Beef bourguignon made easy

If you think that preparing beef bourguignon should be left to the specialists, you are right – it just seems that way. You can serve this dish to your guests at home, it couldn't be easier.

Boeuf bourguignon is one of the most typical dishes of French cuisine. It is based on beef, vegetables, and red wine. Although it is considered a speciality of Burgundy, it originates from Paris.

Its Burgundian name likely comes from the dish being braised in wine. In the 19th-century French encyclopaedia "Grand Dictionnaire du Universel," the qualification "bourguignon" or "à la bourguignonne" was given to dishes prepared with wine.

A cut of meat particularly suitable for this dish is shoulder (in French butchery tradition – paleron or macreuse), as it retains a tender consistency despite long hours of cooking. French chefs recommend setting aside the finished beef bourguignon for two to three days in a cool place, which allows it to gain additional flavour.

Ingredients:

• 1.2 kilograms of beef cut into cubes,
• 200 grams of smoked bacon cut into cubes,
• 2 onions,
• 2 carrots,
• 2 cloves of garlic,
• 250 grams of mushrooms,
• 700 millilitres of red wine,
• 500 millilitres of beef broth,
• 2 tablespoons of flour,
• 2 tablespoons of butter,
• bouquet garni (thyme, bay leaf, parsley),
• salt and pepper.

Preparation:

1. Cut the beef and bacon into cubes. Sprinkle the beef pieces with salt and pepper and coat with flour.
2. Sauté the bacon in butter. Remove when done.
3. In the same pan, sauté the beef until it becomes browned. Fry the meat in batches. Set the cooked meat aside.
4. Next, in the same pan, sauté quartered mushrooms, chopped onions, diced carrots, and chopped garlic.
5. After a few minutes, add the beef and bacon. Pour in the wine and beef broth, and add the bouquet garni.
6. Bring to a boil. When the stew is boiling, reduce the heat and simmer gently for 2-3 hours, stirring occasionally.
7. When the meat is tender, season the beef bourguignon to taste.
8. Serve with mashed potatoes or tagliatelle.