BEEF BOURGUIGNON

This is not the Julia Child's recipe but just a typical french braise. The recipe is out of the Food and Drink Autumn fall LCBO book (Liquor Control Board of Ontario). Saturday's are busy days in most households mine included. Weather permitting there is still some last minute yard work that needs to be done, groceries to be shopped and unloaded, cars that need washing and the ever endless house cleaning. When I have such a day I like to prepare some type of stew or casserole in the morning so that at the end of the busy day I am faced with a ready meal as opposed to still having to prepare one. This beef bourguignon is the perfect meal to prepare ahead and serve later.





Recipe;



2-1/2lbs of stewing meat cut into 2" cubes


Salt and freshly ground pepper


3T olive oil


4oz sliced double smoked bacon diced.


18 pearl onions, skinned


8oz small cremini mushrooms.


1 cup chopped onions


1/2 cup chopped carrots


1/2 cup chopped celery


2 cups red wine


2 cups beef stock

1 head garlic, dry papery layers brushed off, top third of bulb cut off.

1 bay leaf

2 stalks thyme

4 sprigs parsley

BEURRE MANIE

3 T softened butter

3T Flour

1. Preheat oven to 300F (150C)
2. Season meat with salt and pepper.
3. Heat 1T of oil in Dutch Oven over medium high heat. Add bacon and saute until slightly crisp. Remove from pan and reserve.
4. Add pearl onions and saute for 5mins. Add mushrooms and saute for another 5 minutes or until onions are tender and mushrooms are browned. Remove onions and mushrooms and reserve. Wipe pan out.
5. Add another 1T of oil to pot and working in batches, add meat in single layers without crowding and brown on both sides about 1 minute per side. Remove meat and place in a strainer over a bowl to allow fat to drip out.
6. Reduce heat to medium and add the remaining 1T of oil to the pot. Add the chopped onions, carrots and celery and saute for 5mins or until softened. Add wine scraping up any brown bits from the base of the pan. Bring to boil and boil for 1min, then add stock. bay leaf, thyme and parsley sprigs. Bring back to a boil and skim off any foam that rises to the top. Stir in the meat.
7. Cover and bake for 2 - 21/2 hrs or until meat is tender. Add reserved bacon, onions and mushrooms, return pot to oven and bake another 15mins or until meat is very tender and sauce is rich.
8. To make Beurre Manie, combine butter and flour to make a paste.
9. If sauce is npt thick enough strain into a separate pot and add the beurre manie a bit at a time until it is thickened to your satisfaction. This should not be a very thick sauce. Season to taste and return to pot.

Serves 4-6