Bouef Bourguignon

This is a perfect dish for this time of year, a typical dish of Lyonnaise and Burgundy, this is Raymond Blanc’s version, it’s the best version, even if there is a little bit of faffing involved.

I like to serve this with Gratin Dauphinois – There are lots of recipes for this available and almost every frenchman has his own version. You can find mine on this site as well.

Pair this dish with a heavy full bodied wine and you can’t go wrong, my ideal match is something retaining a little fruit bite to cut through the richness – Domaine Balliccioni – Tradition is perfect.

BOEUF BOURGUIGNON

INGREDIENTS

1 Bottle of red wine
(boiled down to 1/3 of its volume)
1 kg Feather steak cut into 5 cm cubes
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
2 stalks Parsley
30 gm Strong white flour
20 gm Unsalted butter
60 ml Vegetable oil
60 ml Chicken stock
20 gm Chopped garlic

Method

1. Mix meat, herbs, carrot, celery, onion and wine in bowl
   2. Marinate in fridge for 24 hours (don’t cheat)
   3. Place in colander over a bowl and drain meat for 2 hours
   4. Place ingredients on a plate
   5. Melt all the butter and half the oil
   6. Brown the steak, in batches over medium heat, removing each batch once brown
   7. Place browned meat in colander to drain
   off any oil
   8. Colour marinade vegetables for 5-10 minutes
   9. Drain in colander
   10. Return meat and vegetables to casserole
   11. Add browned flour
   12. Cook and stir for 1 minute on low heat
   13. Add stock, garlic and wine
   14. Bring to the boil and cover
   15. Place casserole in oven and cook for 3- 31/2 hours at150C/300F/Gas2.
   16. Add mushrooms halfway through cooking
   17. Serve

TIPS
a) 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.

b) You can tie up the herbs with string to make a bouquet garni, this makes it easier to fish them out before serving.

c) Pinot Noir is best, the better the wine the better the dish.
d) The wine is reduced to intensify the taste. e) 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.