Beef Bourguignon

Serves 4

Ingredients

  • 2 lbs beef chuck, cut into 1" cubes

For Marinade

  • 1 small onion, chopped
  • 4 ribs celery, chopped
  • 2 small carrots, chopped
  • 4 bay leaves
  • ½ bunch fresh thyme
  • 4 cups dry red wine

For Searing the Beef

  • ½ tsp salt
  • ¼ tsp cracked black pepper
  • 2 tbsp olive oil
  • 1-2 cups all-purpose flour

For Braising

  • 4 garlic cloves, chopped
  • reserved vegetables & herbs from marinade, strained
  • reserved red wine from marinade
  • 4 cups low-sodium beef broth

Garnish (optional)

  • chopped fresh herbs and/or scallions
  • bacon
  • sauteed mushrooms

Special Equipment

  • large, heavy-bottomed, oven-proof stock pot w/ lid

How-to

Marinate

  1. Place beef into a large nonreactive pan or baking dish
  2. Add mirepoix (onion, celery, carrots), bay leaves, thyme and red wine
  3. Cover with plastic wrap, pushing the wrap down onto the ingredients, and refrigerate overnight or up to 3 days
  4. Strain vegetables from the wine and set aside, also reserving the wine

Sear

  1. Remove beef from wine and pat dry
  2. Season beef with salt and pepper
  3. The beef may need to be seared in batches as to not overcrowd the pan. Heat 1 tbsp of olive oil in heavy-bottomed stock pot on medium heat
  4. While oil is heating, lightly dredge beef in flour to coat, tapping off excess flour
  5. Add half of the beef to the hot oil and brown on all sides, about 5-10 minutes total, moving beef as little as possible. Once each side forms a nice crust, the meat will naturally release itself from the pan
  6. Remove browned meat to a plate and set aside
  7. Add remaining oil, and sear remaining beef. Repeat until browned, remove to plate with the rest of the beef and set aside

Braise & Serve

  1. Preheat oven to 350º
  2. To the same pan used to sear the beef, add garlic and sweat for about 30 seconds on medium heat
  3. Add strained vegetables and sauté until softened, about 10 minutes
  4. Add reserved wine from marinade. Raise heat back up to medium-high, and allow liquid to reduce by a little less than ½ the original volume. This will take approximately 5 minutes
  5. Add beef back to the pan, add beef broth, cover, and place in the pre-heated oven to braise for 3 hours
  6. Ladle into bowls and garnish with chopped herbs and/or scallions