Beef Bourguignon

I hope it's safe to say that most home cooks would have watched the movie Julie and Julia, played by Amy Adams and Meryl Streep, in which both real life characters used food and cooking to navigate through their lives.

One of the most iconic dishes discussed extensively in the film is the Beef Bourguignon - a classic of French cuisine. 

Hence, recently when my fiance's mother had received a cast iron casserole pot as a free gift (which she then bequeathed to me), this dish came immediately to mind. 

As with most of my other culinary endeavours these days, I spent a great deal of effort researching and combining recipes. I was mildly disappointed that there wasn't an authoritative copy of the recipe out there. 

Beef Bourguignon - Julia Child

I guess it is quite intriguing that a classic French dish is now so heavily associated with an American woman - Julia Child - who simplified the steps to this dish and brought it to American homes through the television. Although in black and white, it was still very educational and entertaining, and there are certainly no shortcuts or even screen cuts to cover up her mistakes. 

The other more up-to-date tutorial that I found helpful was this:

I will speak more about this in later parts of my modified recipe. 

This is my first attempt at an almost step by step visual documentation of my cooking process. It is usually nearly impossible for me to cook and take pictures at the same time, but I enlisted Ming Guang's help. Half way through he got annoyed with the heat and we had a mini squabble, as we always do, and some of the processes didn't get properly taken - sorry about that! 

Alright, first, I gathered my ingredients. To be very frank, I did not use any form of precise measurement at all during the entire process, so I won't attempt to do it here as well. But here are a few key measurements if they are needed:

1.3 kg of chuck beef (shoulders; in Singapore, it is also known as Rendang cut) 

[Side note about the beef: I got 1.5kg worth of this at Joe's Butcher at Tekka Market for only 15 SGD]

6-7 slices of bacon, but really, who can complain about more bacon?

2-3 carrots (big ones) or 4-5 (small ones)

2 yellow onions

25 grams of all-purpose flour

Other ingredients that you'll need pictured above:

Beef stock - I got a litre just in case and had plenty left over

Bottle of wine - I used a malbec, but i think any wine is fine

Some small onions or shallots - many recipes recommend pearl onions, but I think that's not realistic in Singapore

Some fresh thyme - I didn't use parsley, but it is highly recommended you do

Tomato paste - you'll only need about a tablespoon

Butter

Some mushrooms

Not pictured:

Salt and pepper

Garlics

Step 1: Prepare your ingredients. Cut your carrots into 1-inch pieces, although on hindsight, smaller pieces might have been friendlier. Chop your onions into small pieces. Cut up bacon into small pieces as well. 

Step 2: Slice your beef into 1-2 inch chunks - the smaller the pieces, the faster they get cooked, and vice versa. But the whole point is to slow cook - so don't cut them too small. You can enlist your butcher's help to get this done for you. 

Step 3: Use kitchen towels to dry your beef cuts. This is an important step for searing the beef. 

Step 4: Preheat your oven to 160 Degrees Celcius

Step 5: Alright, time to fry your bacon pieces in the casserole.

Get them brown and crisp around the edges and set aside on a kitchen towel. Keep the remaining oil/juices in the pan!

Step 6: Sear your beef. Don't crowd the pan, and spread out the process through 2-3 rounds. The aim is to lock the juices and flavour into the meat when it is stewing, and to give it some colour. Set aside your meats when you're done. 

Step 7: Put the carrots and onions into the pan and stir them up. When the onions have softened and turned translucent, take them out of the pan and set aside. 

Step 8: Remove any remaining oil from the pan - what you want is the brown bits at the bottom. Most recipes would add in some flour at this point, but I did that later. Now, add the wine, any amount you want pretty much, to deglaze the pan.

Step 9: Add your bacon and beef in, followed by your carrots and onions. Stir them around. Add in beef stock till it your beef is barely peeping through the water. You don't want to cover the meet with liquid. Add a tablespoon of tomato paste (I just used a regular tablespoon, not a specific measuring one), fresh thyme, two garlics, salt and pepper. Bring the whole thing to a simmer, lid it up, and pop it into the middle of the oven on the lowest rack. 

Step 10: Wait 3 hours. No kidding. This was where I made a mistake - I attempted to rush the process because I miscalculated my time, and I turned the heat up to 200 Degrees and gave it 2.5 hours in the oven. What happened was the beef became a little dry. 

Step 11: I took this time to make the other stuff. First was the caramelised onions. I couldn't believe how easy it was and I largely followed the steps from the French Cooking Academy. Peel your small onions or shallots and put it into a pot - I got a bag of already peeled ones from the market for only 2 dollars. They should sit nicely in your small pot and not be stacked unto one another. Add enough water until it's half-covering the onions. Add a knob of butter and a spoon of sugar. Lid your pot, and let simmer until onions soften and become caramelised. They should be coated with a nice brown sauce. I added a splash of beef stock towards the end to give it some beefy flavour. 

Step 12: Potatoes - boil them. I also followed the French Cooking Academy technique and made a herb butter sauce. Just throw herbs together with garlic, and melted butter. Dribble over your warm potatoes and serve. 

Step 13: Sauteeing mushrooms. I followed Julia Child's instructions for this step. Add some olive oil and butter to a pan - if your butter is frothy, it means the temperature isn't right. Wait for the bubbles to subside and add your mushrooms. Don't crowd the pan as the mushrooms will sweat and produce steam. Once mushrooms are brown, remove from heat and set aside. 

Step 14: Take your casserole out of the oven after 3-4 hours. If you think there's still lots of liquid left, put it on the stove and simmer until excess liquid has evaporated. This is a good time to taste and season the sauce. Also check that your meat is soft and will easily pull apart with a fork. 

Step 15: Mix some water with your flour and stir until flour dissolves. Gradually add the mixture into the stock and stir until your sauce thickens. 

[Optional steps at this point: Some people remove the meats, drain the sauce, and add mushrooms and onions in, and the sauce back on top. I find this highly unnecessary personally]

Step 16: Serve your food! I find it more appealing to have the mushrooms and onions as toppings added later to the stew rather than to the stew itself - I was worried that the flavour of the stew will overpower the mushrooms and onions which were both pretty unique tasting on its own. 

Here are some useful links I referenced as well to make this dish:

Beef Bourguignon - Tablespoon
Beef Bourguignon - The Gourmand Mom

As you can see from the pictures, I served it with freshly baked bread along with the potatoes. You may also serve it with mash potatoes, or pasta - it really is up to you!

That's all, and I hope this is useful!