Anyone watch Julia & Julia? Such a great movie that follows a young woman unhappy in her career who decides to cook through Julia Childs famous “The Art of French Cooking” in 365 days. No small undertaking! Remember the beef bourguignon disaster in the movie? Needless to say, I was hesitant to take it on knowing the traditional recipes needs to cook for HOURS…and I might not love the end result. This is also not a dish you find on a restaurant menu outside of France! Since I won’t be in France anytime soon, I decided to tackle it anyway.
Once again Ina Garten saves the day! She simplified the original recipe, but after making Ina’s recipe, I decided I wanted to make a few hacks myself. Pearl onions – not for me. I love fresh herbs, but fresh thyme is a pain to prep, so I subbed dried and can’t tell the difference. Original recipe calls for cognac, but it’s not needed IMO! I baked in the oven for a longer time frame to really tenderize the meat a little higher temperature. Our family loves it served over mashed white or sweet potatoes instead of a slice of good bread. It’s not the “traditional” preparation, but it works for us…and there’s bacon! Next up – trying it in the Insta Pot to see if I can emulate similar results!
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Ingredients
1 tablespoon olive oil
8 ounces applewood smoked bacon
2 1/2 pounds chuck roast or stew meat, cut into cubes
salt & pepper
1 pound carrots, peeled and sliced diagonally into 1″ chunks
2 yellow onions, sliced
2 cloves garlic, chopped
1 bottle dry red wine (I prefer Pinot Noir)
2 cups beef broth
1 tablespoon tomato paste
1/2 teaspoon dried thyme leaves
4 tablespoons unsalted butter at room temperature, divided
3 tablespoons all-purpose flour
1 pound fresh baby bella mushrooms, sliced
2 – 3 white potatoes or sweet potatoes, mashed, for serving
Directions
- Heat oven to 300 degrees F.
- Heat the olive oil in a large Dutch oven. Add the bacon and cook over medium heat, stirring occasionally, until the bacon is lightly browned and starting to crisp. Remove the bacon to a large plate with a slotted spoon.
- Cut beef roast into cubes (or purchase stew meat already cubed) and dry with a paper towel. Sprinkle beef with salt and pepper. In batches, sear the beef in the bacon fat/olive oil mixture, turning to brown on all sides. Removed the seared meat to the plate with the bacon. Set aside.
- Add the carrots, onions, 1 tablespoon salt and 2 teaspoons pepper to the fat in the pan and cook for 10 – 15 minutes until the onions start to brown. Add garlic and cook for 1 minute. Put meat and bacon back into the pot with the juices. Add the bottle of wine and beef broth to cover. Stir in tomato paste and thyme. Bring to a boil, cover the pot with a tight-fitting lid and place in the oven for 2 hours. The meat and vegetables should be fork-tender.
- While pot is in the oven cooking, melt 2 tablespoons of butter in a pan. Sauté mushrooms until caramelized. Remove from heat and set aside. Cook potatoes however you wish (microwave, oven or stove top) and mash.
- Combine remaining 2 tablespoons of butter with the flour and stir to combine. Remove pot from the oven and add the mushrooms and butter/flour mixture to the stew. Bring the stew to a boil on the stove top, then lower the heat and simmer for 15 minutes. Season to taste.
- To serve, scoop some mashed potato into your bowl and top with stew. Enjoy!