Beef Bourguignonne
An Original Recipe by Lorraine Elliott
Preparation time: 20 minutes
Cooking time: 6 hours 15 minutes in slow cooker and stovetop
- 1.2 kgs/2.6lbs chuck beef, cut into 1 inch chunks
- 200g/7ozs rashers bacon, cut into small pieces (or lardons)
- 2 onions, peeled and sliced
- 2 carrots (around 400g/14ozs) cut on the diagonal in 1 inch pieces
- 500g/1.1lb button mushrooms
- 2 cloves garlic, peeled and smashed
- 2.5 cups/625ml/1.3pints red wine
- 2 cups/500ml/1pint beef stock
- 1/2 cup/125ml/4flozs Cognac or brandy
- 2 tablespoons tomato paste
- 2 bay leaves
- 2 sprigs thyme
- 3 tablespoons plain all purpose flour
- Salt and black pepper to taste
- 1-2 teaspoons sugar to taste
- 1 sheet butter puff pastry
- 1 egg yolk mixed with 1 teaspoon water (if making it a pie)
Step 1 - Season the beef with salt and pepper and mix to season all over. Fry the bacon in a saucepan over medium heat until the fat renders out and the bacon starts to get crispy at the edges. Place bacon in slow cooker. Then brown the beef in 2 or 3 lots avoiding over crowding the pan. Place the beef in the slow cooker and then fry the onions until softened and place in the slow cooker. Then take 1/2 cup of the wine and deglaze the pan with it scraping off any caramelised bits at the bottom. Place the deglazed red wine in a jug with the rest of the wine, Cognac or brandy and tomato paste and whisk to combine well.
Step 2 -Add the mushrooms, garlic, red wine, beef stock, Cognac or Brandy, tomato paste, bay leaves and thyme to the slow cooker. Set to 6 hours on high or 8 hours on low. In the last hour, skim the fat from the top and whisk in the flour. Season with salt, pepper and sugar to taste. I actually make this a couple of days before and place the meat in one container and then sauce in another container and chill it. Once the fat solidifies on top of the sauce, I scoop this off and then reheat everything up together on the stovetop thickening it with flour and then seasoning it.
Note: if using a pressure cooker set it to 35 minutes on high and then skim the fat off the top and stir in the flour (there should be a lot of residual heat left to thicken it up) and then season. If making this in the oven bake at 120C/250F in a cast iron pot or Dutch oven with a tight fitting lid on for 1.5 hours. Then move to the stovetop, skim the fat off the top and stir in the flour and allow to thicken on low heat and season.
Step 3 -Preheat oven to 180C/350 fan forced. To make this into a pie, cool the mixture and place in a round, deep pie dish (around 23cm/9inches) smoothing the surface. Cut out a round of puff pastry to fit the top, you can also score a pattern on top if you like. Place on top of the pie and brush with egg wash. Keep the pie in the fridge until ready to bake it (trying to keep the pastry as cold as possible until baking time). Bake for 30-35 minutes until golden.