Bœuf Bourguinon

I found myself with a bit of free time earlier in the week and decided to make bœuf bourguinon. It was an ambitious task, but I felt with a little determination and 4 hours of time I normally don't have it could be done. Here is the recipe I followed, courtesy of Paul Bocuse, slightly modified.

Ingredients


2.2 lbs chuck steak (cut into egg-sized cubes)
4 oz bacon
12 small onions (I used 6 mid-sized)
2 oz butter
1 lb carrots
1 sprig of thyme
1/4 bay leaf
2 sticks of celery
4 sprigs of parsley
1 tbsp flour
1 tbsp tomato paste
1 3/4 pt good red wine (I used Rodney Strong Pinot Noir)
2 cloves of garlic
salt and pepper


Remember to take the meat out of the refrigerator 1 1/2 hours before cooking, unless of course you are using uncured bacon as I was. I didn't put out the bacon for long and it was just fine.


Peel the onions but leave them whole.




Melt the butter in a Dutch oven.


Add the onions and bacon and let them brown for two to three minutes stirring regularly with a wooden spoon.


Season the meat with salt and ground pepper, then add them to the pot and brown on each side. While the meat is browning, peel the carrots and rinse them. Cut them into 2-inch strips and then add to the pot.
Wash the parsley, celery and thyme. Remove the stringy parts of the celery and then tie together with the parsley, thyme and bay leaf to make a bouquet garni. Add them to the pot.

As you can probably tell from the above photo, I did not tie my bouquet garni together because I lacked any clean string that wasn't mint-flavored dental floss. Make sure you have this on hand before beginning this recipe.

Brown all of the ingredients for about 30 minutes, then remove the meat and veggies putting them all aside in a warm place (I used the oven on low).

Add the flour to the pot and stir well with a wooden spoon. As soon as it changes color (gets brownish) add the tomato paste and stir again. Add the red wine little by little, thinning down the sauce as it thickens and stirring constantly. Season using a pepper mill. Add the two cloves of garlic (after peeling and crushing them) and continue to stir.

Once you have a smooth sauce, put the meat and veggies back in the pot, cover and leave to simmer for 2 1/5 hours over low heat.

I served this with steamed potatoes and sourdough bread and butter. I wish I had remembered to get a final photo, but the end result was delish, much more appealing than the below photo suggests and much easier than I thought it would be! Bon appetit!

Paul Bocuse cookbook available here: http://www.amazon.com/Bocuse-Your-Kitchen-Simple-Recipes/dp/2080305603