Boeuf Bourguignon
A classic bourguignon recipe with a twist of cherry
A classic french dish, slow-cooked with Clover Fed Shin of beef for a melt in the mouth texture.
Cooking for the Kellihers
Recipe: Boeuf Bourguignon
1 bottle of full bodied red wine
1kg beef shin
1 onion, peeled and finely chopped
1 large carrot, peeled and cut into 2cm chunks
2 garlic cloves, peeled and diced
2 bay leaf
Small bunch of parsley finely chopped
2 sprigs of lemon thyme or traditional thyme
2 tbsp olive oil
35g butter
200g smoked bacon lardons (my preference, use unsmoked if desired)
12 small shallots
14 baby carrots or larger carrots sliced lengthways and halved
200g chestnut mushrooms
2 tbsp flour
15 juicy cherries chopped
Zest and juice of one orange
60ml brandy (optional) for deglazing the meat pan
250ml quality beef stock
Six cherries and a half a fresh pomegranate to serve
Introduction
​
Over the years I have cooked various versions of Beef Bourguignon. My usual go to guide is "How to cook the perfect dish" from The Guardian as this gives variants on recipes/ingredients. Then I will do my own investigations with other recipes and, finally find my own recipe will formulate For this dish, I have tried many recipes including the famous Julia Childs who I admire. If you like cooking and old films, I recommend watching Julia and Julia and also trying some of the recipes from her book.
​
Mashing potatoes
​
Add the drained potatoes back to the pan, mash until half the lumps are mashed, then at this stage, add the pan back to the hob on a very low heat and continue to mash. Hot air will push up through the mash making it light and fluffy! Always add the butter first and keep mashing. Salt and pepper, then add one egg yolk (this was taught to me by a lady who had cooked and travelled across Europe and originally from Latvia in East Europe). Take a wooden spoon and mix, then add milk or cream, bind together until there are no lumps and the mash has a beautiful light creamy consistency.
​
Remove fat, herbs, and meat used just for flavour. Serve with a cherry and a sprinkle of fresh pomegranate seeds.
Guest cook: Claire Watkin
Hello There!
I'm staying with the Kellihers on their beautiful Clover Fed farm. Inspired by Shane and Nicola's great knowledge of cooking beef, I've created my own twist of the classic Boeuf Bourguignon.
This dish has to be my absolute favourite beef meal, with its deep rich flavours, served with heavenly creamy mash. It's as French as you can get and perfectly compliments a full bodied red wine. Traditionally, a Bordeaux, however, a local Cabinet Sauvignon works very well.
​
Cooking
​
Marinate the beef chunks in 1 cup of red wine, salt, pepper and thyme for at least two hours, or over night in the refrigerator.
​
Pour half a bottle of wine into a pan, along with the wine and herbs from marinating, with the onion, carrot, garlic one bay and a sprig of thyme. Bring to the boil. Simmer for 20 minutes. Heat the oven to 150C.
​
Heat the oil and butter in a large frying pan over a medium-high heat, and when the foam has died down, add the bacon. Fry until golden, then remove the bacon and keep the bacon fat.
​
Roll the chunks of beef in flour on a board. Fry the beef in oil/butter combo until golden. This may mean frying in two or three batches.
​
Add the reduced wine mixture to a large casserole dish along with the beef chunks on a low heat. Also add any large parts of the meat that may have been cut away such as the fat to give the dish richness. Add the beef stock orange juice and orange zest. The fat will be skimmed off before serving. Cook on a hob, or in an oven for 2.5 hours. Top up with wine and stock as required.
​
Cook the bourguignon for 2 hours. Add the bacon fat to the pan the beef was fried in and deglaze with a cup of wine or brandy. Top up with stock. Add baby carrots, mushrooms and cherries to the pan with a sprig of thyme and a bay. Salt and pepper to taste. Cook for 30 minutes
​
Add the mixture to the casserole dish with a squeeze of tomato puree. Top up with liquid and cook for at least 30 minutes - 1 hour.
​
​
Another Option
​
At this point, let the dish stand overnight, then skim the fat and remove the meat that was added just for flavour. Add the carrot mixture. I only tried it this way as we decided the meal will be best eaten the following day as a Christmas Eve dinner. But it worked well. I warmed up the casserole dish on the hob and cooked for another 1.5 hours which gave a real depth to the dish.
​
Whether you decide to cook straight away or leave to stand - when you are 30 minutes from the end cook mashed potato and a nice green vegetable to cut through the richness. I chose sautéed shredded greens with garlic and bacon.
