Beef Bourgiognon Dinner Party – Taste 'N' Dash
Beef Bourgiognon. A not so simple recipe if you follow the Julia Child’s way but known as one of the many classic French dishes. This is not your ordinary beef stew. Flavors consist of a slow cooked beef and bacon mixture combined in a red wine broth not to mention the beef is seared first in the bacon fat. What more could you ask for….
When I first read Julia Child’s recipe I was intimidated not by the ingredients but the process, the steps, the searing, and so on. Sounded amazing but the recipe was a little too daunting for me. I then discovered Ina Garten’s recipe several years ago on her take of the classic dish and decided to give it a whirl. Less steps and time in cooking!! Since then I have made Ina Garten’s version on a few occasions and the meal never disappoints.
Last week I invited a few girlfriends over for dinner and thought to myself… what could I make that was special? It’s the holidays and these girls have been in my life since childhood so I wanted dinner to be extra special.
Beef Bourgiognon came to mind but this time I wanted to play with Julia Child’s way. So I looked up the recipe and once again I was overwhelmed. As I continued to review the recipe I also started to think about Ina Garten’s recipe and decided to incorporate both versions into my own.
Here is my take on the classic French dish with the guidance of Julia and Ina.
Before we get started, let me just warn you this takes time and effort but so worth it in the end.
This can easily feed up to a party of 10. And of course, you can double or quadruple the recipe for a larger party.
It is a perfect dish to entertain with and can be made the day before so the night of the event you can relax and socialize. But like I said… it takes time and effort so make sure you really like the folks you are entertaining. 😉 It is an exceptional treat.
Lets take a look at the ingredients. It is quite the assortment. Detailed recipe noted at the bottom of this post. BTW the bottle of vino shown in the picture below tasted awful. Luckily I took a swig beforehand and was able to switch it out.
Preheat oven to 350F. Place bacon on baking sheet and cook in the oven for 15 to 20 minutes. Slightly crispy but not burnt.
Pat dry the beef cubes with a paper towel. Beef will not brown if damp. Sprinkle with salt and pepper.
Remove bacon when cooked and place to the side on a plate lined with a paper towel to soak up the oil. Cut into 2 inch pieces.
Increase oven temperature to 400F.
Pour the bacon fat into a large dutch oven on the stovetop and turn to high heat. Sear the beef cubes in the dutch oven a few at a time in a single layer until brown on all four sides.
Add the seared beef cubes to the plate with bacon. When finished with the beef, remove the remaining bacon fat from the dutch oven.
In a different pan, heat up two tablespoons of butter on medium to high heat. Add sliced carrots and onions to pan. Sprinkle with salt and pepper and cook for 12 to 15 minutes.
While the carrots and onions are cooking, add the bacon and beef cubes back into the dutch oven. Sprinkle 1 tablespoon of flour, toss around and place in the oven for 4 minutes. Remove dutch oven from oven and repeat… sprinkle 1 tablespoons of flour, toss and back in the oven for 4 minutes. (The flour adds a light crust)
Remove the beef from the oven and decrease oven temperature to 325F.
Now add the cooked onions, carrots, wine, beef broth, garlic, tomato paste, and fresh thyme to the beef/bacon and stir. You want the liquid to barely cover the mixture. I was a bit lazy and added the fresh thyme as is. At the end I removed the twigs.
Cover the dutch oven with a lid and place into the oven for 3.5 hours.
Check on it every hour and stir. After the 2nd hour you will notice the liquid will start to evaporate. Add about 1/2 cup of wine and 1 cup beef broth.
Prepare the mushrooms and pearl onions while the beef is cooking.
Saute the mushrooms in one tablespoon of butter and a dash of salt and pepper for 12 to 15 minutes. Place to the side in a bowl. (Sorry no photo to share)
In the same pan, add the frozen small pearl onions and one tablespoon of butter and saute for 10 minutes. Add 1/2 cup of beef broth, bring to a boil, reduce heat to low, cover with lid and simmer for 15 minutes. Remove the onions from the liquid and place to the side with mushrooms.
Are you still there?!?! I hope so… we’re about to cross the finish line.
Once the beef is done and the meat is tender, remove the beef from the oven and add the mushrooms and onions to the mixture. Let sit for 10 minutes so the mushrooms and onions have time to soak in the juices. The liquid should be about half way down from where you started and slightly thick.
Serve on top of mash potatoes and garnish with parsley.
My girl D made a salad which paired perfectly with this dish. Spinach, pear, pomegranates, candied walnuts and gorgonzola cheese drizzled with a champagne dressing. Garlic bread was also served.
Dinner was a hit and I got to spend time with some of my favorite peeps. There may have been a slumber party that followed. 🙂
If you are not planning to serve right away, let beef cool down and place in the fridge. Warm up on medium heat when ready to serve.
Enjoy!
Beef Bourgiognon Dinner Party
2014-12-10 17:40:38
Serves 8
- 10 ounces bacon
- 3 pounds beef, cut into 2-inch cubes
- 1 large onion, sliced
- 1 pound carrots, sliced 2 inches
- 4 tablespoon of butter
- Salt and pepper
- 2 tablespoons flour
- 1 bottle red wine, Cabernet Sauvignon ( 3 cups for prep and 1/2 cup during the cooking)
- 4 1/2 cups beef broth ( 3 cups for prep and 1 cup during the cooking and 1/2 cup for pearl onions)
- 2 tablespoon tomato paste
- 4 cloves garlic, minced
- Fresh Thyme- three tablespoons
- 1 pound (16 oz) fresh mushrooms, sliced
- 1/2 pound (8 oz) frozen small pearl white onions
- Parsley
- Preheat oven to 350F.
- Place bacon on baking sheet and bake for 15 to 20 minutes. Slightly crispy.
- While the bacon is in the oven, pat dry the beef cubes with a paper towel. Beef will not brown if damp. Sprinkle with salt and pepper.
- Remove bacon when cooked and place to the side on a plate lined with a paper towel to soak up the oil. Cut into 2 inch pieces.
- Increase oven temperature to 400F.
- Pour the bacon fat into a large dutch oven on the stovetop and turn to high heat. Sear the beef cubes in the dutch oven a few at a time in a single layer until brown on all four sides. Add seared beef cubes to the plate with bacon.
- Remove the remaining bacon fat from the dutch oven.
- In a different pan, heat up two tablespoons of butter on medium to high heat. Add sliced carrots and onions to pan. Sprinkle with salt and pepper and cook for 12 to 15 minutes.
- While the carrots and onions are cooking, add the bacon and beef cubes back into the dutch oven. Sprinkle 1 tablespoon of flour, toss around and place in the oven for 4 minutes. Remove dutch oven from oven and repeat… sprinkle 1 tablespoons of flour, toss and back in the oven for 4 minutes. (The flour adds a light crust)
- Remove the beef from the oven and decrease oven temperature to 325F.
- Now add the cooked onions, carrots, wine, beef broth, garlic, tomato paste, fresh thyme to the beef/bacon and stir. You want the liquid to barely cover the mixture.
- Cover the dutch oven with a lid and place into the oven for 3.5 hours.
- Check on it every hour and stir. After the 2nd hour you will notice the liquid will start to evaporate. Add about 1/2 cup of wine and 1 cup beef broth.
- Prepare the mushrooms and pearl onions while the beef is cooking.
- Saute the mushrooms in one tablespoon of butter and a dash of salt and pepper for 12 to 15 minutes. Place to the side.
- In same pan, add the frozen small pearl onions and one tablespoon of butter and saute for 10 minutes. Add 1/2 cup of beef broth, bring to a boil, reduce heat to low, cover with lid and simmer for 15 minutes. Remove the onions from the liquid and place to the side with mushrooms.
- Once the beef is tender, remove from the oven and add the mushrooms and onions to the mixture. Let sit for 10 minutes so the mushrooms and onions have time to soak in the juices. The liquid should be about half way down from where you started and slightly thick.
- Garnish with parsley.
- If you are preparing this in advance, let the beef cool down and place in the fridge until ready to heat and serve.
- Best served with mash potatoes, salad and garlic bread.
Adapted from Julia Child and Ina Garten
Adapted from Julia Child and Ina Garten
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