This is the best Beef Bourguignon recipe! My family makes it every year for Christmas Eve dinner and we always get rave reviews. We usually have to triple the recipe as everyone wants second helpings and neighbors love to drop by for a bite. It’s a long process and it took us a few tries to really perfect it, but it is amazing and so delicious. We usually serve it over a good helping of mashed potatoes, but you can serve it on its own as well. Enjoy!
Ingredients: (serves 6)
- 3 cups dry red wine (does not have to be fancy/expensive, we usually just buy the large jug of Carlo Rossi Burgandy)
- ¼ cup Marc de Bourgogne (or 3 T brandy plus 2T grappa, or ¼ cup brandy)
- 2 ¼ cup beef stock (can use canned)
- 1 large onion, peeled and cut in quarters
- 6 garlic cloves, peeled and sliced
- 12 parsley stems
- 1 tsp dried thyme
- 2 carrots, peeled and cut in large chunks
- 1 tsp dried rosemary
- 14 black peppercorns
- 6 whole cloves
- 6 allspice berries
- 1 bay leaf
- 3 lbs beef chuck, cut into 2-inch pieces
- ½ lb slab bacon
- 6 T unsalted butter (plus 1 T softened unsalted butter)
- 1 T olive oil
- 1 T tomato paste
- ¾ lb pearl onions, carefully peeled
- 1 tsp sugar
- 1 T flour
1. In a large bowl, combine the red wine, beef stock, brandy, onion, carrots, garlic, parsley, thyme, rosemary, peppercorns, cloves, allspice, and bay leaf. Stir well. Add the beef and stir again. Refrigerate covered overnight.
2. The next day, drain the beef, reserving the marinade and vegetables separately. Pat the beef dry with paper towels and season it well with salt and pepper.
3. Preheat the oven to 275 degrees
4. Remove the outer rind of the bacon. Cut the slab the long way into ¼ inch thick slices and cut these into lardons that are ½ inch long. Cover the lardons and the rind with cold water and bring to a boil.
5. Turn down the heat and simmer for about 3 minutes. Remove the lardons and the rind, reserving both.
6. Add 2 T of butter and the olive oil to a large Dutch oven set over medium heat. Dry off the lardons, add them to the Dutch oven and stir often until they are golden. With a slotted spoon, transfer the lardons to a paper towel (or several) to drain.
7. In the same Dutch oven over high heat, brown the drained and dried off beef in the remaining bacon fat. Do this in smaller batches so that the beef browns evenly. When you are done, pour off all but 1 T of fat before returning all of the browned beef into the pot.
8. Add the vegetable and herb mixture (from the marinade) and cook over medium-to-high heat for 5 minutes, stirring constantly.
9. Add the reserved marinade liquid, tomato paste, lardons, and bacon rind. Bring the liquid to a boil and season with salt and pepper to taste. Cook in the oven, covered, for 3 hours
10. After the 3 hours, remove and discard any large chunks of onions, carrots, and parsley stems. Skim the fat from the stew. We also like to try and remove some of the peppercorns as we’ve learned from personal experience (and from some guests) that they are not very fun to bite into.
11. Make the vegetable garnish – place the peeled pearl onions in a skillet, covering them with water. Add 1 T of butter, sugar, and salt and pepper to taste. Simmer the onions over medium heat until they are almost tender. Raise the heat to high and reduce the cooking liquid to 2 T. Continue to cook the onions until they are golden brown and glazed.
12. In the meantime, prepare the beurre manie – cream together the T of softened butter with one T of flour. Roll the mixture into pieces the size of peas
13. Add the cooked onions to the stew. Bring the liquid to a simmer. Add the beurre manie, bit by bit, stirring constantly to thicken the sauce.
14. Serve and enjoy!
