Beef Bourguignon
Finite Cellars Wine pairing: 2024 RPG Pinot Noir vs 2023 Louis Jadot Beaune Bressandes Premier Cru
Recipe Origin: Anthony Bourdains Les Halles Cookbook Strategies Recipes & Techniques of Classic Bistro Cooking
Scale of difficulty: Ben Special but pretty easy to make with enough lead time (5.5/10)
The chef and the cookbook that launched Ben’s obsession with cooking. Ben watched No Reservations and read Kitchen Confidential and was hooked on Bourdain’s prose and style. So he bought the Les Halles cookbook and began the growing collection that fills more than one of our kitchen cabinets. This recipe and cookbook is still the original favorite for Ben so he decided to do a side by side tasting with a red burgundy from Louis Jadot - Ben worked with Jacques Lardière at Trisaetum when Resonance made their wine there in 2014 - and our RPG. As a winemaker, Ben finds that it’s critical to taste wines that inspire him and wines that are made in similar or different ways to our own.
Make sure to source some quality beef from the butcher but one of the lesser cuts; we are going to cook this until it melts and falls apart. See below for the awesome marbling on the Creekstone Farms pastured-raised, grass feed Beef chuck roast that Ben used for this dish. Traditionally this dish is cooked entirely with red wine but we find, like Anthony Bourdain, some reserved strong demi-glace cubes from the freezer really makes the add to the richness. It’s one of the easiest dishes in the book but one of the most satisfying comfort food dishes Ben makes.
Boeuf bourguignon
2-3 lbs of paleron of beef or “chicken steak'“ or small amount of shoulder or neck (cut into 1 1/2 inch pieces
salt and pepper
1/4 cup olive oil
4 onions, thinly sliced
2 tbsp all-purpose flour
1 cup lighter bodied red burgundy (we used Louis Jadot Bourgogne)
6 carrots, cut into 1 inch pieces
3 stalks of celery, cut into 1/2 inch pieces (optional)
2-3 garlic cloves
1 bouquet garni (sprig of parsley, 2 sprigs of fresh thyme and a bay leaf
2 cubes of the secret stash of strong demi-glace from the freezer
Shaved parmigiano reggiano for dressing
Stage 1
-Get olive oil to near smoking over high heat in a Dutch oven
-Season meat with salt and prep and sear all sides in batches, don’t over crowd, until dark brown
-Set the meat aside, add the onions to the pot lowering the heat to medium-high and cooking for 10 minutes until soft and golden. Sprinkle the flour over them and cook for 5 more minutes stirring occasionally.
-Add the red wine and scrape all that delicious fond from the bottom of the pot with a wooden spoon and bring to a boil
Stage 2
-Return the meat to the pot and add the carrots, garlic, optional celery and bouquet garni. Add just enough water plus the demi-glace cubes to cover the meat by one third with a desired ratio of 3 parts liquid to 2 parts meat. Bring to a boil then reduce to a gentle simmer.
-Let the stew cook and reduce for 2 hours approximately or until the meat is tender (break-apart-with-a-fork-tender). Pay attention to the dish, stirring and scraping the bottom of the pot every 15-20 minutes. Skim any foam or scum oil on the surface, remove the bouquet garni and add the chopped parsley to the pot before serving.
-Serve over mashed potatoes with a glass of RPG Pinot Noir and another Pinot Noir of your choice to compare and contrast (optional shaved parmigiano reggiano garnish).
