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BEEF BOURGUIGNON (Boeuf Bourguignon) 

6 Servings

PREPARATION TIME: 4 hours to marinate meat - 3 hours 50 minutes to bake in conventional oven.

This dish reheats very successfully. It can also be frozen successfully.

INGREDIENTS:

2 large onions, cut into thin slices
2 large carrots, cut into 1-inch pieces
1 bottle of dry red wine (Burgundy or Cotes du Rhone)
1 teaspoon dried thyme
1 small bay leaf
1 bundle of parsley stems (6 sprigs)
3 cloves garlic, crushed
6 ounces bacon, coarsly chopped
cold water
4 tablespoons butter
1/2 pound tiny silverskin onions, fresh or frozen (about 12)
pinch sugar
2 1/2 pounds beef chuck
salt and pepper
1 pound fresh mushroom caps
3 tablespoons flour
2 to 3 cups beef broth or consomme as needed
1 tablespoon tomato paste
chopped parsley leaves from 6 sprigs above

PREPARATION: Peel the large onions and the carrot; cut them into thin slices. Empty the bottle of wine into a sauce pan. Add onion, carrot slices and thyme, garlic, bay leaf and parsley stems tied into a bundle. Bring to a boil and simmer for 20 to 25 minutes. Cool. Cut the beef into 1 1/2-inch cubes. Let beef marinate in wine for 4 hours, turning meat occasionally.

Saute bacon in heavy large Dutch oven over high heat until brown and crisp, about 8 minutes. Using slotted spoon, transfer bacon to paper towels to dry. Add the butter to the bacon fat and brown the silverskin onions in the mixture. Add the pinch of sugar for better coloring. Remove to a plate. Do not discard the fat in the pot. Remove beef cubes from wine mixture. Pat dry with paper towel. Brown them on all sides in the same fat, doing it in two batches if necessary so the meat is well browned all around. Remove to a plate. Salt and pepper lightly.

Remove the sliced onion and carrot from the wine by pouring mixture through a large sieve. Save wine. Pat onion and carrot dry. Add vegetables to the braising pot and brown them in the same fat. Their moisture will loosen up all the beef juices caramelized in the pot. When the vegetables have lost all their moisture, add the flour and cook until the onion starts browning.

Off the heat, add the wine and all the aromatics, stirring well with a wooden spoon, and bring to a boil. Add the meat; then add enough beef broth to cover the meat by 1/4 inch. Add the tomato paste and mix well. Cover the pot and bake in a preheated 325 degree F. oven for 1 3/4 hours. After that time, remove the meat to a plate. Strain the sauce into a container, defat it well with a spoon or bulb baster. Return the meat to the pot, mix it with the onions and bacon, add the sauce and the mushrooms, and re-cover pot.

Continue cooking for another 25 to 30 minutes. The meat is done when a skewer inserted in it comes out clean and without effort. If the skewer lifts the meat out of the pot, it is not ready.

Serve in a country-style deep dish sprinkled with chopped parsley. As a vegetable, use noodles or steamed potatoes.

YOUR MEAT: Use exclusively beef chuck (shoulder). The cuts in the round (leg) are much too lean and become stringy.

NOTE: This recipe is similar to most variations of Beef Bourguignon. It has been altered slightly for greater ease of preparation and flavor.

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