Red Wine Beef Stew (Beef Bourguignon) Dutch Oven Recipe

Ingredients:

2 lbs beef chuck

6 strips bacon, julienned

10 pearl onions

5 cloves garlic kept whole

2 cloves garlic, minced

2 glasses of red wine for the stew (Chianti, Beaujolais, Cabernet Sauvignon)

3 c beef stock

3 whole carrots, halved and slice to 1/2 thick slices

1 sprig fresh thyme

8 oz cremini mushrooms

1/4 c tomato paste

1/4 c red wine for the mushrooms

2 tbsp ap flour

Kosher salt

Black pepper

2 tbsp oil

3 tbsp butter

Tools needed:

Sharp knife

Cutting board

Measuring cup

Dutch oven

Oven, stove top

Slotted spoon

How to make it:

Preheat oven to 325

Wash and cut carrots, peel onions and garlic.

Cut bacon

Cut beef into 1 inch cubes trimming off fattier parts if desired.

Heat dutch over high heat until smoking, add oil and half amount of the beef.   Brown all sides of the meat, this usually takes around 3-6 minutes depending on how you cut the meat and how hot you have your burner.  Pull from dutch oven, set aside on a plate and brown the second batch.   Set second batch aside once browned and add the julienned bacon to the dutch oven.   Render bacon until it starts to crisp, pull from the dutch oven and set aside on a plate separate from the meat.  Pour out half of the fat rendered from the bacon reserving it for other uses.  Add the carrots, onion and garlic.  Salt with a pinch of kosher salt and sweat ingredients for 2-3 minutes just until they start to caramelize.  Pull from dutch oven and set aside on the plate with the bacon.   

Add meat back to the dutch oven with 1 tbsp butter, season with a pinch of salt and fresh cracked black pepper.  Add the 2 tbsp flour and mix well into the beef.   Cook for 2-3 minutes to get the rawness off the flour and brown slightly.  Deglaze the dutch oven with 1 glass red wine carefully scraping the browned goodies stuck to the bottom of the oven.   Add tomato paste, stir in and cook for 30 seconds.   Add the bacon, carrots, onions, and garlic to the dutch oven.   Add the last glass of red wine along with 3 c beef stock and bring up to a boil.  Kill the heat, cover and bake for 3-4 hours.  Half way into the cooking, add 1 sprig fresh thyme to the dutch oven.  The meat well easily pull apart when ready.   

Saute mushrooms while the stew cooks to save time. This will take only a few minutes so plan accordingly.

In the last 30 minutes, saute the mushrooms.   I do this in batches as well.   Heat large saute pan over medium high (6 on the dial).   Add 1 tbsp oil, the mushrooms and a pinch of fresh thyme.   Saute for 3-4 minutes stirring frequently.  Saute until mushrooms start to caramelize, add 1 clove worth of the minced garlic.   Add 1 tbsp butter, saute additional 30 seconds.   Set aside on a plate and repeat process with the second batch.   Once second batch is done, add first batch back to the pan and deglaze pan with 1/4 c red wine.  Stir and simmer for 30 seconds.  Season with pinch salt and freshly cracked black pepper.   

By now, the stew should be done cooking.   Add mushrooms to the dutch oven, stir in carefully.  Serve immediately with a few slices of fresh baked garlic bread!

Enjoy