This is such a monstrously long recipe I know, but truly something delicious to prepare on the weekend either for Saturday night dinner or a Sunday lunch with friends and family. Failing that, it is a super special stew to fix on the weekend and dole out after work on weeknights for a delicious and easy meal in the bitter Melbourne winter.

This recipe is inspired by Julia Child’s famous rendition of Boeuf Bourguignon, from Mastering the Art of French Cooking, Volume One. If you saw the movie you were witness to Julie Powell weeping into the burnt remains of her efforts far too many hours after installing it into the oven.

I gallantly set about preparing this recently at about 4 or 5pm one afternoon for the evening meal. I discovered the recommended three or four hours cooking time once I had already commenced and decided to proceed as best I could with a higher heat and a reduced cooking time. The results were marvellous. Spouse even cancelled an evening meeting to sit down and join the girls and I in devouring it. We ate it with boiled potatoes and a steaming bowl of peas and butter and a delicious Cabernet Sauvignon from McLaren Vale in South Australia.

Cooking time allocated was 1 ½ hours and I didn’t do any of the final skimming or straining that Child and her colleagues so cheerfully recommend. So, a very good interpretation of the ubiquitous Boeuf Bourguignon follows – do give it a go, it comes highly recommended. For a dish that only continues to improve:

Ingredients
Serves 6 – 8 people

• 1.5 kg stewing steak, cut into squares of about 4 – 5cm
• 200g piece of bacon, rind removed. Slice bacon into lardons, about 1cm thick and 4cm long. Keep the rind.
• 1 tablespoon of lard or olive oil
• 1 carrot chopped into small dice
• 1 onion chopped into small dice
• Salt and pepper
• 1 tablespoon flour
• 750 ml bottle of young, red wine
• 600ml brown beef stock
• 1 tablespoon tomato paste
• 2 cloves mashed garlic
• ½ teaspoon thyme
• 1 crumbled bay leaf
• 18 – 24 shallots or small brown onions braised in stock (see below)
• 500g stewed button mushrooms (see below)

Equipment
Ideally use a large, heavy iron fry pan for browning everything, and a casserole pot with a fitted lid that can go into the oven. Place browned meat and vegetables from the pan into the casserole as you go. It is possible to just use the casserole with a fitted lid, so long as it can go on direct heat on the stove top. In which case, brown the ingredients as directed in the casserole and set them aside into a bowl and then return them to the casserole to go into the oven.

Method

• Preheat the oven to 230c
• Simmer the rind and the bacon in a litre of water for 10 minutes. Drain and dry with kitchen towel
• Saute the bacon in the oil or lard over moderate heat for 2 – 3 minutes.
• Remove with a slotted spoon, put the cooked bacon into either the casserole or a bowl
• Dry the pieces of beef with paper towel, it will not brown if it is damp.
• Reheat the fat until it is smoking
• Saute a few pieces of the beef at a time in the hot fat, until nicely browned on all sides. Add to the cooked bacon.
• Once all the beef is browned, in the same fat, brown the diced carrot and onion and add to the bacon and the meat.
• Pour any fat from the pan
• Place all the browned ingredients into the casserole that is to go into the oven.
• Sprinkle the flour and salt and pepper over the ingredients and toss well to lightly coat evenly.
• Place the casserole into the middle of the oven, uncovered for 4 minutes. Remove, toss the meat and return to oven for another 4 minutes (this browns and cooks the flour). Remove the casserole from the oven
• Reduce oven temperature to 180c
• On top of the stove, stir in the wine, and enough stock so that the meat is barely covered.
• Add tomato paste, garlic, herbs and bacon rind
• Bring to a simmer, cover and place in the middle of the oven
• Check after about one hour and 20 minutes, the meat is done when a fork pierces it easily and it is tender to chew.
• While the beef is cooking, prepare the onion and mushrooms, see below
• Add the warm, cooked onion and mushroom to the casserole just before serving.

Braised Shallots Or Small Brown Onions
Place 18 – 24 peeled shallots or small brown onions into a heavy pan which just holds them in one layer. Add1/2 cup chicken stock, white wine or water. Add 1 tablespoon butter, salt and pepper and a sprig of herbs such as parsley, bay and thyme, wrapped in a piece of muslin. Cover and simmer very slowly, rolling the onions in the saucepan from time to time, for 40 – 50 minutes. The onions should not color, they should be tender and have retained their shape. Add more liquid to the pot while cooking if necessary.

Stewed Mushrooms
Trim and wipe clean 500g button mushrooms. Bring 3 tablespoons water, ½ tablespoon lemon juice, 1 tablespoon butter to a simmer in a 1 litre enamel saucepan. Add the mushrooms and toss to cover in the liquid. Cover and boil moderately fast, tossing frequently for 5 minutes. Put aside until ready to use.

To Serve
Serve the assembled stew from the casserole it is cooked in at the table. The classic accompaniment is boiled potatoes, dressed in parsley and butter and seasoned with lots of salt and a little pepper and a dish of cooked peas with melted butter, well seasoned with salt. A robust red wine such as a cabernet sauvignon, is the perfect accompaniment.

To Reheat
15 – 20 minutes before serving, bring the casserole to simmering point, and continue simmering very slowly for 10 minutes, occasionally basting the meat and vegetables with the sauce.

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