Beef Bourguignon

Last Sunday was my first attempt at Beef Bourguignon.  In my opinion, it can be a pretty time intensive recipe...start to finish, it took about three and a half hours to prepare.  I started out by browning applewood smoked thick cut bacon in a little olive oil.  If I had better prepared, I would have purchased a "real" cut of bacon from the butcher; instead, I just got some pre-packaged bacon from the grocery store.  After removing the bacon from the pot and cubing and drying off about 3lbs of chuck steak, I browned the steak in two different batches in the bacon remains.  After the meat was browned, I removed the meat from the pot and started to cook the vegetables (carrots, yellow onions, and some garlic).

When the vegetables were the right texture, I added the beef back to the pot, along with some tomato paste, spices, beef broth, and a good bottle of pinot noir.

After bringing the mixture to a boil, I placed the pot in the oven at low heat and let it cook for about 2 hours. After the time was up, you could really see and smell how the ingredients melded together and created a great aroma.  It was also fairly clear the liquid reduced significantly, creating a thicker, rich sauce to go with the rest of the dish. 

Because the sauce was not as thick as I'd have wanted (and I didn't want to wait that long to reduce the liquid by boiling it), I mixed a quick beurre manie and stirred it in, along with sauteed mushrooms and pearl onions and let it simmer for only a few more minutes.

To serve, I boiled some egg noodles, spooned the beef bourguignon on top, and accompanied it with a slice of fresh baguette.

When I make this next time, (and there will be a next time), I'll probably do without the pearl onions and add a couple of sweet onions.  And I think I'll use a tiny bit less beef broth so the sauce is thicker right out of the oven. 

UPDATE: Probably my favorite part of this dish is the leftovers.  When the flavors have an extra day or two to develop, it provides the dish even more character.  I served the beef bourguignon over garlic and herb mashed potatoes and it was delicious.  In addition to the changes above, I'll probably make this dish a day early so it can develop more overnight before serving.