Beef Bourguignon
Sunday stew for a hungry family served with crusty bread.
“I really want Boeuf Bourguignon, Julia’s recipe.” said my teenage daughter after a week away from home working in the desert. I was touched by this request on so many levels. First, she knows my food idol Julia Child on a first name basis. Second, she wanted Boeuf Bourguignon. I was overwhelmed; the moment was up there with that time when she was 10 and she proclaimed that she didn’t like eating at the well known hamburger-chicken finger chain that her generation was raised on. My response I beamed “whatever you want sweetie.”
I pulled out “Mastering The Art of French Cooking,” found the dog-eared page (315) where the recipe is, and pretty much followed it. Julia says in the intro to the recipe that there are many ways to make it. Hers happens to be phenomenal.
There are two other chefs, whom I adore, whose recipes I've tried; Barefoot Contessa and Tyler Florence. Theirs are also top notch. In Julia’s recipe she parboils then caramelizes fresh pearl onions in butter before adding them to the stew. The Contessa adds frozen pearl onions directly into the stew toward the end of the cooking process. A big shortcut and timesaver. To be honest, I’m not a fan of the small onions, so I have made it without them and loved it. I have also made them Julia’s way and I can honestly say I could not tell the difference. In Child’s recipe she adds flour to the stew toward the end of the cooking to thicken it. The Contessa makes a roux with flour and butter and adds it at the end. My guy Tyler flours the beef cubes before braising them. This isn’t really a shortcut but I like the way the sauce slowly thickens when using this method.
When I moved to Virginia, I was lucky enough to have the best neighbors imaginable. My next door neighbor and now dear friend, Marty, invited us over for dinner one crisp fall evening, and she made Barefoot Contessa’s Beef Bourguignon, which we devoured with other friends from our block in her beautiful historic home. Of course, her husband Tom, made a perfect pairing with the wine, and I brought bread pudding. It was the first of many dinners together and the beginning of a great friendship, sharing recipes, cooking together, laughing and creating meals and memories which I cherish.
Beef stew is quintessential comfort food. Whether it is French style, like this recipe, or an American pot roast, a Mexican beef stew, an Italian ragu…these meals have the benefit of cooking over time, melding their flavors into one delicious pot (much like friendships), and in doing so creating a great meal and a good time by all who partake. I am linking the recipe here because you can pull up any one of the amazing recipes on the Food Network website.
Bon appetit!
Originally Posted 5th June 2010, updated December 2021
