alexEats: Boeuf à la Bourguignonne

The menu for this weekend was Beef Burgundy. This has become my standard procedure for any sort of braised dish and I think it works rather well. And yes, I know. I call this a Beef Burgundy even though I used cabernet sauvignon, so it's not completely traditional but it doesn't matter as long as it tastes good. I served this with a Pommes De Terre a la Boulangere, which is basically just a french potato casserole with lots of bacon and caramelized onion. The recipe is adapted from my friends at America's Test Kitchen. The potatoes are especially good if you throw in some of the rendered fat from the beef stew.

Ingredients for the Stew

3 to 4 pounds of beef (The best cut you could use would be short ribs, but unfortunately they have become very popular and are now more expensive. If short ribs are not an option, I recommend beef chuck, which comes from the shoulder of the cow and has a decent amount of flavor as well as a good price.)

Tablespoon of Vegetable Oil (or any oil with a high smoke point)

1 cup of water to deglaze

Bottle of red wine (doesn't have to be expensive, just drinkable. I used a cabernet sauvignon, but you could really use any full-bodied red wine)

4 to 6 cups of chicken broth, beef broth, or a mix (homemade if you can)

2 onions

5 carrots, peeled or washed

3 stalks of celery

3 cloves garlic

2 anchovies (sounds weird, but trust me)

3 bay leaves

A few sprigs of thyme

2 or 3 tbsp tomato paste

1 bag of frozen pearl onions

Ingredients for the Potatoes

3 pounds of yukon gold potatoes, sliced 1/4 inch thick

1/2 Pound of bacon

2 sweet onions, thinly sliced

2 cups beef broth

2 Tbsp butter

1/4 cup of grated Parmigiano or Pecorino (Optional- I added this on a whim)

Parsley, for garnish

Salt and Pepper, of course

Cube the beef into 1 or 2 inch pieces.

Season with salt and pepper. Heat oil in pan until barely smoking. It's best not to use a non-stick pan here or you wont get the fond which gives the stew that deep, savory flavor. You want to get some very good color on the meat, which will also give it great flavor.

Fry the meat in batches so that you dont crowd the pan. When each batch is browned, transfer to a dutch oven or other large, heavy bottomed, oven safe vessel. Then, while the saute pan is still hot, pour in about a 1/4 cup of water and scrape the bottom, to loosen the fond. Then pour this into the dutch oven as well, and repeat until all the meat is browned. Note: the beef will still be quite raw in the center.

Have a sip of wine while you're cooking.

More Mise-en-place. Slice up your onion, celery, and 2 of the carrots into large pieces (this is merely for flavor, and will be strained out prior to serving)

Saute the veggies until starting to caramelize. Add a pinch of salt and pepper, as well as the herbs. When beginning to brown, add the anchovies and tomato paste, and cook until the paste is just darkening on the bottom of the pan (Do not let it burn!). By the way, the anchovies and tomato paste are essential ingredients because they both contain high levels of glutamates, which boost meaty, savory flavors. Just before you think the paste is going to burn, add all but about a 1/4 cup of the wine, and scrape up any bits on the bottom of the pan. Transfer this to the dutch oven as well. Add enough broths/stocks to the dutch oven to cover the meat by about an inch and bring to a boil. Then place the dutch oven, covered, in a 325 degree oven for 2 or 3 hours, or until very tender.

For the potato casserole, saute the onions with salt, pepper, and thyme until very dark brown, adding a tbsp of water every now and then if necessary, 20-25 minutes. Move to the bowl with the sliced potatoes. Then cut the bacon, and cook until crisp, and add the the potatoes. Mix them all together and add to a 9 1/2 by 11 inch dish, and pour broth around the sides. Top with cheese and dot with butter.

When ready to cook, throw in a 425 degree oven for an hour or so, until the potatoes are tender and the top is well browned.

Meanwhile, saute the pearl onions in some butter until browned.

When the meat is tender, move it to another bowl and strain the liquid to remove all the vegetables. Make sure to press on the strainer to get all the flavor out.

Then chop some more carrots, and simmer them in the jus until just tender. Right before you serve, add the last bit of wine. Wine should usually be cooked for a long time before eaten, with a french trick is to add a small amount before service which will wake up the flavors a bit, and add some much needed acid to such a rich, heavy stew.