You too can Prepare this Classic French Recipe. All you need is some time, some thyme and a sense of humor. Just Kidding, But seriously, don't let these fancy sounding french words intimidate you from taking on this low carb version of the original comfort food!
Got 3-4 hours of spare time on a snowy Sunday? Then you have time to make the quintessential Julia Child’s Classic Beef Bourguignon, or if we really want to impress our friends “Boeuf Bourguignon” This Classic French dish is basically a Fancy Pot Roast with a pound of bacon and a half bottle of red wine thrown in.
Beef Bourguignon started in the Burgundy region of France about 100 km southeast of Paris in the early 20th century and was first published by Chef Auguste Escoffier. A dish that started out as a simple peasants stew quickly became a one of the most famous French dishes of all time. Later on Julia Child’s adapted the recipe to use beef chunks instead of whole primal cuts making it much more approachable to the home cook.
At the end of the day dishes like this are all about developing flavors over a long period of time and not taking any shortcuts. I strongly recommend using an enameled cast iron pot that is wide rather than tall so you have plenty of room to brown the meat. You can spend an arm and a leg on brands like Staub or Le Creuset but brands like Lodge and even Amazon Basics have decent versions that will do just fine. You can click on the words to see each of the brands.
Now that we have some general information that you’ll probably never need unless your on a trivia team at your local watering hole let’s get down to business. I’m sure that the keto police are looking at that beautiful pic and just can’t get over the fact that there’s a carrot in the photo. Yes there are some carbs in this dish mainly from the veggies and a few from the wine. I’ve found that you can adjust this recipe to meet your macros by skipping the carrots or just not eating them and using more beef stock than wine to cut out a few more. We are all adults here so I’ll let you decide what adjustments work best for your needs. This is just my version and I won’t be at all offended if you chose to make some culinary adaptations.
I hope you’ll give this recipe a try not only because I think it’s a fantastic recipe that can fit into your low carb lifestyle. But also because it’s great for meal prep and reheats even better on days 2,3 and 4. Probably the most important reason I think you need to to make this is that I feel every home cook needs to make this classic at least once in their life just so you can say you did!
Beef Bourguignon
Ingredients
- 4 lbs Beef Chuck Roast Cubed into 4 inch chunks
- 1 lb Bacon Cut into 2 inch Pieces
- 6 cups Beef Broth
- 2 cups Red Wine Dry
- 2 cups Carrots cut into 2 inch pieces
- 2 cups White Onion rough chopped large pieces
- 6 cloves Garlic Rough Chopped
- 2 pints Mushrooms Quartered
- 2 tbsp Tomato Paste
- 2 tbsp Worcestershire
- 1 tbsp Thyme Fresh
- 1 tbsp Rosemary Fresh
- 1 tsp Malden Salt
- 1 tbsp Fresh Cracked Pepper
- 1 tsp Smoked Paprika
Instructions
- In large enameled cast iron pot over medium heat cook bacon until crispy.
- Remove bacon and set aside on a paper towel.
- Next add garlic, carrots, onions and herbs to the pot and brown off until veggies are caramelized.
- Once veggies are almost cooked add in tomato paste and cook for a few minutes, then remove veggies and set aside.
- Season Cubed beef then add to the pot and brown all sides. Once your beef has a nice sear deglaze the pot with your red wine, beef stock and Worcestershire.
- Scrape up all this little brown bits off the bottom and sides of the pot then add your veggies and bacon back into the pot
- Make sure your meats and vegetables are almost completely submerged then bring to a simmer before putting a lid on the pot and placing it in a 350 degree F. oven
- While your beef is in the oven sauté mushrooms in butter just until soft but not fully cooked and set aside.
- Stir every 30 minutes for about 2 hours until Beef is fork tender but not totally shredding apart
- Add in mushrooms and cook uncovered for 15-20 minutes to reduce liquid
- Let your pot sit covered on the stove for 10 minutes so the flavors can combine and the sauce will come together
Rayna Jenkins
I just made this tonight & OMG! The flavors of this dish are absolutely devine. It is well worth the cook time! It was the most flavorful dish I have ever made. Definitely going to make it again.
Culinary Lion
Love to hear it, that's a great recipe especially with fall coming up!!