Catnipman’s Beef Bourguignon
August 13, 2011
Ingredients
10 lbs fresh (not frozen) center-cut bone-in chuck, cut into bite size pieces
1.5 liters of cheap, astringent red wine like Yellow Tail Cabernet Sauvignon
5 Very large white onions, finely diced
3 cups finely diced shallots
2 whole heads of garlic, finely diced
Olive oil for browning
5-1 Pepper/Salt Mix (fresh ground Tellicherry peppercorns and unrefined gray Normandy sea salt) for seasoning
Note, I cook this dish in a single large stainless steel tri-clad stock pot with a tight cover, which I first use for the browning on the stove top (without cover), and then later use as a covered Dutch oven in the oven for the actual braise.
Cut chuck into bite-sized pieces, say 7/8 cubes. Theyll shrink when browned so need to be cut a bit bigger than bite-sized to start with. In a large mixing bowl, sprinkle meat with Pepper/salt mixture, tossing meat as you sprinkle to evenly distribute seasoning. This will be the primary seasoning, but dont get carried away as you can always add more at the end, but cant remove any excess. Id say about two tablespoons is what you want to use here.
Now, brown bones in olive oil and set aside. Then brown seasoned meat in olive oil in small batches and set aside. You want to deeply brown the meat. It will be relatively hard and dry if youve browned it enough. Then brown shallots and garlic together in olive oil and set aside. Finally, brown onions and set aside. Now pour part of the red wine into the stock pot to loosen the fond stuck to the bottom of the pot. You may have to scrape a bit with a plastic or steel spatula.
Add all ingredients previously set aside as well as the rest of the wine, and then bring covered pot to a boil. As soon as the pot boils, place covered pot in oven preheated to 280 degrees. A convection oven works best. Braise for three hours, checking once an hour that liquid is sufficient, which it should be, but if not, you can add additional wine or purified water. Just bring the new liquid to a boil before adding. Note that the suggested braising time is what I use at a mile high altitude, so braising time should probably be a bit less at sea level since water will get much hotter before it boils at sea level.
Remove pot from oven when done and remove all bones. Taste if additional seasoning is needed. If so, mix the new seasoning in very gently by folding instead of stirring so you dont break up the tender chunks of beef.
Cool pot in cold water in your sink, and when cooled enough, refrigerate overnight so that the meat will soak up the remaining juice.
To server, heat in microwave and serve over jasmine rice cooked with butter and salt. A large dollop of sour cream can be used as a garnish.
Bon Appétit!
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