Inspired by Raymond Blanc aka The Hungry Frenchman's video above, we got seriously jealous and ended up trekking to the liquor store for some red wine and the grocery store for some beef (we're partial to the hormone-free kind).
This is slow cooked beef and will take you a good weekend to prepare to make ... and with a whole bottle of red wine, why even argue that this isn't going to be good?
The dish has its origins in Burgundy, France. To sum up what food means to them: “Some had build hearths in their kitchen but Burgundians had built a kitchen from their hearths.” If this dish is representative of the region, I heartily believe this!
Here's the link to his Boeuf Bourguignon original recipe. But the video above has some slight variations from the recipe, so Y kind of winged it based on the video.
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| Oooh la la! Boeuf Bourguignon! |
Prep time: overnight ++
Cooking time: 3-3.5 hours
Yes, you need to think this through and have decided at least a day in advance that you're preparing this.
Ingredients
1 bottle of red wine (boiled down to 1/3 of its volume)
1 kg feather steak cut into 5 cm cubes (we used beef blade)
250 gm - Onion cut into 2 cm dices
80 gm - Carrots peeled and cut into 2 cm dices
80 gm - Celery cut into 2 cm dices
250 gm - Flat mushrooms cut into 2 cm dices
1 Bay leaf
2 sprigs Thyme (we used rosemary instead)
2 stalks Parsley
30 gm Strong white flour (we eliminated this)
20 gm Unsalted butter
60 ml Vegetable oil
60 ml Chicken stock
20 gm Chopped garlic
A minor change is that we added rosemary (no thyme available) because we've got plants right by the window, and based on experience, beef and rosemary is a killer combination. We also added potatoes, a mix of colours, because we like our potatoes!
Cook
- Mix meat, herbs, carrot, celery, onion and wine in bowl
- Marinate in fridge for 24 hours (don’t cheat). [Seriously don't, the wine needs the time to do its magic!]
The remains of marinade - the beef is getting drained! - Place in colander over a bowl and drain meat for 2 hours
- Place ingredients on a plate
- Melt all the butter and half the oil
- Brown the steak, in batches over medium heat, removing each batch once brown
Ahhh, the aroma of the wine! - Place browned meat in colander to drain off any oil
Browned meat - aha, and no colander in sight! - Colour marinade vegetables for 5-10 minutes
- Drain in colander
- Return meat and vegetables to casserole
- Add browned flour
- Cook and stir for 1 minute on low heat
- Add stock, garlic and wine
- Bring to the boil and cover
- Place casserole in oven and cook for 3- 31/2 hours at150C/300F/Gas2.
- Add mushrooms halfway through cooking
- Serve!
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| Delish! And the purple potatoes make it look extra gourmet-ish! |
Browning the flour in will give the dish a deeper colour and a slight nutty taste. Spread it on a baking tray. Bake at 220c for 8-12 minutes. You want a rich gold colour.
You can tie up the herbs with string to make a bouquet garni this makes it easier to fish them out before serving.
Pinot Noir is best, the better the wine the better the dish.
The wine is reduced to intensify the taste.
If at the end of the cooking you think the sauce is too thin, remove meat and keep warm. Reduce sauce over a high heat.
Verdict: The beef was tender, buttery tasting, and melt-in-your mouth. The fat was amazingly delicious - you need to taste a bit of the fat to appreciate its flavour compared to the meat. The veggies gave a nice fresh contrast to the meat. And the sauce ... we ended up mopping every little bit so as not to waste it's deliciousness!
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