Boueueuf Bourguinnongne

(Okay, Boeuf Bourguignon: adapted from eighteen other ways, but this is the way I like it best.)

1/2 lb good bacon, small dice or lardons 

1 large onion, small dice

2 cloves garlic, crushed

2 carrots, chopped fine

1.5 kg blade steak (lean stewing beef), cut in 2" cubes

flour

2 cups dry red wine, a beaujolais or Cotes du Rhone 

  (buy two bottles so you can serve the same wine with dinner)

2 cups beef stock (your own if you are crazy, or made from Better Than Bouillon paste in a jar)

1 large can crushed tomatoes 

2 long strips orange peel (just the orange part, no white)

2 cloves garlic, minced

1 bunch thyme sprig, tied up, + extra sprig

12-24 small/pearl onions

18 mushrooms, in thick slices

Set aside enough time for all this, the day before the party. Any rush will lead to burned bits and the tender beauty of the browning will be lost.  

In a Le Creuset or cast iron dutch oven, cook bacon, onion, garlic and carrots slowly till onion is caramelized. With a slotted spoon, remove all these to a dish and add 2 T olive oil to the pot. Turn heat to medium high. 

Dry the beef cubes, shake with flour in a brown paper bag, and add to pot a few at a time; cook on high to seal. Put each batch aside and do the next. Go slowly! Brown properly! When all the meat is browned, pour in the wine to deglaze the pan, scraping up the dark goodness. Put the beef cubes back and stir to thicken. Add 1 cup beef stock, bacon, tomatoes and onions, orange zest, garlic and thyme bundle. Bring to a simmer on top of the stove. Put the lid on the Le Creuset and pop it in the oven for 3 hours at 300F. Every hour, check: stir and keep topping up with the remaining cup of stock so that the beef remains in liquid.

You can do this the day before you serve—if so, let the bourguignon cool to room temp with the lid off, then cover and refrigerate over night. Remove visible fat from the surface before heating the dish in the oven slowly, as you do the onions and mushrooms.

So meanwhile, or the next day, do the mushrooms and onions: heat a knob of butter and a glog of olive oil in a sauté pan (one with a lid) until foaming. Add the 24 pearl onions and sauté over medium heat for ten minutes or so to brown, rolling from time to time. Add 1/2 C beef stock, a sprig of thyme, and a bay leaf; cover and simmer very slowly for about forty-five minutes, until onions are tender but still hold their shape. Remove bay leaf and thyme, set onions aside. Wipe out the sauté pan and heat another knob of butter, and when foam subsides, sauté the mushrooms.

Back to the beef: when the meat is tender, tidy up the casserole and skim the surface fat. If liquid is too thin, pour the whole shebang into a sieve set over a large saucepan/saucier and return the beef etc. to the casserole. Skim the fat from the sauce in the saucepan, stirring and skimming more fat as it rises. Reduce till the liquid is thick enough to coat a spoon lightly. If too thick, add a few T stock. Taste for seasoning, it may need salt. Add the cooked onions and mushrooms and stir to coat them in the lovely sauce.

Serve with lots of yukon gold mashed potatoes and the same red wine you used in cooking.