Beef and red wine makes a great pair.  Beef IN red wine?….. now that’s a perfect match.

Beef bourguignon is one of the best beef dishes EVER!  What’s even better is that it tastes better the second and/or third day.  I’ve made this stew and froze it in batches for up to 2 weeks.  It’s perfect to make for a big dinner party.  You can make it way ahead of time and heat it up when your guests arrive.  Your kitchen will be filled with this amazing, sweet, red wine aroma and your guests will think you’re Julia Child 🙂

There’s many variations of this recipe.  Some call for tomato paste, some call for parsley, some call for bouillon, etc. etc….  You kinda have to try a few and find what works best for you.  I always try to find the shortcuts with best flavors.  I finished mine off with sautéed mushrooms and pearl onions, which is optional, but makes it oh so good, so I say it’s a must.  This may sound intimidating, but if you have everything prepped, it’s super simple.

Ingredients: 

• About 8 ounces of thick cut bacon (you can substitute for turkey bacon), cut into strips
• 3 lbs beef for stew (rump, chuck, sirloin tip, top round, or bottom round.) cut into 1 1/2 inch pieces
• Salt and pepper
• 1 large carrot, 1/4 inch slices
• 1 red onion, sliced
• 2 tbsp all-purpose flour
• 2 and 1/2 cups red wine (preferably a Beaujolais, Cotes du Rhone, Bordeaux-St, Emilion, Burgundy, or Chianti)
• 1 cup beef stock
• 4-5 sprigs of fresh thyme
• 1-2 dried bay leaves
• 4 cloves garlic, smashed
• 1 tbsp oil, only if needed

For the Onion and Mushrooms topping:

• 1 tbsp butter
• 6-8 mushrooms, quartered
• 7-8 pearl onions
• Salt and pepper to taste

Instructions:

• Preheat oven to 450 degrees.
• Pat the beef dry with a paper towel, and lightly sprinkle with salt and pepper and set aside.
• Heat the olive oil in a Dutch oven over medium-high heat. Add the bacon and cook for 5-8 minutes until browned, and fat has accumulated at the bottom of the pan. Remove the bacon with a slotted spoon and set aside.
• Make sure the fat is super hot, then add in the beef, in batches, and brown on all sides.  You MUST do this in batches so you don’t crowd the pan because you want to sear the meat and not simmer.  Set the beef aside.
• Add a tablespoon of oil, only if needed, and add the chopped carrots and onion to the fat and cook for a couple minutes until lightly browned.
• Add the bacon and beef to the vegetables. Sprinkle the flour all over and toss to coat.  Sauté for about 2 minutes.
• Add in the wine, stock, herbs, and garlic and carefully stir to combine, scraping off all the brown bits on the bottom of the pan.  The meat should be completely covered in the liquid, by a ratio of 2:3
• Reduce the oven heat to 325 degrees.  Cover and place pot in the oven.  Cook for 2-3 hours, checking every half hour to make sure nothing is sticking to the pan.

While the meat is cooking, prepare the onions, mushrooms.  This is optional, but trust me you want to complete the recipe with this step.  It just brings everything together perfectly.

• While the meat is finishing up, heat a pan on medium low heat.
• Add the butter.  Once melted add the pearl onions and sauté for about 4-5 minutes, until a bit soft.
• Once the onions are a bit softer, add the mushrooms and sauté for about 3-4 minutes.
• Take the beef out of the oven and add the onions and mushrooms.  Stir to combine.
• Sprinkle with chopped parsley and serve with boiled or mashed potatoes.  It also tastes great with white rice or egg noodles.

**Note: If you want to store the meat, you can either completely fully or stop before adding the mushrooms and onion.  I like adding the sautéed mushroom and onion when I reheat the meat.  Let the meat cool down completely before putting it in the fridge or freezing.