Cooking 101: Beef Bourguignon

Caren McSherry of Gourmet Warehouse shares her recipe for Beef Bourguignon.

Ingredients

¼ lb (114g) diced bacon
3 lb (1.35kg) round steak, cubed
Flour for dredging the beef
20-30 small silverskin onions 20-30
1 tsp (5 ml) thyme
3 tbsp (45mL) tomato paste
2 garlic cloves, minced
2 whole garlic heads, separated and not peeled
Bouquet garni (fresh parsley and bay leaf tied together)
3 cups (720mL) red wine
1 cup (240mL) beef stock
10 medium carrots
½ lb (225g) fresh button mushrooms, quartered
¼ cup (60ml) Madeira
¼ cup (60 ml)brandy
Ground tellicherry or black pepper to taste
Sea salt to taste
Garnish with chopped parsley, chopped

Method

Fry the bacon in a large saute pan, remove and set aside. Dredge the beef cubes in the flour (see below) and brown them well in the same pan. Preheat oven to 325 F (165 C). Add the peeled silverskin onions to the pan and brown them well. As soon as the beef and onions are browned, transfer to a large roasting pan. Add the thyme, tomato paste, bouquet garni, wine, stock and both garlics. Cover and place in oven for about 90 minutes or until the beef is tender.

Peel and coarsely chop the carrots and add them to the roasting pan. Cook for a further 25 minutes then add the mushrooms to the roasting pan for the last 15 minutes of cooking.

When the meat is cooked and tender throughout, stir in the Madeira and brandy. Season with ground pepper and sea salt. If you find the sauce too thin, thicken it with 2-3 tablespoons (30-45 mL) of beurre manie (see below). Whisk it into the sauce one tablespoon at a time.

Ladle the beef over buttered noodles or serve it alongside roasted potatoes. A generous sprinkle of chopped parsley gives a simple garnish.

Beurre manie is a French term, meaning kneaded butter. Made using equal portions of butter and flour (i.e. 3 tbsp/45 mL butter mixed with 3 tbsp/45 ml flour), it is used to thicken sauces. When whisked in it provides a lump-free sauce.

Dredging Beef Cubes

Place the flour in a plastic produce bag, drop the beef cubes into the flour bag, and shake to coat. When you finish, simply throw the bag away.

More Global BC recipes are available here