America’s Test Kitchen – Serves 6 to 8

I can’t say ‘Beef Bourguignon’ without thinking of Julia Child’s high-pitched voice, French accent, and her difficult recipes from Mastering the Art of French Cooking. Imitating her is fun, and I’m glad I found a recipe that’s just as delicious but much easier to make. 

The fresh herbs, mushrooms, and tomatoes give this dish layers of flavor, and the gelatin creates a mouthwatering, smooth, silky sauce. Cooked slowly in rich wine, the dish is deep and savory. Once you start eating, you just want more. 

Around the first week of February, I host the “It’s not a Birthday Dinner” for a group of special friends. We all pretend it isn’t a birthday party and we gather to have a good meal (wink, wink). There is no singing, and definitely no birthday gifts—just a nice dinner. 

On one of these NOT special occasion Birthday dinner parties, I made this recipe for Beef Bourguignon (did you hear Julia’s voice say it?).  The birthday girls…oops, I mean Marilyn and Marcella, being T-Rexes (meat-eating carnivores), loved this dish, especially the silky sauce. With looks of guilty pleasure, they both picked up their plates and high-tailed it into the kitchen for a second helping. Just as they were eyeing their plates for thirds, I strategically announced that there was soufflé for dessert. Because, for God’s sake, we couldn’t have a birthday cake!

Ingredients

• 4 lb Boneless beef chuck-eye roast cut into two inch pieces
• Salt and pepper
• 6 oz Salt pork cut into ¼ inch pieces
• 3 T Unsalted butter
• 1 lb Cremini mushrooms
• 1 ½ C Frozen pearl onions
• 1 T Sugar
• 1/3 C All-purpose flour (Note: for gluten free, substitute corn starch.)4 C Beef broth (32-oz)
• 1 Red Burgundy or pinot noir, 750-ml wine
• 5 t Unflavored gelatin
• 1 T Tomato paste
• 1 t Anchovy paste
• 2 Onions, chopped coarse
• 2 Carrots, peeled and cut into two-inch lengths
• 1 Garlic head, cloves separated, unpeeled, and crushed
• 2 Bay leaves
• ½  t Black peppercorns
• ½ oz Dried porcini mushrooms, rinsed
• 10 Sprigs fresh parsley, plus three tablespoons minced
• 6 Sprigs of fresh thyme

Directions

• Thaw your frozen pearl onions. 
• Trim your roast and cut it into two inch pieces, then add them to a medium bowl. Reserve the scraps in a large roasting pan for later.  Sprinkle beef cubes with 1 1/2 teaspoons salt, toss to mix and allow to stand at room temperature for 30 minutes.
• Cut six oz of salt pork into ¼ inch pieces, and place into a large roasting pan. 
• Cut the large mushrooms into quarters, and medium mushrooms in half; place on a rimmed baking sheet. 
• Coarsely chop your onions, and peel and cut carrots into 2″ lengths.
• Set up your oven by placing one rack in the lower-middle position and a second rack in the lowest position—preheat to 500 degrees.
• Add two tablespoons of butter to the large roasting pan with salt pork and beef scraps. 
• Roast on the lower-middle rack until well browned for 15-to-20 minutes until the fat has rendered.
• Combine pearl onions, one tablespoon butter, and sugar with the mushrooms on a rimmed baking sheet. Toss to combine and roast on the lowest oven rack for 15 to 20 minutes. After the moisture from the mushrooms has evaporated and the vegetables are lightly glazed, empty them into a large bowl, cover with plastic wrap, and refrigerate.
• After removing the roasting pan from the oven, reduce the temperature to 325 degrees. 
• Sprinkle 1/3 cup flour over rendered fat and whisk until incorporated. Whisk in four cups beef broth, two cups wine, five teaspoons gelatin, one tablespoon tomato paste, and one teaspoon anchovy paste. Add onions, carrots, garlic, bay leaves, peppercorns, porcini mushrooms, parsley sprigs, and thyme to the pan. Arrange beef into a single layer on top of the vegetables. Add water (perhaps two cups) as needed to come three-quarters up the side of the meat. Beef should not be submerged.
• Bake for 3 to 3-1/2 hours at 325 degrees until the meat becomes tender, stirring after 90 minutes and adding water to keep the meat at least half-submerged.
• Remove beef with a slotted spoon, adding to the bowl with cremini mushrooms and pearl onions; cover and set aside on the countertop.
• Set a fine-mesh strainer over a medium/large bowl, and strain braising liquid, pressing on solids to yield as much liquid as possible. Discard the spent solids. 
• Stir in the remaining wine and allow the cooking liquid to settle for 10 minutes. Use a wide, shallow spoon to skim the fat off the surface and discard it.
• Add strained liquid to the Dutch oven and bring to a boil over a medium-high burner. Reduce the burner to maintain a brisk simmer for 15 to 20 minutes, until it thickens to the consistency of heavy cream.
• Reduce the burner to medium-low, and stir in the beef and mushroom-onion garnish. Cover the pot, and cook for five to eight minutes until just heated through. Adjust seasoning with salt and pepper according to your taste. Sprinkle on the minced parsley and serve.