Description
Traditional French Beef Bourguignon is a rich, slow-cooked beef stew braised in red wine with hearty vegetables, bacon, and aromatic herbs. This classic dish delivers tender, fall-apart beef in a deeply flavorful, velvety sauce perfect for serving over creamy mashed potatoes. The recipe involves marinating, browning, sautéing, and slow oven braising to develop layers of complex flavor.
Ingredients
Scale
Beef Marinade:
- 800g/1.6 lb chuck beef, cut into 4-5 cm / 2” cubes
- 2 large carrots (~300g/10 oz), cut on an angle into 4-5 cm / 2” pieces
- 16 pearl onions or small round 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 Ingredients:
- 200g/7 oz mushrooms, halved (quartered if large)
- 150g/5 oz bacon piece, cut into 1 cm / 1/2” thick batons
- 50g/3 tbsp unsalted butter
- 3 garlic cloves, minced
- 2 tbsp tomato paste
- 6 tbsp 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 chuck beef, carrots, pearl onions, bay leaf, thyme, and red wine in a large non-reactive ceramic dish or ziplock bag. Refrigerate and marinate overnight for a minimum of 12 hours and up to 24 hours. Before cooking, strain the liquid into a bowl, reserving the marinade, and separate the solids.
- Reduce wine: Pour reserved red wine marinade into a saucepan. Bring to a boil over medium-high heat, skimming off impurities. Simmer vigorously until the volume is reduced by half. Set aside.
- Preheat oven and prepare beef: Preheat your oven to 180°C / 350°F (160°C fan). Spread the marinated beef on a tray lined with paper towels and pat dry thoroughly. Season the beef cubes with 3/4 tsp salt and 1/2 tsp pepper.
- Brown beef: Heat 2 tbsp oil in a large, heavy-based, oven-proof pot over high heat. Add one-third of the beef and brown aggressively on all sides. Remove browned beef to a bowl. Repeat with remaining beef, adding more oil if necessary.
- Cook bacon: Add bacon pieces to the hot pot and cook for about 3 minutes until golden. Remove and add to the beef bowl.
- Sauté mushrooms: Add mushrooms to the pot and cook for approximately 5 minutes until golden. Transfer to a separate bowl.
- Sauté onions: Add extra oil if needed and cook the pearl onions for 5 minutes until golden patches appear. Add onions to the mushroom bowl.
- Sauté carrot and garlic: Add butter to the pot; once melted, add carrots. Cook for 3 to 4 minutes until golden patches form. Add minced garlic and cook for an additional 1 minute.
- Add tomato paste and flour: Stir in tomato paste, cooking it for 2 minutes. Then add flour and cook for another 2 minutes to eliminate raw taste.
- Add liquids: Slowly pour in beef stock while stirring continuously to prevent lumps. Add the reduced wine and mix until the flour mixture dissolves and the sauce is mostly lump-free.
- Combine ingredients: Return the browned beef and bacon to the pot. Add reserved thyme sprigs, bay leaf, 1/4 tsp salt, and pepper. Stir well to combine.
- Oven braising – first phase: Bring the stew to a simmer on the stovetop. Cover the pot and transfer it to the preheated oven. Cook for 1 hour.
- Add mushrooms and onions: Remove the pot from the oven. Stir in the sautéed mushrooms and onions thoroughly.
- Oven braising – second phase: Cover again with the lid and return to the oven. Cook for an additional 1½ hours or until the beef is tender enough to fall apart easily.
- Final seasoning: Remove from the oven and taste the sauce. Adjust salt carefully based on bacon and stock saltiness.
- Rest and serve: For best results, let the stew rest overnight in the refrigerator to allow flavors to meld. Reheat gently on the stovetop before serving. Serve hot over creamy mashed potatoes, garnished with chopped parsley.
Notes
- Scale the recipe carefully by browning meat and vegetables in batches to maintain browning without overcrowding the pan. Slow cooking time remains the same.
- Use chuck beef with good marbling for juiciness and tenderness. Avoid pre-cut small pieces.
- If pearl onions are unavailable, substitute with peeled pickling onions or sliced brown/yellow onions.
- Pinot Noir is traditional but inexpensive red wine is acceptable for the marinade.
- Bacon lardons add essential depth and seasoning; replace with speck or streaky bacon if needed.
- Homemade beef stock yields superior flavor, but good quality store-bought low sodium stock is acceptable. Avoid powdered stock.
- Lumps in the flour mixture will dissolve during slow cooking.
- The oven method is ideal for hands-off slow cooking, but a stovetop simmer with occasional stirring or slow cooker can be used with adjustments.
- Salt to taste at the end due to variable salt in bacon and stock; homemade stock usually needs extra salt.
- Stew keeps well refrigerated up to 5 days and freezes excellently.
- Serve with mashed potatoes to soak up the rich sauce.
Nutrition
- Serving Size: 1 bowl (approx. 300g)
- Calories: 450 kcal
- Sugar: 6 g
- Sodium: 550 mg
- Fat: 22 g
- Saturated Fat: 7 g
- Unsaturated Fat: 12 g
- Trans Fat: 0.3 g
- Carbohydrates: 21 g
- Fiber: 3 g
- Protein: 38 g
- Cholesterol: 95 mg
