Julia Child's Beef Bourguignon

Ingredients

• Bacon

  Raw, cured pork

  6 strip or 72g

• Olive oil

  Salad or cooking

  3 ½ tbsp or 47g

• Beef, shoulder pot roast or steak, boneless, separable lean and fat, trimmed to 0" fat, all grades

  raw

  36 oz or 1.02kg

• Carrots

  Raw

  1 large or 72g

• Onions

  Sweet, raw

  1 onion or 331g

• Salt

  Table

  ¹⁄₁₆ dash or 0.03g

• Pepper

  Spices, black

  ¹⁄₁₆ dash or 0.006g

• Wheat flour

  White, all-purpose, unenriched

  1 ¼ cup or 160g

• Red wine

  Alcoholic beverage, table

  24 fl oz or 706g

• Beef stock

  Soup, home-prepared

  3 cup or 720g

• Tomato paste

  Canned, without salt added

  1 tbsp or 16g

• Garlic

  Raw

  2 clove or 6g

• Thyme

  Spices, dried

  ½ tsp, leaves or 0.5g

• Bay

  Castella

  100g

• Onions

  Raw

  21 small or 1.47kg

• Butter

  Unsalted

  3 ½ tbsp or 50g

• Bay leaf

  Spices

  100g

• Mushrooms

  White, raw

  1 lb or 453g

Directions

1. 1 Simmer bacon lardons in 4 cups water for 10 minutes. Drain and pat dry.
2. 2 Preheat oven to 450F. In a large dutch oven, saute the bacon in 1 tablespoon of oil for about 3 minutes, until it starts to lightly brown. Remove with a slotted spoon and set aside.
3. 3 Dry the beef in paper towels for better browning. In batches, sear the beef on all sides in the Dutch oven. Set aside with the bacon.
4. 4 Back in the pot, add the sliced carrots and onions; saute in fat until browned, about 3 minutes. If there's any excess fat, drain.
5. 5 Back in the pot, add the sliced carrots and onions; saute in fat until browned, about 3 minutes. If there's any excess fat, drain.
6. 6 Add the bacon and beef back to the pot. Season with 1/2 teaspoon coarse salt and 1/4 teaspoon ground pepper. Toss. Sprinkle with flour and toss once more. Place in the center of the oven for 4 minutes.
7. 7 Remove pot from oven; toss beef and place back in the oven for 4 more minutes.
8. 8 Remove the pot from the oven and reduce the heat to 325F.
9. 9 To the pot add the wine and stock. The liquid should barely cover the meat and vegetables. Add the tomato paste, garlic and thyme. Bring to a light simmer on the stove, then cover and simmer in the lower part of the oven for 3 to 4 hours, or until the meat is easily pierced.
10. 10 In the last hour of cooking, bring 1 1/2 tablespoons butter and 2 teaspoons oil to a medium heat in a saute pan. Add the pearl onions and toss around in the fat until they've browned, 10 minutes. Then stir in 1/2 cup beef stock, a small pinch of salt and pepper and the herb bouquet. Reduce the heat to low and simmer the onions for about 40 minutes, until the liquid has evaporated and the onions are tender.
11. 11 Remove the onions and set aside. Discard the herb bouquet and wipe out the skillet. Add the remaining butter and oil and bring to a medium heat.
12. 12 Add the mushrooms and cook for about 5 minutes, shaking the pan to coat with the butter.
13. 13 Place a colander over a large pot. Drain the beef stew through the colander and into the pot. Place the pot with the sauce over a medium heat and simmer for about 5 minutes, skimming any fat on top. Pour the beef and vegetables back into the dutch oven. Add the pearl onions and mushrooms to the pot. Pour the sauce over the beef mix and simmer an additional 3 to 5 minutes.
14. 14 Garnish with parsley and serve with potatoes, rice or noodles.
15. Recipe by: Bev Cooks (source: https://www.tablespoon.com/recipes/julia-childs-beef-bourguignon/cdda3ccc-3623-4363-8095-aaca1a3f8313)