Beef Bourguignon

Prep Time

20 mins

Cook Time

3 hours

Total Time

3hrs 20 mins

How to make beef bourguignon

Nothing beats the rich and smoky flavour of a slow cooked beef bourguignon in a wood-fired oven. Make sure you source good-quality, well-marbled braising meat from a reputable butcher for this beef bourguignon recipe and make sure you serve it with creamy truffled mashed potatoes, roasted carrots and a glass or two of red wine.

Ingredients

1.5Kg braising chuck steak, cut into chunky pieces
4–5 tbsp olive oil
200g smoked streaky bacon, cut into thick lardons
1 large onion, finely chopped
2 garlic cloves, crushed
1 large carrot, peeled and cut into small cubes
2 celery sticks, diced into small cubes
2 tbsp plain flour
100ml brandy
1 bottle full-bodied red wine
500ml beef stock
1 large bay leaf
3 bushy sprigs fresh thyme
25g unsalted butter
24 baby onions
300g chestnut mushrooms, wiped and halved or quartered if large
Sea salt and freshly ground black pepper
1 tbsp freshly chopped flat-leaf parsley, to garnish

Method

Pre-heat your wood-fired oven to 200°C.
In a large flame-proof casserole dish, heat two tablespoons of the oil in a large frying pan. Fry the beef in three batches over a medium–high heat until nicely browned on all sides, turning every now and then and adding more oil if necessary. Drain and set aside.
Pour a little more oil into the casserole in which the beef was browned and fry the bacon lardons for 2–3 minutes, or until the fat crisps and browns. Drain and set aside. Add a touch more oil to the casserole dish and fry the chopped onion, garlic, carrot and celery over a low heat for 5 minutes, stirring often until softened.
Add the meat back to the casserole dish and mix well, sprinkle with the flour and allow the mix to cook gently for 2 minutes. Pour the brandy, flambé and reduce the liquid by half. Add the red wine and reduce by 2 thirds before adding the beef stock. Add the herbs and bring the stock to a simmer. Stir well and transfer the casserole dish to your wood-fired oven. Cook for 30 minutes without a lid at 200°C, then cook with a lid on for 2 hours with the flue and door closed, or until the beef is completely tender.
While the beef is cooking, peel the baby onions. Place the onions in a heatproof bowl and cover with just-boiled water. Leave to stand for five minutes and then drain. When the onions are cool enough to handle, trim off the root close to the end so they do not fall apart and peel off the skin.
A few minutes before the beef is ready, melt half of the butter in a large non-stick frying pan with a touch of oil and fry the onions over a medium heat for about 5 minutes, or until golden brown on all sides. Tip into a bowl. Add the remaining butter and add the mushrooms to the pan and cook for 2–3 minutes over a high heat until golden brown, turning often.
Remove the casserole from the oven 30 minutes before and stir in the onions, mushrooms and smoked streaky bacon. Return to the oven and cook for the last 30 minutes, or until the beef is meltingly tender and the sauce is thick.
To serve the beef bourguignon, remove the thyme stalks and sprinkle the casserole dish with chopped parsley and serve with truffled mashed potatoes and roasted carrots.