Cycle 15 – Item 5
14 (Sun) January 2024
Beef Bourguignon
3.0
by me
at home
-Changgok, Sujeong, Seongnam, Gyeonggi, Republic of Korea-
with the Family
Bœuf Bourguignon is a French dish. Chunks of beef (bœuf), simmered in red wine – ideally, a pinot noir from Burgundy (Bourguignon) – along with bacon, carrots, pearl onions, and mushrooms. Julia Child, in Mastering the Art of French Cooking, describes the stew as “certainly one of the most delicious beef dishes concocted by man.”
It has been featured only once in GMTD history. At Thomas Keller’s Bouchon in Las Vegas, on my birthday, Bœuf à la Bourguignon was anticipated at the time of ordering to be the likely dish featured in the post for that day. However, as noted in the post: “This most iconic of bistro dishes, I was a bit disappointed that it didn’t turn out to be more – good is as good as it gets.” Ultimately, the post featured mashed potatoes (see 9.357 Purée de Pommes de Terre … with Black Truffles).
While Sip & Feast is primarily about Italian-American cuisine (see most recently 15.005 Chicken Minestrone Soup), the channel delves on occasion into other foods, such as Beef Bourguignon (see Beef Bourguignon – The Most Comforting Classic French Stew). Rather than attempting Julia’s recipe, which is famously convoluted, I went with Sip & Feast’s streamlined method.
Blade is my preferred cut of beef for almost all applications (maybe not steak), because of the fascia strip running down the middle. As with any connective tissue, it’s too tough to be eaten as is but breaks down when cooked over time and provides a silky unctuousness to whatever sauce or broth is being made, such as hayashi (see for example 11.030 Beef Hayashi Rice) or goulash (see for example 12.065 Beef Goulash). Works even better when pulsed into ground meat, such as for bolognese (see for example 14.128 Pappardelle alla Bolognese) or meatloaf (see for example 12.042 Meatloaf). When shopping, I look for the pieces that have the biggest strips. As a bonus, blade is cheap – at J Mart, it’s always “on sale” for 3,480 won per kg, usually the cheapest beef cut available.
My first (crack at beef bourguignon turned out fine. The beef was silky and tender. The sauce was rich and flavorful. However, I’m not convinced that it was worth braising everything in a whole bottle of wine, which I’d rather drink.
I was more satisfied with the pork stew from a few weeks back (see 14.359 Pork Stew), which only involved half a cup of wine for cooking (125 ml), the rest for drinking (625 ml).
(See also BOOZE)
(See also GLOBAL FOOD GLOSSARY)