Beef has always been my favorite meat on the dinner table, no matter steak, burger, traditional Chinese beef noodle, or all kinds of stir fry. But today what we are going to cook is also one of my favorite beef meal and is one of the classic--Boeuf Bourguignon!
I am neither Julia Child or Julie Powell so don't expect this Boeuf Bourguignon anywhere near perfect. However, since I have never taste their dishes personally, I would say my version of Boeuf Bourguignon is quite good too! So here are the ingredients I will use (for 6 servings):
Beef: about 1.36kg and cut into 5cm cube. A lot of people recommend using the Rump Pot Roast saying that it is the perfect fit for the Boeuf Bourguignon. It's a little bit hard to find for me so I just choose the Sirloin tip as an alternative, and guess what, it just taste as good as the one made with Rump Pot Roast!
Red Wine: 3 cups(about 720c.c). I use Cȏtes du Rhȏne today ,but honestly, you can choose other type of red wine such as Burgundy or other that is much cheaper. The difference in taste is minor, especially for those who cook this dish for the first time. So my suggestion is, start with the wine that is cheaper and easy to get!Thyme: 1/2 tsp
Bay leaf: one, crumbled
Tomato Paste: 1Tb
Bacon: 170g, sliced
Onion: one, sliced
Carrot: one, sliced
Garlic: 4 cloves, mashed
Olive oil: 1Tb
Salt: 1tsp
Black Pepper: 1/4tsp
Flour: 2TbBeef stock or beef bouillon or water: 2~3 cups
So here is how to make this classic, wonderful, and delicious dish:
1. Preheat the oven to 230 celsius.
2. Add the olive oil into the casserole and saute the bacon over moderate heat until brown. Remove the bacon out and set aside.
3. Dry the beef in paper towel before saute in the casserole. Saute the beef until brown and set aside.
4. Add the carrot and onion into the casserole and saute them until brown.
5. Add bacon back to the casserole. Add the beef back to the casserole and set it on top of the vegetables. Seasoned with salt and pepper, and sprinkle the flour on the beef (make sure to turn the beef up side down and sprinkle again).
6. Place the casserole into the oven without the lid for about 5 minutes to bring the crunchiness to the beef. After 5 minutes, take out the casserole back to the stovetop and turn down the temperature of the oven to about 160 celsius.
7. Pour in the red wine and the beef stock into the casserole. Make sure all the liquid cover the beef. Turn down to small heat and add the tomato paste, garlic,thyme, and bay leaf.
8. Next step is to put the lid on and bring the casserole back to the oven for another 3 hours. Here you can choose to leave the casserole on the stove to cook, but you have to constantly check the status of the dish and stir it to prevent burn. Remove the bay leaf before serving.
Serve the dish with mashed potato...mmm...delicious!!
If you are a rice lover then try it with rice...you will definitely love it!
