French · Main · Hard
Beef Bourguignon
Chunks of beef braised low and slow in red wine with mushrooms, pearl onions, and bacon until meltingly tender. The ultimate French comfort dish, rich, glossy, and deeply savory.
The whole recipe in 60 seconds
Beef Bourguignon, in 5 ideas
- Use a Burgundy style pinot noir you would actually drink, cheap wine makes a thin tasting sauce.
- Brown the beef in small batches so it sears instead of steaming, this builds the flavor base.
- The stew tastes even better the next day, so make it ahead and reheat gently.
- Do not skip the mushroom and pearl onion garnish, it adds texture contrast to the soft beef.
- If the sauce is too thin, simmer it uncovered for the last 20 minutes to reduce.
What you need
Ingredients
- 3 lbs beef chuck, cut into 2 inch cubes
- 6 oz thick cut bacon, diced
- 1 large yellow onion, diced
- 3 cloves garlic, minced
- 3 tbsp tomato paste
- 3 tbsp all purpose flour
- 3 cups dry red wine, such as pinot noir
- 2 cups beef stock
- 2 tbsp fresh thyme leaves
- 2 bay leaves
- 1 lb small mushrooms, halved
- 1 lb frozen pearl onions, thawed
How to make it
Directions
- Pat the beef dry and season generously with salt and pepper. Brown in batches in a heavy Dutch oven over medium high heat, then set aside.
- Render the diced bacon until crisp, then saute the onion until soft. Stir in garlic and tomato paste and cook 2 minutes.
- Sprinkle flour over the vegetables, stir to coat, and cook 2 minutes to toast the flour.
- Pour in the red wine, scraping up the browned bits, then add stock, thyme, bay leaves, beef, and bacon. Bring to a simmer.
- Cover and braise in a 325F oven for 2.5 to 3 hours, until the beef is fork tender.
- While the stew braises, brown the mushrooms and pearl onions in butter until golden and set aside.
- Stir the mushrooms and onions into the finished stew, skim excess fat, and serve over mashed potatoes or crusty bread.
Beef chuck is the best value cut for this dish, it gets more tender the longer it cooks, and leftover stew reheats beautifully for lunch.