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Beef Bourguignon

Beef bourguignon is a French braised beef stew with tender chuck cubes simmered in a glossy red wine sauce. It’s built with browned bacon lardons, a rich wine-and-broth braise, then finished with butter-browned mushrooms and pearl onions.
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Prep Time 30 minutes
Cook Time 3 hours 30 minutes
Total Time 4 hours
Servings: 6 servings
Course: Appetizer
Cuisine: French
Calories: 570
Ingredients Equipment Method Notes

Ingredients
  

Lardons and beef base
  • 6 oz thick-cut bacon Cut into lardons
  • 3 lb beef chuck Cut into 2-inch cubes
  • 2 salt
  • 1 tsp black pepper
  • 2 tbsp olive oil
  • 1 onion Sliced
  • 2 carrots Sliced
  • 3 cloves garlic Minced
  • 2 tbsp all-purpose flour
  • 1 tbsp tomato paste
  • 750 ml dry red wine Bottle (750 ml)
  • 2 cup beef broth
  • 4 fresh thyme Sprigs
  • 2 bay leaves
  • 3 tbsp butter Divided
  • 1 lb cremini mushrooms Quartered
  • 1 cup pearl onions Peeled
  • 2 tbsp fresh parsley Chopped

Equipment

  • 1 Dutch oven
  • 1 sheet pan
  • 1 cast iron skillet

Method
 

Braise the beef
  1. Preheat the oven to 325F, then brown the bacon in olive oil in a Dutch oven and set it aside.
  2. Pat the beef dry, season with salt and black pepper, then sear in batches in the bacon fat until deeply browned.
  3. Cook the onion and carrots for 5 minutes, then add the garlic, flour, and tomato paste and cook for 2 minutes.
  4. Add the wine, beef broth, thyme, bay leaves, beef, and bacon; bring the mixture to a simmer, cover, and braise in the oven for 3 hours.
Finish with mushrooms and onions
  1. In a cast iron skillet, brown the pearl onions and mushrooms in butter.
  2. Add the browned pearl onions and mushrooms to the stew for the last 20 minutes of braising.
  3. Remove the herbs and bay leaves, swirl in the remaining butter, and top with chopped parsley before serving.

Notes

Pro tip: when you sear the beef, avoid crowding so the cubes brown deeply instead of steaming. Refrigerate leftovers in a sealed container up to 4 days; freeze for up to 3 months (thaw overnight in the fridge and reheat gently). For a lighter option, use turkey bacon and replace a portion of the butter with extra olive oil while keeping the braise steps the same for texture.