Recipe for Beef Bourguignon
Ingredients, recipe and method

Ingredients,

Serves 4- 6 people

1kg of chuck steak cut into small pieces
2 tablespoons of oil
15/20 pickling onions or shallots
50gms butter
2 cloves of garlic crushed or finely chopped
3 teaspoons plain flour
400 Mls of a good robust red wine
( remember if you wouldn't drink it don't cook with it)
500mls of good quality beef stock
1 bouquet garni.
(Bay leaf, thyme,parsley, stick of celery tied up with kitchen string)
Salt and pepper 100gms diced smoked bacon
( collar end or streaky, as you need a little fat)
250gms button mushrooms

Method

* marinade your beef in the red wine. Over night is best, but you can get away with a couple of hours

* Remove the beef from the bowl with a slotted spoon! and pat it dry with kitchen towel.

* Place the oil in a pan and allow to heat, add the beef and brown all over in small batches.

If you over crowd the pan the temperature will drop and the meat will begin to stew and not brown. This process called caramelisation is very important as it adds a lot of flavour.

* Once you have browned all the meat, place it in a casserole dish. Cover it with the left over wine from the marinating. Add your stock. There should be enough liquid to cover the meat. Add some of the salt and pepper. Seasoning is a matter of personal taste, and you can always
add some more , but can never remove it!!!!

* Place in a preheated oven 160 deg fan, and allow to gently simmer for three hours.

* While the beef is in the oven,add the remaining oil to a pan and add in the chopped smoked bacon. You need a medium heat for this. Once the bacon is almost browned,add the chopped garlic and the onions.
Continue to cook until there is a golden colour on the shallots and all the flavours have come together. Remove from the pan and set aside until later.

* In the same pan, add half the butter and fry off the button mushrooms. Again you are only looking for colour, the mushrooms will be added to the beef later and will continue to cook.

* After two and a half hours add the bacon, mushrooms and onions to the beef. Stir and place back in the oven. Continue to cook for another half hour or until the meat is nice and tender. Don't worry about following the
timings exactly, they are a guide to help you not a rule book!!!

* Once the meat is tender remove the Bourguignonne from the oven and taste. At this stage I usually add some more seasoning, and a spoon of redcurrant jelly. ( The jelly, adds a sweetness, as sometimes the red wine can be a little bitter. )

* The final stage is to thicken the sauce. You don't have to do this, but it is nicer when serving.

* Mix the flour and butter together and very slowly crumble in small pieces into the beef.

Alternatively, mix three teaspoons of cornflower with cold water and add to the beef. Then stir into the Bourguignonne. Allow to simmer gently on the hob until thickened.