Beef Stew

Woke last week to 11°. Fahrenheit, Celsius...... doesn't matter....Seemed a good time to make one of my favorite cold weather meals, boeuf bourguignon. It's similar to our beef stew, but with the addition of some burgundy wine, thus the name beef burgundy. Of course, boeuf bourguignon is also attributed to the burgundy section of France.

There are as many variations to this dish as there are cooks/chefs. I like the one put together by two of the best, Julia Childs and Jacques Pépin in one of their co-authored books 'Julia and Jacques Cooking At Home'. Most of the time spent making this wonderfully robust meal is unattended cooking..... just letting the stew stew.

It has the usual aromatics, carrots, celery and onions, plus garlic (a natural for the burgundy area of France, or for that matter all of France) thyme, bay leaves and parsley. The cut of meat is the inexpensive chuck roast. The top blade can be substituted which requires removing the thick sinew in the middle of the muscle if you are using the cut for steaks. However, for stews, the meat should be cut into chunks in such a way that they contain all of this gelatinous material. It will melt and soften as the meat braises.

The cooking liquid is a bottle of sturdy red wine, preferably a pinot noir, and about 2 cups of dark stock. The dark stock can be made from scratch or take Julia's hint and use some low -sodium canned beef stock. In a saucepan add to the stock a handful of ½" chopped celery, carrots and onions along with a diced tomato. Simmer for about 30 minutes. Strain.

In addition, boeuf bourguignon has small white onions and mushrooms. Try to avoid pearl onions as they are too small and do not have the flavor of the the larger ones. The onions should be about 1¼" in diameter.

Recipe calls for servings of 6. Make extra 'cause this stew gets better with time. In fact, Julia suggests making this recipe in stages letting the flavors meld into one delicious bunch of meals.

Click title to get the recipe. Bon Apetit!