Description
French Beef Bourguignon is a classic, hearty French stew featuring tender chuck roast slow-cooked in rich red wine and beef broth with aromatic vegetables, bacon or salt pork, mushrooms, and pearl onions. This rustic dish delivers deep, complex flavors through a combination of searing, simmering, and oven braising, making it ideal comfort food for special occasions or cozy dinners.
Ingredients
Scale
Meat and Fat
- 8 ounces bacon OR salt pork*
- 3 pound chuck roast (chopped into 2 inch pieces)
Seasonings and Coatings
- Salt and pepper, to taste
- Oil for searing beef and sautéing veggies (about 3 tablespoons olive oil, divided)
- 1 tablespoon butter (for coating beef with flour)
- 1/3 cup flour
Vegetables
- 1 large onion, chopped
- 1 pound carrots (about 7-8 medium), chopped into 1-inch pieces
- 6 cloves garlic, smashed and sliced
- 14 ounces frozen pearl onions
- 1 pound mushrooms, halved or quartered
Liquids and Broth
- 3 cups red wine (750ml bottle)
- 2-4 cups Zoup! Good (Really Good® Beef Bone Broth) or beef broth
- 2 cups water (for cooking pearl onions)
Additional Flavorings
- 2 tablespoons tomato paste
- 1/3 cup parsley, chopped
- 6 fresh thyme sprigs
- 2 bay leaves
- Rind from salt pork (if using)
- 1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
- 4 tablespoons butter (divided, for onions and mushrooms)
Instructions
- Cook bacon or salt pork: If using bacon, cut into 1-inch pieces and cook in a large oven-safe pot over medium heat until just browned but not overcooked. Remove to paper towels, leaving the grease in the pot. If using salt pork, cut rind off and set aside, slice pork into thin strips, brown them in the same type of pot, then remove, leaving the rendered fat in the pot.
- Prepare and sear the beef: Pat 3 pounds of chuck roast pieces dry and season with salt and pepper. Heat the grease (adding oil if needed) over medium-high heat. Sear the beef in batches, leaving space around pieces, until well browned on all sides. Remove seared beef to a plate.
- Coat beef with flour: Return all seared beef and cooked bacon or salt pork to the pot. Add 1 tablespoon butter and melt. Sprinkle 1/3 cup flour over beef and stir to coat each piece. Cook on medium heat for 1-2 minutes to eliminate raw flour taste, then turn off heat.
- Sauté vegetables: In a separate 12-inch skillet, heat 1 tablespoon olive oil over medium-high. Add chopped onions and carrots and cook 3-4 minutes until starting to brown. Add sliced garlic and sauté 30 seconds to 1 minute until fragrant but not browned. Remove vegetables and set aside.
- Reduce wine: In the same skillet, add 3 cups red wine and bring to a boil, scraping browned bits from the bottom. Simmer until reduced by about 1 cup, approximately 10-15 minutes.
- Preheat oven and assemble stew: Preheat oven to 300°F (150°C). Pour reduced wine over beef in the pot. Add enough beef broth to nearly cover the meat. Bring to a simmer on the stove, scraping the bottom to prevent burning. Stir in 2 tablespoons tomato paste, 1/3 cup parsley, thyme sprigs, bay leaves, and salt pork rind if using.
- First oven braise: Cover the pot and place in the lower third of the preheated oven. Cook for 1 hour and 30 minutes.
- Add vegetables and continue braising: Remove pot from oven, stir in the sautéed carrot mixture, cover again and return to oven for an additional 60-90 minutes until beef is fork tender.
- Prepare pearl onions: Using the same skillet (do not wash), add frozen pearl onions, 2 cups water, 1/2 teaspoon kosher salt and 2 tablespoons butter. Bring to a boil and then simmer for 20 minutes until water evaporates. Sauté onions in the remaining butter until browned on all sides. Remove and set aside.
- Prepare mushrooms: Clean and dry mushrooms. In same skillet, melt 2 tablespoons butter with 1 tablespoon olive oil over medium-high heat. Sauté half the mushrooms for about 4-5 minutes until they brown, remove to a plate. Repeat with remaining mushrooms. Set aside.
- Check beef doneness: After minimum 2.5 hours cooking, test beef with a wooden spoon. If still tough, return to oven for 20-40 more minutes.
- Adjust sauce consistency: Taste sauce. If too thin, strain meat and vegetables, simmer sauce on stove until thickened to coat a spoon. Then return meat and veggies to pot.
- Finish stew: Remove thyme stems, bay leaves, and salt pork rind. Add the cooked pearl onions and mushrooms to the pot. Stir gently and season to taste with salt and pepper.
- Serve: Serve hot over mashed potatoes or buttered egg noodles for a classic presentation.
Notes
- Using bacon or salt pork adds a smoky depth to the stew; choose according to preference.
- Drying the beef pieces before searing is important to achieve proper browning and flavor development.
- Sauté vegetables separately and add halfway through cooking to prevent them from becoming mushy.
- Reducing the wine intensifies its flavor and removes some acidity.
- Cooking the pearl onions and mushrooms separately ensures they brown nicely instead of steaming.
- Cooking times may vary slightly based on your oven and meat cuts; check beef tenderness accordingly.
- This dish tastes even better the next day as flavors meld further.
- Leftover stew can be refrigerated for up to 3 days or frozen for up to 3 months.
