Julia's Beef Bourguignon

Sunday we all got together to celebrate Alyssa's homecoming and birthday....a little late on the birthday part! We are so glad to have her back, close to us!


We had Julia Child's Beef Bourguignon for dinner...it was a huge hit!!! (I even wore my pearls!)

Julia Child's Beef Bourguignon

Serves 6
1 6oz piece of chunk bacon
3 1/2 T. Olive Oil
3 lbs. lean stewing beef, cut into 2 inch cubes
1 carrot (I used baby carrots)
1 onion, sliced
salt and pepper
2 T. flour
3 cups red wine (I used cooking wine)
2 1/2 to 3 1/2 cups brown beef stock
1 T tomato paste
2 cloves garlic, mashed
1/2 tsp. thyme
1 bay leaf
18-24 mini white onions
3 1/2 T Butter
Herb bouquet: 4 parsley sprigs, one half bay leaf, 1/4 tsp thyme, tied in cheesecloth

Directions: Preheat oven to 450 degrees
cut bacon into lardons (sticks 1/2 in thick and 1 1/2 in long). Simmer in 1 1/2 qts water for 10 minutes. Drain and dry.
Saute lardons in 1 T. olive oil for 2-3 minutes to brown lightly. (mine never did brown!)
Remove to a side dish with a slotted spoon.

Dry beef in paper towels; it will not brown if it is damp. Heat fat until almost smoking. Add beef a FEW pieces at a time. Saute until nicely browned on all sides. Add to bacon.
In the same fat, brown the carrots and onions. Pour out excess fat. Add your bacon and beef to the pan and and toss with 1/2 tsp of salt and 1/4 tsp pepper. Then lightly toss the flour to coat.
Pour all into a 3 qt. casserole ( I tried a 2.5 qt and it was not big enough!!) that has a cover. Set uncovered in the middle rack of oven for 4 minutes. Toss meat again and return to oven for 4 minutes. (this browns the beef and covers it with a light crust.
Remove casserole and turn oven to 350 degrees. Stir in wine and enough stock so that the stew is barely covered. Take 1/2 cup stock and mix in the tomato paste, garlic and herbs. Pour over stew and mix. Cover casserole and set in middle of oven. Regulate heat so that liquid simmers very slowly for 3-4 hours (I had to turn my oven down 3 times so it wasn't boiling! Also, I only cooked mine for 2 1/2 hours....because of time)
While the beef is cooking, prepare onions. Heat 1 1/2 T butter with 1 1/2 T of the oil until bubbling in a skillet. Add onions and saute for 10 minutes so they will brown as evenly as possible. Be careful NOT to break their skins. You cannot expect them to brown uniformly. Add 1/2 cup stock, salt and pepper to taste and the herb bouquet. Cover and simmer slowly fpr 30-40 minutes until the onions are perfectly tender but hold their shape (this was actually my favorite part!) Set aside.
When the stew is done, pour contents of the casserole into a sieve with a saucepan underneath. Wash out casserole and return stew to it. Spread onions over the top. Skim fat off sauce in saucepan. Simmer sauce for a minute or 2, skimming off additional fat as it rises. You should have about 2 1/2 cups of sauce. Pour sauce over stew. Cover and place in oven for a few minutes. Baste the sauce over stew before serving. Serve in casserole OR on a platter with potatoes, buttered noodles, or rice.
We had ours with potatoes. We cooked a whole bag of golden potatoes and it wasn't enough!! ha!
ENJOY!!!