One-Pot Boeuf Bourguignon

It's hard to mess with a classic - and Boeuf Bourguignon is definitely one of the classics. Julia Child made it famous and brought it outside of grand French restaurants with her classic recipe. I've made that recipe many times over the years and really do love it. The past few days I've been thinking about making it, but just didn't feel like spending a couple of hours in the kitchen dirtying half a dozen pots.

So.....

I took the basic recipe and streamlined it a bit. Okay - a lot. I made it into a one-pot meal that took about 20 minutes in the kitchen and a few hours unattended time on top of the stove.

This is the recipe I started with:

Boeuf Bourguignon a la Julia Child

For the Stew

• 6 ounces bacon, solid chunk
• 1 tablespoon olive oil
• 3 lbs lean stewing beef, cut into 2-inch cubes
• 1 carrot, peeled and sliced
• 1 onion, peeled and sliced
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1/4 teaspoon pepper, freshly ground
• 2 tablespoons flour
• 3 cups red wine (a full bodied wine like Bordeaux or Burgundy or Chianti)
• 2-3 cups beef stock
• 1 tablespoon tomato paste
• 2 garlic cloves, mashed
• 1 sprig thyme
• 1 bay leaf, preferably fresh

For the braised onions

• 18-24 white pearl onions, peeled
• 1 1/2 tablespoons unsalted butter
• 1 1/2 tablespoons olive oil
• 1/2 cup beef stock
• salt & fresh ground pepper
• 1 bay leaf
• 1 sprig thyme
• 2 sprigs parsley

For the Sauteed Mushrooms

• 1 lb mushroom, quartered
• 2 tablespoons unsalted butter
• 1 tablespoon olive oil

Instructions

1. First prepare the bacon: cut off the rind and reserve.
2. Cut the bacon into lardons about 1/4" think and 1 1/2" long.
3. Simmer the rind and the lardons for ten minutes in 1 1/2 quarts of water.
4. Drain and dry the lardons and rind and reserve.
5. Pre-heat the oven to 450°F.
6. Put the tablespoon of olive oil in a large (9" - 10" wide, 3" deep) fireproof casserole and warm over moderate heat.
7. Saute the lardons for 2 to 3 minutes to brown lightly.
8. Remove to a side dish with a slotted spoon.
9. Dry off the pieces of beef and saute them, a few at a time in the hot oil/bacon fat until nicely browned on all sides.
10. Once browned, remove to the side plate with the bacon.
11. In the same oil/fat, saute the onion and the carrot until softened.
12. Pour off the fat and return the lardons and the beef to the casserole with the carrots and onion.
13. Toss the contents of the casserole with the salt and pepper and sprinkle with the flour.
14. Set the uncovered casserole in the oven for four minutes.
15. Toss the contents of the casserole again and return to the hot oven for 4 more minutes.
16. Now, lower the heat to 325°F and remove the casserole from the oven.
17. Add the wine and enough stock so that the meat is barely covered.
18. Add the tomato paste, garlic and herbs and the bacon rind.
19. Bring to a simmer on the top of the stove.
20. Cover and place in the oven, adjusting the heat so that the liquid simmers very slowly for three to four hours.
21. The meat is done when a fork pierces it easily.
22. While the meat is cooking, prepare the onions and mushrooms and set them aside till needed.
23. Heat the butter and oil in a large skillet and add the onions to the skillet.
24. Saute over medium heat for about ten minutes, rolling the onions about so they brown as evenly as possible, without breaking apart.
25. Pour in the stock, season to taste, add the herbs, and cover.
26. Simmer over low heat for about 40 to 50 minutes until the onions are perfectly tender but retain their shape and the liquid has mostly evaporated.
27. Remove the herbs and set the onions aside.
28. For the mushrooms, heat the butter and oil over high heat in a large skillet.
29. As soon as the foam begins to subside add the mushrooms and toss and shake the pan for about five minutes.
30. As soon as they have browned lightly, remove from heat.

To Finish the Stew:

1.  When the meat is tender, remover the casserole from the oven and empty its contents into a sieve set over a saucepan.
2.  Wash out the casserole and return the beef and bacon to it (discarding the bits of carrot and onion and herbs which remain in the sieve).
3.  Distribute the mushrooms and onions over the meat.
4.  Skim the fat off the sauce and simmer it for a minute or two, skimming off any additional fat which rises to the surface.
5.  You should be left with about 2 1/2 cups of sauce thick enough to coat a spoon lightly.
6.  If the sauce is too thick, add a few tablespoons of stock.
7.  If the sauce is too thin, boil it down to reduce to the right consistency.
8.  Taste for seasoning.
9.  Pour the sauce over the meat and vegetables.
10. If you are serving immediately, place the covered casserole over medium low heat and simmer 2 to 3 minutes.
11. Serve in the casserole or on a warm platter surrounded by noodles, potatoes or rice and garnished with fresh parsley.
12. If serving later or the next day, allow the casserole to cool and place cold, covered casserole in the refrigerator.
13. 20 minutes prior to serving, place over medium low heat and simmer very slowly for ten minutes, occasionally basting the meat and vegetables with the sauce.

And what I did.....

I finely chopped the bacon (Niman Ranch, thick-sliced) and browned it in a large casserole. I floured the beef and added it to the bacon.
I removed the browned beef and added the chopped onions, 3 chopped carrots, 2 chopped celery stalks, garlic, and 8 ounces of chopped mushrooms. Browned it all.
Added the tomato paste, browned it a bit, then added 1/2 cup of brandy and cooked it down.
Next, I added the wine and the broth, and all of the herbs and spices.
I returned the beef to the pot and brought it all to a boil.
Reduced the heat, partially covered it, and let it simmer for about 3 hours.

It rocked!

The house was full of that rich wine-and-beefy aroma. Victor kept coming into the kitchen asking if we could eat right now.

I didn't add the onions because I really didn't feel like peeling them. I'll have to find a use for them in the next few days, but... that's something to deal with when I have to.

And no, it wasn't quite as complex, perhaps, as the classic.  The original has wonderful layers of flavor created by the separate preparation of ingredients.  But it was a damned fine stew nonetheless with none of the hassles and only one dirty pot!

by Tim Dineen

Alton Brown's Swiss Steak

Several lifetimes ago when I lived at Tahoe and worked at The Old Post Office in Carnelian Bay, I had to come up with a lunch special every day.  I was the only cook in a tiny kitchen and had pretty much free reign to do what I wanted - maybe 30 servings of something hearty enough for the locals who came in during the week.  One thing I came up with was a tomato-based Swiss Steak smothered in onions.  It proved to be really popular and I made it every couple of weeks that winter.

I'm not sure why, but somewhere along the line, I started making Swiss Steak with onions and mushrooms and in a beefy mushroom sauce.  I totally forgot about that really good tomato-y dish.  Until today.

I had pulled some cube steak out of the freezer thinking that I was going to make my old standby.  Quite by accident I came across an Alton Brown recipe for Swiss Steak that was tomato-based.  The memories came back and I decided I had to try it tonight!

Now, had this been anyone else's recipe, I probably would have changed half of it at least - but Alton is a food scientist.  I really, really like how he goes out of his way to find out and/or explain the reasons behind things, the reason they work - or don't.  I decided to follow the recipe pretty close with the exception of using cube steak instead of bottom round.  (I just don't know what I did with my needling device.)   Because I used cube steak, I just cooked it on the stove.

Otherwise, it's pure Alton Brown.

Swiss Steak

Ingredients

• 2 pounds beef bottom round, trimmed of excess fat
• 2 teaspoons kosher salt
• 1 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
• 3/4 cup all-purpose flour
• 1/4 cup vegetable oil or bacon drippings
• 1 large onion, thinly sliced
• 2 cloves garlic, minced
• 2 stalks celery, chopped
• 1 tablespoon tomato paste
• 1 (14.5-ounce) can diced tomatoes
• 1 teaspoon smoked paprika
• 1 teaspoon dried oregano
• 1 tablespoon Worcestershire sauce
• 1 1/2 cups beef broth

Directions

Preheat the oven to 325 degrees F.

Cut the meat with the grain into 1/2-inch thick slices and season on both sides with the salt and pepper. Place the flour into a pie pan. Dredge the pieces of meat on both sides in the flour mixture. Tenderize the meat using a needling device, until each slice is 1/4-inch thick. Dredge the slices on both sides once more and set aside.

Add enough of the bacon drippings or vegetable oil to just cover the bottom of a 4 to 5-quart Dutch oven set over medium-high heat. Once the oil begins to shimmer, add the steaks to the pan, being careful not to overcrowd. Cook until golden brown on both sides, approximately 2 minutes per side. Remove the steaks to a plate and repeat until all of the steaks have been browned.

Remove the last steaks from the pot and add the onions, garlic, and celery. Saute for 1 to 2 minutes. Add the tomato paste and stir to combine. Next add the tomatoes, paprika, oregano, Worcestershire sauce and beef broth and stir to combine. Return the meat to the pot, submerging it in the liquid. Cover the pot and place it in the oven on the middle rack. Cook for 1 1/2 to 2 hours or until the meat is tender and falling apart.

One of the key ingredients here really is the smoked paprika.  It adds such a wonderful layer of flavor that I would say it is essential to the dish.  Personally, I think it should be in every kitchen everywhere, so go buy some!  You won't be sorry!

I served it with handmade noodles from Lancaster County, PA and frozen spinach.

Speaking of spinach...  I really don't remember when I found out that spinach was actually leaves and not a square frozen block in white cardboard.  As a kid growing up, we only had frozen spinach (actually, we pretty much only ate frozen vegetables, period) and it's still a bit of a guilty pleasure to me.  I almost always have it in the freezer - although it's usually in a bag, nowadays, not a box.

This is definitely a keeper.  I really liked the smokiness of the paprika, the texture of the celery, the tomatoes - all of it.

Thanks, Alton - for the recipe and the trip down Memory Lane!

by Tim Dineen

Bargains at the Butcher

Whilst doing my Monday shopping, I happened upon a nice little sale at the local market - whole tenderloins of beef for a mere $3.98/lb!  Last time I bought a full tenderloin was almost 2 years ago - and it costs me a hundred bucks.  These were "one per customer" so I grabbed my one and headed to the check-out.  Five pounds of really tender beef.  20 bucks.   Deal.

And the best deal was it's Australian beef; all natural, no hormones or other crap one so easily finds in standard American beef.

So... I get home, unpack all the groceries (I had done my produce shopping in the same trip) and notice I forgot paper towels and seltzer. I headed back to the store - and picked up another tenderloin. Ten pounds, forty bucks.  REAL DEAL!

I got everything put away, sharpened my knife, and went to work.

10 minutes later, I had 10 steaks, a pound and a half roast (I see a Boeuf Wellington in our future!) and steak tips and stew meat.  I don't think there was 8 ounces of trim-waste from both pieces.

We now have a plethora of meals in the freezer - at a serious fraction of the cost it would normally be.  I love it!

The first one will be tonight.

Stay tuned!

by Tim Dineen