Boeuf Bourguignon (French Beef Braised in Red Wine)

• 1.5 kg beef shoulder (paleron), or other stewing beef, cut into large chunks
• 4 carrots, cut into large chunks on the diagonal
• 2 onions, cut into large pieces (strained out of the sauce)
• 1 leek white, cut into long pieces (strained out of the sauce)
• 4 cloves garlic, crushed (strained out of the sauce)
• 3 sprigs thyme
• 3 bay leaves
• 1 tsp crushed black peppercorns
• coarse salt, to taste
• 1.2 L full-bodied red wine (much of it cooks and reduces away)
• 1 L water, or beef or veal stock (reduces in the sauce)
• 3 tbsp sunflower oil (or another high-heat oil)
• 30 g plain flour
• 60 g butter, for the sauce
• 1 tsp sugar
• 1 tsp fruit jelly or jam (redcurrant jelly; he uses blueberry jam)
• 2 tbsp fresh blackberries or blueberries (optional)
• chopped chervil or parsley, to serve

Method

The cook speaks French; every step is written here in English. Tap a time to watch that step in the video. For subtitles, tap CC in the video, then Settings › Subtitles › Auto-translate › English.

1. Peel the vegetables. Cut the carrots into large diagonal chunks, the leek white into long pieces and the onions into big pieces. Crush the garlic cloves and remove any green germ. 0:40
2. Trim the membrane off the beef shoulder and cut it into thick strips, then into large chunks. 2:32
3. Put the beef and vegetables in a casserole with coarse salt, thyme, bay leaves and crushed pepper. Pour in the red wine and the water (or veal stock) and marinate for 1½–2 hours at room temperature (in the fridge if you marinate longer). 3:23
4. Heat the oven to 200 °C. Lift out the beef and bring the wine and vegetables to the boil in the casserole. Brown half the beef in very hot oil in a frying pan for about 5 minutes, add it to the pot and deglaze the pan with a ladle of the wine. 4:27
5. Brown the second batch, dust it with the flour and put the pan in the oven for 10 minutes to toast the flour. Add it to the pot, deglaze the pan again, and simmer gently for 1¾–2 hours until the beef is tender. 6:14
6. For the glossy sauce, boil a little red wine with the berries and sugar until syrupy, stir in the fruit jelly, then pour in the strained cooking liquid and reduce until it coats a spoon. Season. 8:25
7. Whisk the butter into the sauce, return the beef and carrots (discard the onion, leek and herbs) and spoon the sauce over until shiny. Finish with pepper and chopped chervil or parsley. 10:08

Tip. Serves 6. Etchebest serves it with fresh tagliatelle; steamed green beans, celeriac mash or cauliflower keep it lower in carbs. Like most braises it tastes even better the next day and freezes well.

The method is a summary in our words — the video shows every step.