A true legend in the French gastronomic landscape, beef bourguignon is found on every table in restaurants across France. How to explain the success of this dish? What is the authentic recipe? And above all... What are the secrets to succeeding every time?
We'll explain it all to you!
A bit of history…
The "stews"
Beef Bourguignon is part of a category of dishes that were once called "stews" ("estouffade" in old French). This old culinary term actually refers to all dishes where the meat is cooked "stewed". One can also say "braised" or even "covered": a slow cooking method, where the meat and vegetables simmer in their juices, often in a cast iron pot with a lid. There are a great many "stews" in French cuisine; it is one of the pillars of our gastronomy. Slow cooking allows for the extraction of all the flavors of the ingredients, and the fat from the meat will give the sauce its generous texture... This technique also allows the meal to be cooked in a single pot, freeing you to attend to other tasks without fear of leaving the stove. In the past, this dish was prepared for festive occasions in the peasant world in Burgundy, served with garlic-rubbed toasted bread. A concentrate of terroir where the meat joined forces with the vegetables to generously feed all the mouths of the household or hamlet. Today, it is found on every table in France, on Sunday lunch with family, most often accompanied by potatoes or pasta.
Regional cuisine
While we can use the term "stews" to generally describe this type of simmered dish, one must remain cautious: no recipe is identical! Do we use pork, beef, veal, or lamb? What vegetables? In which season? And most importantly, in which region of France? According to these different parameters, the "stew" in question will not have the same name. History and geography have shaped French gastronomy. It is rich in remarkable diversity, particularly through the sum of regional culinary traditions. But each region has its specialty! For example, the recipe for beef bourguignon was born in Burgundy : the region produces wine (Pinot Noir) and beef (Charolais). What could be more natural for farmers than to use local resources for cooking? This is probably why the expression "à la bourguignonne" appeared in 19th-century cookbooks: referring to preparations based on wine.
Furthermore, for the recipe for "Provence-style beef stew", we cook beef with typical Provence ingredients: namely, among others, olives and tomatoes. The cooking is also done "stewed"... A sort of "Beef Bourguignon from the Southeast of France" you say? "Nothing to do with it!" purists will answer.
RECIPE
Serves : 8 guests
Preparation : 45 minutes
Marinating : minimum 4 hours
Cooking : 5 hours
Ingredients
2 kg of beef : don't hesitate to mix different cuts, for example, the blade (leaner pieces), the brisket (slightly fattier meat), and the chuck (more gelatinous)
90 g of wheat flour T65
2 L of unthickened veal brown stock
2 squares of dark chocolate
For the marinade :
1.3 L of red wine : if you want to prioritize the regional and traditional pairing for this dish, a Burgundy-Passetoutgrain, for example, may be suitable. Otherwise, any other wine with aromas of red fruits and undergrowth and with a slightly tannic structure will do.
2 onions
6 cloves
300 g of carrots
100 g of turnips
4 crushed garlic cloves
A few peppercorns
A pinch of 4 spices
1 bouquet garni: thyme, parsley stems, 2 bay leaves
For the special "Burgundian" garnish :
300 g of smoked bacon
24 small pearl onions
250 g of mushrooms
15 g of sugar
60 g of butter
Fresh parsley (cut thin)
Preparation
The day before or at least 4 hours before cooking, prepare the marinade: wash and peel the vegetables, cut the carrots into slices and the turnips into quarters, stick one of the onions with the cloves and chop the other into small dice. Cut the meat into cubes of about 60 g each. Marinate together the meat, onions, carrots, turnips, crushed garlic, peppercorns, pinch of mixed spices, and bouquet garni in red wine.
Remove the meat from the marinade with a slotted spoon and set aside. Strain the marinade through a sieve: carefully reserve the liquid in a container and set aside the vegetables.
Heat a cast-iron pot. When it is hot, brown the pieces of meat on all sides for a few minutes. Remove the meat from the pot and set aside.
Quickly sweat the vegetables from the marinade, then return the meat and dust with flour. All the ingredients should be well coated.
Add the marinade and let it reduce almost entirely.
Once the marinade is almost entirely reduced, add the 2 liters of veal stock, cover.
All that's left is to let it cook over low heat for a minimum of 4 hours or in the oven at low temperature (100°C), or on the wood stove.
At the end of cooking, the meat should fall apart on its own, pressing lightly with a fork.
The special Burgundian garnish
15 minutes before serving, prepare what will give its "authentic" effect to the dish: the Burgundian garnish.
Roughly chop (to emphasize the peasant origin of this dish) the bacon and mushrooms. Sauté everything in a frying pan.
Peel the small onions and "glaze" them: to do this, melt the butter and sugar in a sauté pan, then add the onions and cover with water. Let the onions brown and reduce until the sauce coats the wooden spoon.
Add this sauce to the pot with the chocolate squares to give a shiny aspect to the whole.
The presentation
Serve in a shallow bowl: first pour a ladle of beef bourguignon, then add the roasted potatoes and carrots on the side, on top the mushrooms and bacon, as well as the glazed onions.
Finish by sprinkling freshly chopped parsley.
BONUS
The side dish
Potatoes come first in the list of side dishes for beef bourguignon. It is either boiled separately or directly in the pot (in which case, add them at the end of cooking to prevent them from falling apart in the sauce). It can also be served mashed. For a different texture, you can also prepare roasted potatoes and carrots in the oven.
Recipe for roasted potatoes / carrots in the oven
Wash and peel the vegetables with a peeler.
Cut the potatoes in half and the carrots into sticks, rinse well and dry with a clean towel then place them in a bowl.
Add olive oil, thyme, salt, and pepper and mix well to coat all the vegetables.
Place on the rack and bake in the oven at 180°C with the fan on for 45 minutes (or until golden brown).
Food and wine pairing
Time occupies a central place in the recipe. To echo the slowness of cooking, the meat confit slowly in a red wine sauce will require a wine of the same color that has aged a bit (minimum 5 years).
The melting texture of the beef will also call for a wine with softened tannins, which will have benefited from a few years of aging to blend in the bottle.
A heady wine, with a slightly spicy nose, would highlight the creaminess and aromas of the dish. The typical example of this wine profile is found in the Châteauneuf-du-Pape appellation in particular.
However, the regional pairing will often be appropriate, with a Côte-de-Nuits village to choose from the 2018 vintage onwards. Domaine Naudin-Ferrand is an ideal option. The "Viola Odorata" cuvée evolves over the years towards notes of mushroom and stewed cherry for a perfect harmony with the aromatic complexity and richness of the dish.
Bon appétit !