Description
Classic French Beef Bourguignon, also known as Beef Burgundy, is a rich and flavorful slow-cooked stew featuring tender chuck beef marinated in red wine, braised with bacon, mushrooms, pearl onions, and aromatic herbs. This recipe highlights the traditional technique of marinating, browning, and oven-braising to develop deep flavors and melt-in-your-mouth texture, perfect served over creamy mashed potatoes.
Ingredients
Scale
Beef Marinade
- 800g/1.6 lb chuck beef, cut in 4-5 cm / 2” cubes
- 2 large carrots (~300g/10oz), cut on an angle into 4-5 cm / 2” pieces
- 16 pearl onions or small, round pickling onions
- 1 bay leaf, fresh (substitute dried bay leaf if needed)
- 3 sprigs thyme
- 750ml/25 oz pinot noir or other red wine
Browning Beef
- 3 tbsp oil (olive, canola or vegetable)
- 3/4 tsp salt
- 1/2 tsp black pepper
Stew
- 200g/7oz mushrooms, halved (quartered if large)
- 150g/5oz bacon piece, cut into 1cm / 1/2” thick batons
- 50g/3 tbsp unsalted butter
- 3 garlic cloves, minced
- 2 tbsp tomato paste
- 6 tbsp plain/all purpose flour
- 3 cups beef stock (low sodium), preferably homemade
- 1/4 tsp salt, plus more to taste
- 2 tbsp chopped parsley, for garnish
Instructions
- Marinate beef: Place the chuck beef, carrots, pearl onions, bay leaf, thyme, and red wine in a large, non-reactive ceramic dish or ziplock bag. Marinate overnight in the refrigerator for at least 12 hours up to 24 hours to enhance flavor and tenderness. The next day, strain the marinade, reserving the liquid, and separate the beef and vegetables.
- Reduce wine: Pour the reserved red wine marinade into a saucepan, bring to a boil over medium-high heat, then reduce to a vigorous simmer. Skim off any impurities that rise to the surface and simmer until the wine is reduced by half. Set aside.
- Preheat oven and prepare beef: Preheat the oven to 180°C / 350°F (160°C fan). Spread the drained beef on a tray lined with paper towels and pat dry thoroughly to avoid steaming instead of browning. Season the beef with 3/4 tsp salt and 1/2 tsp black pepper evenly.
- Brown beef: Heat 2 tbsp oil in a large, heavy-based, oven-proof pot over high heat. Add one-third of the beef cubes and brown them aggressively on all sides until well caramelized. Remove browned beef to a bowl and repeat with remaining beef, adding more oil if necessary.
- Cook bacon: In the same pot, add the bacon and cook for about 3 minutes until golden and slightly crisp. Remove bacon and add it to the bowl with the browned beef.
- Sauté mushrooms: Add mushrooms to the pot and cook over medium-high heat for 5 minutes, or until golden. Remove them into a separate bowl.
- Sauté onions: Add a little more oil if necessary and cook the pearl onions for 5 minutes until nicely golden. Combine with the mushrooms in their bowl.
- Sauté carrots and garlic: Melt the butter in the pot, then add the carrots and cook for 3-4 minutes until golden patches appear. Stir in minced garlic and cook for an additional 1 minute to release aroma.
- Add tomato paste and flour: Stir in tomato paste and cook for 2 minutes to develop sweetness. Sprinkle flour over the vegetables and cook for another 2 minutes, stirring constantly to form a roux.
- Add liquids: While stirring continuously, gradually pour in the beef stock to dissolve the flour without lumps. Add the reduced wine and stir until the mixture is mostly lump-free and uniform.
- Add meat and seasonings: Return the browned beef, bacon, thyme sprigs, bay leaf, salt (1/4 tsp), and pepper to the pot. Stir well to combine all ingredients.
- Oven braise 1 hour: Bring the mixture to a gentle simmer on the stovetop. Cover with a lid and transfer the pot to the preheated oven for 1 hour to begin slow cooking the meat.
- Add mushrooms and onions: After 1 hour, remove the pot from the oven, stir in the sautéed mushrooms and onions evenly into the stew.
- Oven braise additional 1.5 hours: Cover again and return the pot to the oven for another 1.5 hours or until the beef is tender and falls apart easily.
- Adjust seasoning: Remove the stew from the oven, taste the sauce, and add additional salt if needed based on the saltiness of bacon and beef stock used.
- Optional overnight rest: For best flavor, allow the stew to rest overnight refrigerated. Reheat gently on the stovetop over low heat before serving.
- Serve: Serve hot, preferably over creamy mashed potatoes to soak up the rich sauce. Garnish with chopped parsley.
Notes
- When scaling up the recipe, brown meat and vegetables in batches to achieve proper caramelization without crowding the pan.
- Use chuck beef with good marbling for juiciness and tenderness. Avoid pre-cut small pieces that risk overcooking.
- Pearl onions can be substituted with pickling onions peeled after soaking or with yellow/brown onions sliced appropriately.
- Pinot Noir is traditional, but an affordable red wine suitable for cooking will work well.
- Bacon adds important fat and seasoning; speck or streaky bacon are good alternatives.
- Use good-quality homemade or butcher-sourced beef stock; avoid powdered stock for best flavor.
- Flour lumps may form but will dissolve during slow cooking—no need to worry.
- Oven braising is preferred for effortless, even cooking; stovetop simmering with lids works as an alternative with careful stirring. Slow cooker adaptation requires additional reducing step.
- Salt adjustment at the end is critical as bacon and stock saltiness vary greatly.
- The stew keeps well refrigerated for up to 5 days and freezes excellently.
Nutrition
- Serving Size: 1 serving (approx. 280g)
- Calories: 480 kcal
- Sugar: 6 g
- Sodium: 550 mg
- Fat: 25 g
- Saturated Fat: 9 g
- Unsaturated Fat: 13 g
- Trans Fat: 0.2 g
- Carbohydrates: 18 g
- Fiber: 3 g
- Protein: 40 g
- Cholesterol: 110 mg
