Description
Classic French Beef Bourguignon, a rich and hearty slow-cooked beef stew braised in red wine with bacon, mushrooms, pearl onions, and carrots. This dish is perfect for a comforting meal, with tender beef and a flavorful sauce enhanced by a long marinade and slow oven cooking.
Ingredients
Scale
Beef Marinade
- 800g/1.6 lb chuck beef, cut into 4-5 cm / 2” cubes
- 2 large carrots (~300g/10oz), cut on an angle into 4-5 cm / 2” pieces
- 16 pearl onions or small pickling onions
- 1 bay leaf, fresh (or dried)
- 3 sprigs thyme
- 750ml/25 oz pinot noir or other red wine
Browning Beef
- 3 tbsp oil (olive, canola or vegetable)
- 3/4 tsp salt
- 1/2 tsp black pepper
Stew
- 200g/7oz mushrooms, halved (quarters if large)
- 150g/5oz bacon piece, cut into 1cm / 1/2” thick batons
- 50g/3 tbsp unsalted butter
- 3 garlic cloves, minced
- 2 tbsp tomato paste
- 6 tbsp plain/all purpose flour
- 3 cups beef stock (low sodium), preferably homemade
- 1/4 tsp salt
- 2 tbsp chopped parsley, for garnish
Instructions
- Marinate beef: Place the chuck beef, carrots, pearl onions, bay leaf, thyme, and red wine into a large non-reactive ceramic dish or ziplock bag. Refrigerate and marinate overnight for at least 12 hours, up to 24 hours.
- Strain marinade: Remove beef and vegetables from marinade; strain the liquid into a bowl and set aside.
- Reduce wine: Pour the reserved wine marinade into a saucepan and bring to a boil over medium-high heat. Skim off impurities and simmer vigorously until the liquid is reduced by half. Set aside.
- Preheat oven: Set oven to 180°C / 350°F (160°C fan).
- Prepare beef for browning: Spread beef cubes on paper towels and pat dry. Season with 3/4 tsp salt and 1/2 tsp black pepper.
- Brown beef: Heat 2 tbsp oil in a large, heavy-based, oven-proof pot on high heat. Brown one third of the beef aggressively all over, then remove to a bowl. Repeat with remaining beef, adding oil as needed.
- Cook bacon: Add bacon pieces to the pot and cook for 3 minutes until golden. Remove and add to beef bowl.
- Sauté mushrooms: Add mushrooms and cook for 5 minutes until golden. Remove to a separate bowl.
- Sauté onions: Add oil if needed, then cook onions for 5 minutes until golden patches develop. Add to mushroom bowl.
- Sauté carrots and garlic: Add butter to the pot, melt it, then add carrots and cook for 3-4 minutes until golden spots appear. Stir in minced garlic and cook another 1 minute.
- Add tomato paste and flour: Stir in tomato paste and cook for 2 minutes. Add flour and cook for another 2 minutes to form a roux base.
- Add liquids: Slowly pour in beef stock while stirring to dissolve flour lumps. Add the reduced wine mixture and stir until smooth.
- Combine and season: Return beef, bacon, thyme, bay leaf, 1/4 tsp salt and pepper to the pot and stir well to combine.
- First oven cook: Bring stew to a simmer on stovetop, then cover with lid and transfer pot to the preheated oven. Cook for 1 hour.
- Add mushrooms and onions: Remove pot from oven, stir in mushrooms and onions.
- Second oven cook: Cover and return pot to oven for an additional 1½ hours, until beef is tender and falls apart.
- Adjust seasoning: Remove stew from oven, taste sauce and add salt if necessary depending on bacon and stock saltiness.
- Optional rest: Ideally, refrigerate the stew overnight to deepen flavors. Reheat gently on stovetop before serving.
- Serve: Serve hot over creamy mashed potatoes, garnished with chopped parsley to soak up the rich sauce.
Notes
- Slice pearl onions or pickling onions carefully; soaking them in cold water for 10-15 minutes helps with peeling.
- Choose chuck beef with good marbling for juiciness and tender texture; cut into larger chunks to avoid overcooking.
- Use good quality pinot noir or other red wine, even inexpensive bottles work well for authentic flavor.
- Bacon lardons add essential fat and flavor; use speck or streaky bacon if slab bacon is unavailable.
- Homemade beef stock greatly improves the stew; avoid powdered stock for best taste.
- Flour lumps may appear initially but will dissolve during slow oven cooking.
- The oven method is preferred for even cooking and hands-off simmering; slow cooker versions require reducing the sauce afterward.
- Salt adjustment is critical at the end due to varying salt levels in bacon and stock.
- The stew keeps well refrigerated for 5 days and freezes beautifully for future meals.
- When scaling up the recipe, avoid crowding the pot when browning meat and vegetables to ensure proper caramelization.
Nutrition
- Serving Size: 1 serving (approximately 300g)
- Calories: 480 kcal
- Sugar: 5 g
- Sodium: 700 mg
- Fat: 25 g
- Saturated Fat: 9 g
- Unsaturated Fat: 13 g
- Trans Fat: 0.2 g
- Carbohydrates: 20 g
- Fiber: 3 g
- Protein: 40 g
- Cholesterol: 110 mg
