Beef Bour­guignon

I like the beef in big, irreg­u­lar pieces and some­times cut up a chuck roast for this. Cumbrae’s, 481 Church St., sells large-chunk, naturally-raised stew­ing beef. I like Imag­ine chicken or beef stock sold in car­tons at most health stores and supermarkets.

3 lb/1.5 kg stew­ing beef, cut in big chunks
750 mL bot­tle full-bodied dry red wine
About 6 tbsp olive oil
1 tsp salt
½ tsp freshly ground black pep­per
1 medium onion, peeled, chopped
3 medium car­rots, peeled, chopped
4 gar­lic cloves, peeled, chopped
1 cup pit­ted prunes
1½ cups (half a 28-oz/796 mL can) plum toma­toes
1½ cups beef or chicken stock
2 tbsp fresh thyme leaves
Salt and freshly ground black pep­per to taste
2 tbsp but­ter
1 lb/500 g mush­rooms, thickly sliced
Two 10-oz/284 g bags pearl onions
¹⁄₃ cup beef or chicken stock, water or white wine
Chopped fresh parsley

A day ahead, place beef and wine in large bowl; let mar­i­nate in fridge at least 12 hours. Drain mari­nade into saucepan. Bring to boil; cook, uncov­ered, over medium-high heat about 5 min­utes or until slightly reduced. Reserve.

Place beef on paper towel; pat dry. Sprin­kle with salt and pepper.

Pre­heat oven to 325F.

Add 1 table­spoon of olive oil to large skil­let over medium heat. Add onion and car­rots; cook, stir­ring at inter­vals, about 10 min­utes or until golden brown. Add gar­lic; cook about 3 min­utes more. Add reduced mari­nade; cook, scrap­ing up browned bits from skil­let, about 1 minute.

Add 1 table­spoon of oil to large dutch oven over high heat. Add about one-third of beef, mak­ing sure pieces are not crowded. Cook, turn­ing once, until browned all over, about 5 minutes.

Trans­fer to bowl. Repeat, using 1 table­spoon of oil per batch, until all beef is browned. Return beef to dutch oven. Over high heat, add prunes, toma­toes, stock, thyme and carrot/onion mix­ture with its liq­uid. Bring to boil, scrap­ing up browned bits from bottom.

Bake in oven, cov­ered, about 2½ hours or until beef is ten­der but not falling apart. Using tongs, trans­fer beef to large bowl. Place large sieve over bowl. Pour in sauce, press­ing it with spoon until no liq­uid remains; dis­card solids. Taste sauce; add salt and pep­per if necessary.

Add 1 table­spoon each of olive oil and but­ter to large skil­let over high heat. Add mush­rooms. Cook, shak­ing at inter­vals, until browned, about 10 min­utes. Add to beef mixture.

Add pearl onions to saucepan of boil­ing water. Cook over high heat about 2 min­utes. Drain under cold water; peel.

Add remain­ing table­spoon each of olive oil and but­ter to large skil­let over medium-high heat. Add pearl onions. Cook, stir­ring, about 12 min­utes or until browned. Reduce heat to low; add stock, water or wine and cook 5 min­utes more or until ten­der. Add to beef mix­ture. Reheat before serv­ing. Gar­nish with parsley.

Makes 6 to 8 servings.

Back to Recipes