Dinner Beef

Boeuf Bourguignon

In Dinner, Beef on October 11, 2016 with No Comments

Preparation Time 40 MINUTES

Cooking Time 200 MINUTES

Difficulty Easy

Servings 4-6

800g Chuck Steak (Or other steak suitable for long slow cooking such as blade steak) cubed

200g Pancetta Diced

2 Tablespoons Plain Flour

400g Shallots Peeled

2.5 Cups (625ml) Red Wine (Burgundy is traditional)

2 cloves Garlic Peeled and sliced

2 Sprigs Thyme

1 Bay Leaf

250gr Mushrooms (Dark gilled ones are best)

Canola (Rapeseed) Oil or Olive Oil

If you are cooking the casserole in the oven rather than on the stove top, preheat the oven to 140˚C fan.
In a large casserole dish (one that has a lid) brown the pancetta.
While the pancetta is cooking, put the cubed beef into a plastic bag with the flour and shake the bag to cover the meat with the flour.
When crispy at the edges remove the pancetta with a slotted spoon and put it into a bowl, leaving the residual oil to cook the beef.
Brown the meat in batches in the hot oil (you can add some of the canola oil if the pan becomes too dry). If you put all the meat in at once it will lower the temperature in the pan and the meat will steam rather than brown nicely. I used three batches to brown the meat in this recipe. Remove each batch to a bowl when browned.
When all the meat has been browned and is in a bowl, brown the shallots. Again, you can add a little more canola oil if you need to.
When they are brown, return the meat and pancetta to the pan and add the garlic and wine and tuck the herbs in. Bring the contents back up to the boil and put the lid on. You can either turn it down to a very low simmer or put the dish into the oven. Cook for 2 hours, stirring it once or twice if you remember.
When the 2 hours is almost up, pan fry the mushrooms in a little butter or oil. Add these to the casserole dish at the 2 hour mark. Continue cooking for a further 30 minutes.
The meat should be tender and the onions lovely and soft.