One Great Boeuf Bourguignon Recipe

I made Ina Garten's (the Barefoot Contessa) boeuf bourguignon recipe two times in two weeks. This savory, umami tasting beef stew was a hit with everyone who ate it! I learned a lot about how to make this simple dish; so extraordinary-and trust me-it was!

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It was last August that my brother in Phoenix asked if I'd donate my cooking services and cook dinner for 10 to raise money for his temple.

No worries there. Happy to do it. He bought the food and I flew in and provided two days of cooking for a very unlikely group.

As it turned out the group that my brother thought would buy my dinner did not come through.

Nope. He was quite surprised to see that our mother bought the dinner!

It seems she wanted me to cook the food I made on The Great American Recipe for her 90 year old friends.

Problem is that I reminded my mom she doesn't like my cooking. No joke.

She doesn't like my brisket or my winning noodle kugel and when I reminded her of this she said, "Oh yeah!"

Truth is my mother truly loves only the food she cooks! And growing up we had a good home cooked meal every night, though it pretty much was limited to basics.

My mother only "out did" herself when cooking for friends.

So it was that after months of planning she decided that a boeuf bourguignon recipe would be good.

And you know I don't eat beef! But I can cook most anything so I wasn't worried.

But then the questions began.

Do I know how to make boeuf bourguignon?

What boeuf bourguignon recipe am I using?

How do I know how to make it if I don't eat beef?

Why don't you eat beef? You should eat beef.

Make sure to use tenderloin and not chuck. (Good thing I didn't listen.)

What kind of wine am I using?

Cook it a really long time. (Wrong!)

The best was when she told me I really needed to put my best food forward because these were her friends!

And on and on. At this point I was so happy I agreed to cook this dinner. LOL!

So after all this and help from Ina, I made a really good boeuf bourguignon recipe.

I read Jacque Pepin's recipe and Julia Childs recipe and countless others, but felt Barefoot Contessa's boeuf bourguignon recipe was easy to work with.

I must say that all of them were very similar but apparently Ina's is the best boeuf bourguignon recipe-because I said so!

I am not so adverse to taking a bite of something I don't ordinarily eat, and I can tell you that the sauce part of this beef stew is incredible!

They Loved My Boeuf Bourguignon Recipe!

The first time I made this was on Valentine's Day when the kids were home.

After a long day skiing when the son-in-law broke his tibia but didn't know it-they arrived home to this sample dinner for Grandma.

It was well received and between this and chocolate lava cakes, my dinner was a success.

I figured I was ready for the real critic.

My brother and brother-in-law set the table and served. It was quite lovely.

We were ready for the ladies and a few gentlemen.

It was about mid-morning that my brother received a phone call that some of the ladies needed permission to leave the facility.

Without panicking my bro asked if they could do that right away because a van would be picking everyone up at 5:30 to bring them over.

Luckily they were able to do this, and they even assured my brother that everyone could feed themselves.

At this point we were wondering if we needed releases from everyone and I was quite grateful we had decided on "soft food."

We were also grateful that two of the ladies had their own caregivers, just in case we needed the "Heimlich" performed!

I'm not trying to make light of this but we just wanted the evening to be perfect!

And so it is on the day that I needed cheering up after getting hard news from Israel, we were able to make 12 diners very happy.

Yes, I was very, very grateful to be able to make dinner for 12 people who truly loved every bite.

Honestly, I think I could have served hotdogs and these ladies would have been ecstatic.

Just bringing them a new view was exciting!

And the flowers, right? Robert did those.

And the paper place mats he found sitting idle in his well stocked drawer.

But let's get to this boeuf bourguignon recipe, shall we?

Boeuf Bourguignon Recipe: Ingredients and Tips

(Things Ina doesn't mention!)

• Good olive oil-Please, not bitter olive oil!
• Good thick bacon, diced-Adds so much flavor and fat to cook the beef in
• 2 1⁄2 pounds beef chuck cut into 1-inch cubes (This should be made with a thick chuck roast or steak. Do not buy cubed beef OR a thin chuck steak. As a note- in Denver I could only find a thin chuck steak that I cut into cubes. After using a thicker cut I can tell you that it made a HUGE difference in flavor and texture. If you can't find the proper cut, do not make this recipe.)
• Kosher salt and fresh ground black pepper
• 1 pound carrots, (I used baby carrots and they were very good, but feel free to chop carrots into thick 1" slices if you prefer.)
• Yellow onions, sliced
• Chopped garlic (3 cloves)
• Cognac or good brandy (You will be flaming this! Trust me this was my first and second time and it was a lot of fun! Plus it worked without a problem-just don't put your head over the Dutch oven.
• 1 (750-ml) bottle good dry red wine, such as Burgundy or Pinot (Pinot is the French equivalent of Burgundy. I used a Pinot the second time. The first time I used whatever Manservant gave me and though it was OK, I can't begin to tell you what a difference a good bottle of wine makes. You should make this with the wine you want to serve with it. Also, wine helps tenderize the beef. Don't want to use wine? Use the beef broth and add a splash of vinegar or pehaps a bit of grape juice.
• Beef broth- you may need this to cover the beef. I used it the first time but did not use it the second and much preferred it without the broth.)
• Tomato paste
• Fresh thyme leaves and a bay leaf
• Unsalted butter, at room temperature, divided
• All-purpose flour
• 1 pound frozen small pearl onions (These are very hard to find. A good substitute is small peeled shallots that have been parboiled about 1 minute. Fresh pearl onions can be found, but not in Denver. I found them in Phoenix and boiled them for 1 minute before taking the skins off.) Alex said the shallots were his favorite part!
• Mushrooms, stems discarded, caps thickly sliced (Use your favorite variety but please not large Portabellas!)

I learned a lot from making this boeuf bourguignon recipe.

When chefs tell you that the quality of the ingredients makes a big difference in how a recipe turns out, believe them.

Though I used good chuck the first time, the cut was not right. It worked, but it was so much better using the better, thicker cut of meat.

Also keep in mind that Mom thought that using a more expensive cut of meat would make this boeuf bourguignon recipe more tender.

After much research I didn't listen to Mom. The best stews are made with inexpensive cuts of meat that are laced with fat and cartilage that melt into the stew.

Also did you know that stews can be cooked too long and end up with the meat being dry and tough? Don't think by simmering longer that your meat will become more tender.

Simmering longer also turns the veggies into mush!

Wine. Be careful with this. The bottle I used was $17.00 and though that is inexpensive for a Pinot, it was very good in this French beef stew.

Consider that the stew itself is not that expensive to make. Now go buy the wine!

Though Ina calls for beef broth if needed, I think the first time I made this the beef broth thinned this out too much.

Additionally, without making the broth I couldn't control the seasoning of it which I believe effected the flavor of the recipe.

The second time I made this I left it out and found it wasn't needed. Plus the beef stew was better without it.

Whether that was due to other changes, I can't say, but it was considerably WAY better!

I made this boeuf bourguignon recipe the day before in both cases, and it turned out wonderful.

Not only did the flavors have a chance to meld together it was nice being able to reheat this over low heat and then make the mashed potatoes!

Steps To Make Boeuf Bourguignon Recipe

1. Preheat the oven to 250 ­degrees, even if you are planning on reheating this the next day.
2. Heat olive oil in a large Dutch oven, such as Le Creuset. A lidded large soup pot also works. Add the bacon and cook until bacon is lightly browned. Remove with a slotted spoon to a large ­plate.
3. Dry beef cubes with paper towels and sprinkle with salt and fresh pepper. In batches in single layers, sear the beef in the hot oil for 3 to 5 minutes, turning to brown on all sides. Remove seared cubes to plate with bacon and continue searing until all beef is browned. Set ­aside.
4. Toss carrots, onions, 1 tablespoon of salt, and 2 teaspoons of pepper into the fat in the pan and cook over medium heat for 10 to 12 minutes, stirring occasionally, until onions are lightly browned. Add garlic and cook 1 more minute. Add Cognac, stand back, and ignite. Add meat and bacon back to the pot with any juices that have accumulated on the plate. Add the wine plus enough beef broth as needed, to almost cover the mixture. (I did not find this necessary.) Add the tomato paste and thyme. Bring to a boil, cover pot with a tight­-­fitting lid, and place in oven for about 1¹⁄₄ hours, or until the meat and vegetables are very tender when pierced with a fork. Remove from oven and place on top of the ­stove. I did add about 15 minutes more to make the beef more tender. A lot of this depends on how big you cut the beef and how dry it is in your area.
5. Combine 2 tablespoons of the butter and the flour with a fork and stir into the stew. Add the frozen onions or the parboiled shallots or pearl onions. In a medium pan, sauté the mushrooms in the remaining 2 tablespoons of butter over medium heat for 10 minutes, or until lightly browned, and then add to stew. Bring stew to a boil, then lower heat and simmer uncovered for 15 minutes. Season to ­taste. I like it with more pepper so added a touch more to taste.
6. If reheating the next day, let cool uncovered and then cover and place in fridge.
7. Reheat on low heat covered until mixture simmers and is warm to hot!
8. Serve with boiled potatoes, mashed potatoes or wide egg noodles.

FAQ's

It is interesting to me that a beef stew is something most countries have.

Want an Irish beef stew? Substitute the wine for stout and the mushrooms for potatoes.

What To Serve With Boeuf Bourguignon

Mom requested mashed potatoes and mashed potatoes is what she got.

Rich and creamy with a few lumps, and loaded with butter, salt and heavy cream and half and half.

Don't forget the salt!

Noodles or boiled potatoes would be fine also.

On the table, I placed a rich liver pate made from a cookbook I received from a friend.

I highly recommend this book!

It was a Jewish cookbook, but this pate is far from kosher. Made with cream cheese and chicken livers and topped with luxardo cherries, this pate was exquisite.

And believe it or not, they loved it!

As you can see from the menu I made a Boston lettuce salad with a tarragon vinaigrette and topped it with a caramelized onion mini brie enclosed in a puff pastry packet .

Instead of crusty bread I served gougeres, though bread would have been more appropriate.

Mom also requested a raspberry cake which is made from bread, butter and sugar and of course raspberries.

It's more of a summer cake, but what Mom wants, she gets.

And just to round things out the ladies were sent home with goodie bags of madeleines to have with their coffee the next morning.

It was quite the event. Mom says if she is still alive next year, she wants to do it again!

I say-whatever it takes!

More French Recipes

No Mayo French Potato Salad

Easy French Onion Soup

Coq Au Vin

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