Boeuf Bourguignon

Food

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Boeuf Bourguignon

**Adapted from Ina Garten

Ingredients:

• 1 tablespoon olive oil
• 8 ounces center cut 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 (I like a Cote du Rhone)
• 16 oz beef broth (you may need less)
• 1 tablespoon tomato paste
• 1 teaspoon fresh thyme leaves
• 4 tablespoons unsalted butter at room temperature, divided
• 3 tablespoons all-purpose flour
• 1 pound frozen whole onions, optional (I omit these, but add them in if you want)
• 1 pound fresh mushrooms—stems discarded, caps thickly sliced (I use shiitakes and criminis)

For serving:

• Country or sourdough bread, toasted or grilled
• 1/2 cup chopped fresh parsley, optional

A few notes on making this:

• This recipe takes a bit of time, but is well worth the end result. You can even make it a day ahead and then reheat— it tastes even better the second day.
• Don’t skip adding cognac to the recipe. It adds incredible depth of flavor. If you aren’t used to cooking with cognac, and you don’t know what to do with the rest of the bottle, I suggest making yourself a Sidecar to drink while you cook.
• I noted the pearl onions as being optional in this recipe. You can definitely put them in, but they can be hard to find and my family doesn’t love them so I just leave them out. The stew is still incredibly flavorful without them.

Directions:

• 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, 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.
• After removing from oven, combine 2 tablespoons of butter and the flour with a fork and stir into the stew. Add the frozen onions, if using.
• 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.