Ina Garten beef bourguignon from Food Network braises chuck beef in a full bottle of red wine with Cognac, bacon, and carrots at 250°F. And at approximately 650 calories per serving, the stew takes 1 hour and 45 minutes for 6 since the low oven does most of the work.

Before the wine goes in, Ina flambés the seared beef and vegetables with half a cup of Cognac right in the Dutch oven. So the alcohol burns off and leaves behind a caramelized sweetness that a simple wine braise alone does not reach.

Drying the beef cubes with paper towels before searing sounds minor, but wet meat steams instead of browning. And without that deep sear on every side, the stew base loses the fond that gives the finished sauce its color and body.

Source: Ina Garten (Food Network)

Ina Garten Beef Bourguignon

Recipe by medshi8Course: BeefCuisine: AmericanDifficulty: Easy

Servings

servings

Prep time

minutes

Cooking time

hour

minutes

Calories

650

kcal

Seared chuck and rendered bacon go back into a Dutch oven with flambéed Cognac, a bottle of wine, broth, and tomato paste for a low oven braise. Then a butter-flour paste thickens the sauce while sautéed mushrooms and frozen onions finish the stew on the stovetop.

Ingredients

For the stew base:
1 tablespoon good olive oil
8 ounces dry cured center cut applewood smoked bacon, diced
2 1/2 pounds chuck beef, cut into 1-inch cubes
Kosher salt
Freshly ground black pepper
1 pound carrots, sliced diagonally into 1-inch chunks
2 yellow onions, sliced
2 teaspoons chopped garlic (2 cloves)
1/2 cup Cognac
1 (750 ml) bottle good dry red wine such as Côtes du Rhône or Pinot Noir
1 can (2 cups) beef broth
1 tablespoon tomato paste
1 teaspoon fresh thyme leaves (or 1/2 teaspoon dried)
For finishing the stew:
2 tablespoons unsalted butter, at room temperature
3 tablespoons all-purpose flour
1 pound frozen whole onions
2 tablespoons unsalted butter
1 pound fresh mushrooms, stems discarded, caps thickly sliced
For serving:
Country bread or sourdough, toasted or grilled and rubbed with a garlic clove
1/2 cup chopped fresh parsley (optional)

Directions

Preheat the oven: Heat to 250°F.
Cook the bacon: Then heat the olive oil in a large Dutch oven and cook the diced bacon over medium heat for 10 minutes until lightly browned.
Remove the bacon: Once browned, transfer it with a slotted spoon to a large plate and leave the fat in the pot.
Dry the beef: Then pat the cubes dry with paper towels and season with salt and pepper.
Sear in batches: Working in single layers, sear the beef for 3 to 5 minutes per batch, turning to brown all sides.
Set the beef aside: Then transfer each batch to the plate with the bacon and continue until all the beef is seared.
Cook the vegetables: Once the beef is done, toss the carrots and onions with 1 tablespoon salt and 2 teaspoons pepper in the fat.
Brown the onions: Then cook for 10 to 15 minutes, stirring occasionally, until the onions are lightly browned.
Add the garlic: Once the onions are golden, add the garlic and cook for 1 more minute.
Flambé the Cognac: Then pour in the Cognac, stand back, and ignite with a match to burn off the alcohol.
Build the braise: Once the flames die, return the meat and bacon to the pot with the wine and enough broth to almost cover.
Add the remaining aromatics: Then stir in the tomato paste and thyme, and bring to a simmer.
Braise in the oven: Once simmering, cover with a tight lid and place in the oven for about 1 1/4 hours until fork tender.
Make the beurre manié: While the stew braises, mash 2 tablespoons butter with the flour using a fork.
Thicken the stew: Once the pot comes out, stir the butter-flour paste into the stew and add the frozen onions.
Sauté the mushrooms: Then in a separate pan, cook the mushrooms in the remaining 2 tablespoons butter for 10 minutes until browned.
Finish the stew: Once the mushrooms are ready, add them to the pot, bring to a boil, then lower the heat and simmer 15 minutes.
Season and serve: Then taste for salt and pepper, spoon over garlic-rubbed toast, and sprinkle with parsley.

FAQs

What kind of red wine works best for this stew?

Ina recommends Côtes du Rhône or Pinot Noir, and both have enough body to stand up to the beef without overpowering the other flavors. Since a full bottle goes in, pick something you would drink on its own, because bad wine makes bad sauce.

But avoid heavy oaky wines like Cabernet aged in new barrels, since the tannins concentrate during the braise and turn bitter. And cooking wine from the grocery store adds too much sodium, which clashes with the tablespoon of salt already in the pot.

Is the Cognac flambé step really necessary?

Flambéing burns off the raw alcohol and caramelizes the sugars in the Cognac against the hot pan surface. And that layer of flavor sits underneath the wine braise, so skipping it leaves the finished stew tasting flatter than it should.

But if you are uncomfortable with open flames, just let the Cognac simmer hard for 2 to 3 minutes instead. Since the alcohol evaporates at a lower temperature than water, a vigorous simmer removes most of it without the dramatic fire.

Why does the stew braise at 250°F instead of higher?

A low oven keeps the liquid just below a simmer, which breaks down the collagen in chuck beef slowly and evenly. And higher heat pushes the stew to a full boil inside the pot, so the meat fibers tighten and the cubes turn tough instead of tender.

Since the tight lid traps moisture at 250°F, the liquid barely reduces during the 1 1/4 hours. And that gentle environment is what makes the beef fall-apart tender, because fast heat contracts the protein before the connective tissue has time to melt.

Can I make this a day ahead?

Beef bourguignon is one of those rare dishes that tastes better the next day, because the flavors meld overnight in the fridge. So cook it through the full stovetop finish, cool it, and refrigerate in the Dutch oven.

Then reheat gently on the stovetop over medium-low until it simmers, which takes about 20 minutes from cold. And the sauce thickens slightly as it sits overnight, so add a splash of broth when reheating if it feels too heavy.

What can I serve alongside besides bread?

Egg noodles or mashed potatoes both soak up the wine sauce well, and Ina often pairs her stews with buttered noodles in other Barefoot Contessa recipes. Since the stew already has carrots and onions, you do not need another vegetable on the plate.

But if you want something green, steamed haricots verts or a simple frisée salad with Dijon vinaigrette add contrast. And avoid rice, because it does not absorb the thick sauce the way bread or noodles do.