Boeuf Bourguignon
Burgundy's beef braise — chuck simmered in red wine with lardons, mushrooms, and pearl onions.
Ingredients
- 1500 g Beef chuck
- 200 g Bacon
- 750 ml Red wine
- 500 ml Beef stock
- 2 Yellow onion
- 2 Carrot
- 4 cloves Garlic
- 300 g Button mushrooms
- 2 tbsp Tomato paste
- 2 tbsp All-purpose flour
- 60 g Butter
- 4 sprigs Thyme
- 2 Bay leaves
- 2 tsp Salt
- 1 tsp Black pepper
- 4 sprigs Parsley (optional)
- 60 ml Cognac / Brandy (optional)
Method
- Dice the bacon into small lardons.
- Heat the Dutch oven over medium. Render the bacon 5 minutes until crisp. Lift to a bowl with a slotted spoon, leaving the fat behind.
- Cut the beef chuck into 5 cm chunks and pat very dry with paper towels.
- Tie the parsley stems (reserve the leaves for garnish), thyme, and bay leaves into a small bundle with kitchen string.
- Dice the onion and carrot small.
- Smash the garlic cloves with the side of a knife.
- Season the beef heavily with salt and pepper. Sear in 3 batches over high heat in the bacon fat, 6 min per batch — DEEP brown all sides. Don't crowd. Lift onto the bacon plate.
- Reduce heat to medium. Add onion and carrot to the pan. Sweat 8 minutes until soft (don't brown).
- Stir in garlic and tomato paste. Cook 2 minutes until brick red. Sprinkle the flour over and cook 1 minute, stirring.
- Pour in the cognac and let it bubble 30 seconds. Add the red wine and beef stock, scraping up the fond (the flavourful browned bits stuck to the pan). Bring to a simmer.
- Return beef, bacon, and any juices to the pot. Tuck in the bouquet garni. Bring to a gentle simmer.
- Cover and braise in the oven at 160°C (325°F) for 2.5 hours, until the meat is fork-tender.
- Quarter the mushrooms.
- Melt half the butter in the skillet over medium-high. Sauté the mushrooms 6 minutes until deep golden. Set aside.
- Chop the reserved parsley leaves finely.
- Lift the meat onto a plate. Discard the bouquet garni. Place the pot over high heat and reduce the sauce 10 minutes to coat the back of a spoon.
- Return meat and mushrooms. Off heat, swirl in the remaining cold butter to glaze. Taste for salt.
- Scatter chopped parsley over. Serve with crusty bread, mashed potato, or buttered noodles.
Tap “Start cooking” for live timers that flag what to get ahead on while something simmers.
About Boeuf Bourguignon
Boeuf bourguignon is the definitive beef braise of Burgundy, where the region's red wine is as much a cooking ingredient as a drink. Chunks of well-marbled chuck are seared hard, then simmered for hours in red wine and stock alongside crisp bacon lardons, until the meat surrenders into a silky, deeply savory stew. The classic garnish trio of button mushrooms, pearl onions, and lardons is what marks it as bourguignon rather than a generic beef stew, and a splash of cognac and a bundle of thyme and bay round out its rich, winey depth.
Getting this version right is a matter of patience at the stove. The beef is patted very dry and seared in three uncrowded batches so it takes on a deep brown crust rather than steaming, and that fond is the foundation of the sauce's flavor. As it braises, the wine loses its raw edge and mellows into something glossy and profound, thickened lightly with a butter-and-flour roux. Eaten with mashed potatoes, buttered noodles, or crusty bread to catch the sauce, it's cool-weather comfort food and a fitting centerpiece for a slow Sunday dinner, tasting even better reheated the next day.
Boeuf Bourguignon: frequently asked questions
How many calories are in Boeuf Bourguignon?
A serving has about 982 calories — 54.8g protein, 16.3g carbs, 66.3g fat, 2.9g fiber. Figures are estimated from the ingredient amounts and will shift with your portions and brands.
Is it high in protein?
Each serving has about 54.8g of protein, roughly 22% of its calories.
Is Boeuf Bourguignon gluten-free?
As written, no — it contains All-purpose flour. You'd need a certified gluten-free swap for that ingredient to make it gluten-free.
Is Boeuf Bourguignon dairy-free?
Not as written — it uses Butter. Swapping it for a plant-based alternative makes it dairy-free.
How long does Boeuf Bourguignon take to make?
About 240 minutes start to finish, but only around 69 of those are hands-on — the rest is largely unattended cooking time you can step away from. In the Homecooked app the timers and parallel steps are sequenced for you so the hands-on part feels even shorter.
Do I need every ingredient to make Boeuf Bourguignon?
The core ingredients are essential, but you can leave out parsley, cognac / brandy — they're optional and mainly there for extra flavor or finish.
How many servings does Boeuf Bourguignon make?
This recipe makes 6 servings. In the app you can scale it up or down and the ingredient amounts adjust automatically.