Beef Bourguignon (based on Julia Child’s recipe)

The best winter recipe created by the famous Julia Child!

 

This beef bourguignon will keep you warm throughout these upcoming cold months. 

Let’s start with a bit of background information. Beef bourguignon is a dish that was created in Burgundy, France. It is made of beef, carrots, onions, and garlic that are stewed in red wine and beef stock. It usually has pearl onions, mushrooms, and bacon as a garnish. This dish is amazing as is, but Julia Child created an elevated version that we just can’t get enough of.

Although it is the recipe of the famous Julia Child, don’t worry! This dish is incredibly forgiving, so any mistake you make will be easy to fix. After stewing the beef and vegetables for hours, the meat just falls apart with the touch of the fork. The vegetables become soft and give a subtle sweetness to the deeply rich flavors of the broth. This hearty meal will fill you up and make you feel all warm and fuzzy inside. I think beef bourguignon tastes best with some fresh mashed potatoes, but you can eat it with any type of carb you like.

The amazing thing about beef bourguignon is how much of it you can make at once. Beef bourguignon is likely one of the few dishes that tastes better the next day. By leaving it in the fridge overnight, the flavors have time to marinate even more. You will have a deeper, stronger flavor when you reheat it the following day. To reheat beef bourguignon, I recommend placing it in the oven for about 20 minutes at around 300F (~148C). By making a larger batch, you can have meals prepared for multiple days, making your life much easier.

NOTES AND TIPS:

• You don’t need to use expensive wine for this recipe. Pinot noir is the best to use, but any red wine should work just fine.
• The use of wine is for flavoring, but the cooking process will burn off all the alcohol, so do not worry about getting drunk, or giving this to your kids. It is a child-friendly recipe!
• Cook low and slow. Using too high of a heat during the simmering process could cause the meat to become dry.
• To find the herbs easier after stewing the beef bourguignon, make a bouquet garni. A bouquet garni is when you tie together the herbs before placing them in the pot. You can also put the herbs into a small cheese cloth satchel. Either way, it’ll be much easier to find the bouquet garni than go hunting for herbs!
• This recipe can be made in an instant pot or slow cooker, but the temperatures could be slightly different, so please check which settings to use before using these tools.

Although this recipe is inspired by one of the world’s most famous chefs, it is surprisingly simple and anyone can do it. I believe in you! Share your experience cooking this dish with me in the comments, I would love to know how it went for you!

Enjoy!

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