It's like beef stew with a French twist
Beef
Bourguignon
Ingredients
1 tablespoon good olive oil
8 ounces dry cured center cut
applewood smoked bacon, diced
2 1/2 pounds chuck beef cut into
1-inch cubes
Kosher salt
Freshly ground black pepper
1 pound carrots, sliced
diagonally into 1-inch chunks
2 yellow onions, sliced
2 teaspoons chopped garlic (2
cloves)
1/2 cup Cognac
1 (750 ml.) bottle good dry red
wine such as Cote du Rhone or Pinot Noir
1 can (2 cups) beef broth
1 tablespoon tomato paste
1 teaspoon fresh thyme leaves
(1/2 teaspoon dried)
4 tablespoons unsalted butter at
room temperature, divided
3 tablespoons all-purpose flour
1 pound frozen whole onions
1 pound fresh mushrooms stems
discarded, caps thickly sliced
For serving:
Country bread or Sour Dough,
toasted or grilled and rubbed with garlic clove
1/2 cup chopped fresh parsley, optional
Directions
1.
Preheat the oven to 250 degrees
F.
2.
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.
3.
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.
4.
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.
5.
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.
6.
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.