bout de papier, Vol. 29, No. 2 (2016), pp. 39–40
BEEF: My cookbook From Julia Child’s Kitchen falls open on its own to page 263. The page is wrinkled and has wine stains spattered across it. Ever since I discovered it a few years ago, it has entered my roster of regular meals. That page, as you’ve already guessed, contains the recipe for the Bœuf Bourguignon she helped make famous in North America. It is, quite possibly, one of the most delicious things in the world.
Bœuf Bourguignon is beef stew made with bacon, red wine, herbs and onions. If you’ve seen the 2009 movie Julie and Julia, you’ll remember Knopf editor Judith Jones making it from the draft Mastering the Art of French Cooking, to see if it was worth publishing. (Spoiler: it totally was.) The taste test did actually happen… sort of. In her autobiography My Life in France, Julia says Judith and her husband made it for a dinner party as “operational proof.” The movie shows the wine spattering over the recipe, making it look the same as mine.
Beef is big business around the world. According to Beef2Live, the biggest global producers by weight include the US (#1), Brazil (#2) and the European Union (#3). While you might expect the famous Argentine and Japanese beef to be near the top, they come in at #6 and #17, respectively. In North America, Canada and the US have been working together so long that our beef industries have become intertwined. Of course, that also doesn’t mean the relationship is without certain tensions (Country of Origin Labelling ring any bells?), This is the easiest method I’ve found, creating the fewest dirty dishes.
In a medium or large frying pan on medium heat, fry 1/2 Ib bacon (cut into strips) until crisp. Place bacon in a medium or large sized pot and drain most of the fat into a small bowl. Fry the I chopped onion and 6 brown or white mushrooms (quarter them first and add some of the bacon fat if needed in the frying pan, salting generously to help remove the water from both, until onions are translucent and shrooms darken and reduce in size. Cut 2 Ibs beef into big chunks (I do 2” cubes) and brown each side in a bit more bacon fat (see why you want to make the chunks big? Less turning!) Put these into the pot too. Pour 1.5 cups beef stock in the pot, then add around 2 cups of red wine. You want the beef to be just about covered with liquid. Add 2 tsp thyme, 4 cloves of garlic (just crush and remove the skins), I bay leaf and I chopped tomato or I tbsp tomato paste, then cover the pot. Turn the heat to medium. When the stew starts to bubble, reduce heat to simmer. Set the timer for two hours and walk away. Check doneness with a fork: you want it to be shreddable but not falling apart.
Smoosh 2.5 tbsp of flour with 3 tbsp butter in a bowl. Drain the sauce into a small pot. Add a few spoonfuls of sauce and mix well, then add the bowl of goo into the pot of sauce. Stir well to reduce lumps. Let the sauce reduce over medium heat until it’s as thick as you like it. Add the sauce back to the beefy goodness and heat through. Julia liked it over rice or pasta. I prefer it over boiled potatoes. which have big implications for Canadian beef producers. The good news is we’ve got high standards, meaning it’s not hard to find a mighty fine piece of Canadian beef. And if you don’t know what to do with it, I’ve found this lovely website for you, which will help you both choose and cook tonight’s dinner: www canadianbeef info.
I’m not going to lie to you, Bouf Bourguignon takes some time; it’s not the kind of thing you just whip up after work. It is, however, perfect for a Sunday supper. Prep all the ingredients, then bring the kids to the park or take the dog on a long walk while it cooks. Or take a nap. I vote for the nap.
At its heart, the recipe is – unsurprisingly – about beef. When I head to the grocery store, I want a solid piece of meat, which I then take home and cut into pieces myself. It’s not as labour intensive as it sounds; you want really nice big chunks and the “stewing beef” you typically find will be wee tiny bits that will take forever to flip one by one when you brown them in a frying pan. Trust me on this one. The red wine you use would traditionally come from Burgundy. But it doesn’t have to. Alternative possibilities include Pinot Noir, Beaujolais, Côtes du Rhône or Gamay. You know what I use? A $10 Canadian bottle called “Bodacious Red.” Not authentic, but it makes tasty stew and great sangria too. To be honest, my cooking style sometimes (okay, often) sacrifices authenticity for time, cost or convenience. I don’t apologize for that and neither should you. When someone recommends a restaurant, my first question isn’t “is it authentic? but rather “is it delicious?”
I also don’t use the traditional pearl onions for two reasons: first, they’re a pain to peel because they’re small and you need to use a bunch and second, you can pay as much for a small bag for one recipe as you would for three pounds of regular cooking onions. Use if you wish, but don’t feel obligated. Finally, don’t forget to ensure you save enough wine for a glass or two. Chef’s privilege.
Lisa Bitto has been a political stream Foreign Service Officer for nearly nine years, and an avid baker, cook and food geek since her mother first refused to bake her cookies and she took matters into her own hands. She usually chooses her vacation destinations based on the food.
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Originally published in bout de papier, Vol. 29, No. 2 (2016), pp. 39–40. Read the rest of this issue →
