Boeuf Bourguignon

Here's Mark Bittman's recipe for Beef Stew with Bacon, Red Wine, and Mushrooms, more popularly known as Boeuf Bourguignon.

Like coq au vin, this is a slow recipe that takes careful attention to a couple of ingredients: the bacon must be good slab bacon, nice and smoky and not too lean, and the wine should be fruity and worthy of drinking (there are Burgundies and American Pinot Noirs that meet this requirement and cost around ten bucks a bottle).

By all means, make this a day or two in advance if you like, then refrigerate and skim the fat if that's your preference. Reheating will take only about 15 minutes.

New potatoes, roasted in olive oil or butter, are terrific alongside this stew, but so is crusty bread. Round out things with a steamed vegetable or salad.

TOTAL TIME
2 hours

Ingredients

* 1 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil
* 1/4 pound good slab bacon, cut into 1/2-inch cubes
* 2 pounds beef chuck, cut into 1 1/2- to 2-inch cubes
* Salt and pepper to taste
* 1 large onion, peeled and chopped
* 3 or 4 thyme sprigs
* 3 bay leaves
* 2 cloves garlic, peeled and lightly crushed
* 1/2 cup chopped fresh parsley leaves, plus more for garnish
* 1 cup good red wine, preferably pinot noir
* 12 small white (button) mushrooms, trimmed and cut in half or quarters
* 12 pearl onions, peeled (frozen are O.K.), optional
* Stock or water if necessary

Preparation

1.
Put oil in a Dutch oven or casserole that can later be covered; turn heat to medium. Add bacon, and cook, stirring occasionally, until it is crisp and has given up most of its fat, about 10 minutes. Remove with a slotted spoon, add meat, and turn heat to medium-high. Cook, turning cubes as they brown and sprinkling them with salt and pepper, until meat is brown and crisp all over, at least 10 minutes. Remove with a slotted spoon.
2.
Turn heat to medium, and add onions, thyme, bay leaves, garlic and parsley, with more salt and pepper. Cook, stirring occasionally, until onion softens, about 5 minutes. Add wine, and let it bubble for a minute, then return meat to pan.
3.
Cover and adjust heat so mixture simmers gently for about an hour, then add mushrooms, onions and bacon. Re-cover, and cook until tender, adding a little more liquid if mixture threatens to dry out. Depending on meat, dish could be done in as little as 30 minutes more, or three times as long. Taste and adjust seasoning, then garnish and serve, or cover and refrigerate for up to 2 days before reheating.

YIELD
4 servings

* Originally published with THE MINIMALIST; Tough Made Tender: Braising Chuck
* By Mark Bittman, March 16, 2005