Beef Bourguignon (which is pronounced beef boar-gin-yaan) is a signature French stew made up chunks of rich beef braised in a deeply flavored red wine based sauce, along with aromatic vegetables such as pearl onions and browned mushrooms. Often times it includes another rich meat such as pork (bacon!), and it also includes plenty of herbs for complementary fresh flavor. It is a humble, rustic style dish yet somehow at the same time if seems luxurious with such sophisticated flavor. It’s creates a main dish worthy of a holiday celebration!
Beef Bourguignon Recipe Ingredients
- Bacon: Preferably using regular cut bacon. Reserve the drippings as they are used in the stew for browning.
- Chuck roast: Look for a chuck roast with thin veins of fat marbled throughout. Avoid those with extra large chunks of fat as you’d just have to cut and toss this and wont have as much usable beef for the dish.
- Salt and black pepper: I season the roast somewhat light just so the dish isn’t overly salty in the end between the salted beef, bacon, broth, and soy sauce.
- Yellow onion and pearl onions: You can use frozen pearl onions in this dish if you can’t find fresh. Or use 2 cups yellow onion and omit the pearl onions.
- Garlic: Preferably use fresh garlic for best flavor, rather than bottled or dry.
- Tomato paste: This adds hints of rich tomato flavor to the dish giving it a little more depth.
- Flour: This will help thicken the sauce to more of a gravy-like consistency. If you want a thinner stock in the stew you could reduce it to as little as 1 Tbsp.
- Dry red wine: Wine really makes this dish. I like to use Pinot Noir or Cortes du Rhone varieties.
- Low sodium broth: Beef broth or chicken broth can be used here just be sure it’s a low-sodium option or even salt free because as the sauce reduces as it cooks the saltiness becomes more concentrated.
- Soy sauce: This may not be traditional to beef bourguignon but you’ll often see chefs add it to stews for more depth of flavor. It’s that little secret ingredient.
- Fresh herbs: Fresh thyme, rosemary, bay leaf, and parsley are used in this dish. The bay leaf can be dried.
- Carrots: I add more carrots than may be traditional because why not up the veggies so you don’t have to make an extra side of them?
- Mushrooms: Cremini mushrooms or button mushrooms work well here.
- Olive oil: Butter can be used as well, olive oil just seems less heavier when paired here with the fattiness of the bacon drippings and roast fat in the stew.
From: “cookingclassy”