacon and cook until it gets brown and crispy, about 5 minutes. Toss in the mushrooms, carrots, celery, garlic and onions, and season with salt. Cook until the mixture starts to soften and becomes very aromatic, about 10 minutes. Add the tomato paste and cook, 1 to 2 minutes. Add the remaining 1 cup marinade and deglaze the pan, stirring up any browned bits, 1 minute. Add the beef. Stir to combine and cook until the wine has reduced by half, 1 to 2 minutes. Add enough of the beef stock to just cover the surface of the beef. Toss in the bay leaves and thyme bundle. Cover the pan, bring the liquid to a boil and put in the oven.
• Cook the beef for 2 hours. During the last hour of cooking time, add the potatoes. Cover the pan with the lid and put the stew back in the oven to cook for an additional hour.
• Remove the pot from the oven and skim off any excess grease from the surface of the stew. Garnish with the chives and serve with crusty bread to sop up all the sauce.

BEEF BOURGUIGNON

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 350 degrees. In a large Dutch oven or heavy pot with a lid, heat 2 tablespoons oil over medium-high. Add mushrooms and cook until browned, about 10 minutes. Transfer to a plate. Season beef generously with salt and pepper and add 1 tablespoon oil to pot. In batches, brown beef, 2 to 3 minutes per batch (adding up to 1 tablespoon oil per batch, if needed); transfer to plate. Pour off all but 1 tablespoon fat from pot. Add bacon and cook over medium until brown, 5 minutes. Add tomato paste; cook, stirring, 30 seconds. Add flour and cook, stirring, 30 seconds.
• Return beef to pot; add wine, broth, bay leaf, and garlic. Bring to a boil, cover, and transfer pot to oven; cook 1 1/2 hours. Add carrots and onions and cook until meat is very tender, 1 to 1 1/2 hours more, adding mushrooms 15 minutes before end of cooking. Stir butter into stew and serve topped with parsley, if desired.

BEEF BOURGUIGNON

Steps:

• Heat oil in large skillet.
• Add as many pieces of beef to the pan as will fit without crowding.
• Brown on all sides on fairly high heat.
• Add more oil if needed.
• Repeat until all beef cubes are browned; transfer meat to a sprayed oven-proof casserole.
• Add onions and carrot to the skillet, and brown briefly; transfer to the oven-proof casserole.
• Set casserole over heat.
• Add wine, stock, bay leaf, thyme, orange peel, tomato, tomato paste, and garlic.
• Bring to a simmer, taste, and salt if necessary.
• Take off the stove, cover, and bake at 325F for 2-3 hours, checking for tenderness.
• THE ONIONS: to peel easily, drop onions into a saucepan of boiling water, bring back to a boil, and boil 1 min.
• drain, and drop in cold water.
• trim ends off, and slip skins off.
• MUSHROOMS: Trim, clean and slice mushrooms; saute briefly in 2 tbs.
• butter.
• Finishing the stew: When meat is tender, combine flour and water in a jar and shake until smooth.
• Stir into stew, until blended and add mushrooms and onions.
• Cover and bake another 20-30 minutes, or until hot and bubbly.
• I serve this over noodles for an elegant holiday entree.

PERFECT BOEUF BOURGUIGNON

Steps:

• Cut the braising steak into chunky pieces, each around 4-5cm/1½-2in. Trim off any really hard fat or sinew. Season the beef really well with salt and pepper.
• Heat two tablespoons of the oil in a large frying pan. Fry the beef in three batches over a medium-high heat until nicely browned on all sides, turning every now and then and adding more oil if necessary. As soon as the beef is browned, transfer to a large flameproof casserole. Preheat the oven to 170C/150C Fan/Gas 3.
• Pour a little more oil into the pan in which the beef was browned and fry the bacon for 2-3 minutes, or until the fat crisps and browns. Scatter the bacon over the meat. Add a touch more oil to the frying pan and fry the chopped onion over a low heat for 5-6 minutes, stirring often until softened. Stir the garlic into the pan and cook for 1 minute more.
• Add the onion and garlic to the pan with the meat and pour over the wine. Stir in the tomato purée and 150ml/5fl oz water. Crumble over the stock cube, add the herbs and bring to a simmer. Stir well, cover with a lid and transfer to the oven. Cook for 1½ -1¾ hours, or until the beef is almost completely tender.
• While the beef is cooking, peel the button onions. Put the onions in a heatproof bowl and cover with just-boiled water. Leave to stand for five minutes and then drain. When the onions are cool enough to handle, trim off the root close to the end so they don't fall apart and peel off the skin.
• A few minutes before the beef is ready, melt half of the butter in a large non-stick frying pan with a touch of oil and fry the onions over a medium heat for about 5 minutes, or until golden brown on all sides. Tip into a bowl. Add the remaining butter and mushrooms to the pan and cook for 2-3 minutes over a fairly high heat until golden brown, turning often.
• Mix the cornflour with the water in a small bowl until smooth.
• Remove the casserole from the oven and stir in the cornflour mixture, followed by the onions and mushrooms. Return to the oven and cook for 45 minutes more, or until the beef is meltingly tender and the sauce is thick. The sauce should coat the back of a spoon - if it remains fairly thin, simply add a little more cornflour, blended with a little cold water and simmer for a couple of minutes on the hob.
• To serve, remove the thyme stalks. Sprinkle the casserole with parsley and serve.

BEEF BOURGUIGNON

Steps:

• In a Dutch oven, cook bacon over medium heat until crisp. Remove to paper towels with a slotted spoon; drain, reserving drippings. Brown stew meat in drippings in batches. Remove and keep warm., In the same pan, saute onion and carrot until crisp-tender. Stir in flour until blended. Gradually add wine and broth; stir in bay leaves, tomato paste, thyme, pepper, bacon and beef. Bring to a boil. Reduce heat; cover and simmer for 2 hours., In a large saucepan, bring 4 cups water to a boil. Add pearl onions; boil for 3 minutes. Drain and rinse in cold water; peel and set aside. Stir into stew; cook 30 minutes longer., Add mushrooms; cook 30-40 minutes or until beef is tender. Skim fat and discard bay leaves. Stir in chocolate until melted. Serve with mashed potatoes.

BœUF BOURGUIGNON

Steps:

• Slice the beef into large cubes and place in a large bowl with all the ingredients for the marinade.
• Place in refrigerator until the next day. Easy!
• Prepare to cook the beef bourguignon 3 hours before serving.
• Drain the meat and dry it with paper towel (It will not brown if it is too wet).
• Heat the oil in a heavy-bottomed pan and brown the meat on all sides.
• Add the vegetables from the marinade and 2 tablespoons of the butter.
• Simmer for 15 minutes.
• Sprinkle the flour over the mixture and stir until well blended.
• Cover with the marinade.
• Bring to the boil.
• Add seasoning to your taste.
• Add ½ cup (4 fl oz/125 ml) water.
• Add the tomato puree, garlic, and bouquet garni.
• Cover and simmer for about 2 1/2 hours.
• Cook the potatoes in boiling salted water until soft. Serve boiled or creamed.
• The stew is served in a bowl and the potatoes served separately.
• Garnish with the chopped parsley.
• You could also have polenta (boiled cornmeal, best cooked in chicken stock) instead of the potatoes if you choose, for a change. Absolutely yummy!
• Note: You can also cook this in your crockpot once it has been prepared, and if you have some leftover, it can be reheated in your crockpot.

CLASSIC FRENCH BEEF BOURGUIGNON

Steps:

• Step 1 - About 2 hours before cooking, pat the beef cubes dry with paper towels and season them well with salt and black pepper. Let rest to near room temperature.
• Step 2 - On the stove top over medium-high heat, melt 2 tablespoons of butter in a Dutch-oven. Add the bacon strips and cook for about 6-7 minutes, stirring occasionally, until fully cooked and lightly crisp. Set aside, leaving the fat drippings in the Dutch-Oven.
• Pre-heat your oven to 325°F ( 163°C) with a rack in the middle.
• Step 3 - Working in batches, add the beef cubes to the Dutch-oven and brown them, about 3 minutes on each side. Be careful not to overcrowd or overlap any meat cubes or they won't brown properly. It should take about 3 to 4 batches to brown 2 ½ lbs of beef. Transfer the browned beef to a separate bowl or plate.
• Step 4 - Melt 2 tablespoons of butter in the Dutch-oven and add the garlic, carrots, pearl onions, thyme and bay leaves. Cook for 6-7 minutes, until the onions are glistening.
• Step 5 - Add the beef and bacon back in the Dutch-oven. Add the tomato paste and sprinkle with the flour. Stir all the ingredients until no dry flour is visible. Pour in the red wine, brandy and beef stock so the meat is barely covered. Bring to a simmer, cover with a lid and cook for 1 hour 30 minutes in the oven.
• While the stew cooks in the oven - Melt 2 tablespoons of butter in a large frying pan over medium heat. Add the mushrooms, season to taste with salt and black pepper, and cook for about 10 minutes, until the mushrooms are cooked and lightly browned.
• Take the Beef Bourguignon out of the oven and stir in the mushrooms. Return the pot to the oven for 30 more minutes. Take the Beef Bourguignon out of the oven, adjust seasoning if needed (salt, pepper). Let the Beef Bourguignon sit for 15 minutes before serving.