Date Night Recipe Idea: Boeuf Bourguignon

If you are looking for a romantic date night recipe idea in time for Valentine’s Day then look no further as this recipe is from Gerard a French Chef from my home town of Metz who sadly passed away around 20 years ago. He had a restaurant in Todmorden in West Yorkshire back in the days and this was one of his popular dish. It’s very rich and a great treat once in a while. He gave me this recipe when we put him up for a month whilst he was looking for accommodation in the UK.

I made it as we had some wine which was not to our taste therefore I decided to use it to make the Boeuf Bourguignon. Chefs usually tell you to use a very good wine, never find much difference once the dish is cooked. I always use a cheap wine as I don’t like to waste a good wine in a stew!

This recipe is enough for 6 people but can be made in advance and put into portions in the freezer.

Ingredients
1 kg of fatty meat (beef shin is great but you can also use skirt if you don’t like fatty meat) in chunks
1 litre of red wine
2 carrots in rings
1 large onion chopped
2 sticks of celery
Garlic two cloves
Thyme and bay leaves

After you have marinated the beef
15 small onions
A pack of bottom mushrooms (if you can’t find them use larger ones quartered)
1 pack of lardons
1 tablespoons of tomato concentrate or a small tin
1 chicken cube stock
Some cooked carrots to add to the sauce

Put all the first ingredients in a large bowl and leave covered in the fridge for up to 6 days. I only had time to leave mine for 4 days and it worked fine.

After 6 days
Drain the wine into a jug and set aside
Separate the meat and the vegetables onto two plates
Use a large cast iron pan if possible, fry the onions and garlic in some oil, add the tomato purée, set aside.

Using a frying pan, cover the meat with some flour (approx 4 tablespoons) so it is well covered, fry the meat in the frying pan, when nicely done, add to the onions and garlic.

In another pan, mix the wine with some flour and bring to the boil. The wine may coagulate but don’t worry about it.
Add this mixture into the pan with the meat and onions and all the other vegetables, add a chicken cube and add some water. The sauce needs to be quite liquid as it will thicken when cooking.

Cook for around 2 hours on a low heat on the hob, do not cover the pan.
When cooked, take out the meat from the sauce and liquidise the sauce and the vegetables.
Put the meat back in the sauce and cook at a low heat.

Blanch the small onions and fry the bacon and mushrooms and add them to the sauce.
Add salt and pepper if needed
If you want, you can add some cooked carrots into the sauce.

Recipe by: Brigitte Kershaw

You may also want to read this:

Wine and Recipe Pairing:  Beef Casserole with White Wine Jus and Le Conquérant 2017

Review & Recipe: Chemin de Moscou Wine with Beef Stew

Pinot Noir by Bruno Andreu paired with Beef Burgers and Spicy Wine Sauce