Beef Bourguignon

After the uncomfortable heatwave that strikes most of Europe every July and August, which generally renders our kitchen a no-go-zone and where turning on the oven is like turning on the heater, I always welcome the start of autumn with much relief.

And as soon as the weather starts to turn grey and cold, my thoughts often turn to comforting stews and slow-cooked meals.

If you love beef stews, you will love this French classic, Beef Bourguignon (also called Boeuf Bourguignon or Beef Burgundy).

beef bourguignon in cast iron pan

Beef Bourguignon Recipe

This recipe for Beef Bourguignon is nothing too different to your usual beef stew. What really sets a Beef Bourguignon apart from other beef stews is the use of red wine, but more on that later …

For me, the baby onions are a must in this dish, as are the mushrooms, as a way of introducing vegetables in what is otherwise a meat-heavy dish.

You can also add carrots to a Beef Bourguignon, but it is not always so common. You could add just one carrot as per Julia Child’s recipe for Beef Bourguignon (most likely to add some sweetness to the sauce), but any more and your stew would be considered a Boeuf Carotte, which is a different French dish entirely.

ingredients for beef bourguignon

Which Cut of Beef to Use for Beef Bourguignon?

The most important part of this dish is, naturally, the beef.

I buy most of my meat from the butcher, so I always ask for stewing beef in one large piece which I can then slice up at home.

Pre-chopped stewing beef tend to be too small for my liking, and I happen to think that large pieces of meat cook better when slow-cooked. So for stews like a Beef Bourguignon, I like to cut the meat into fairly large chunks (either large 5 cm cubes or more often into large blocks about 10 cm long and 5 cm wide).

Beef Bourguignon in black cast iron pan

Which Red Wine is Best for Beef Bourguignon?

Beef Bourguignon is thought to have its origin in the Burgundy region of France (hence, the name), but each region has its own version of this classic dish, using its local red wine.

As red wine is the predominant flavour in this dish, it would be wise to use a good-quality wine, one which isn’t necessarily expensive, nor a Burgundy (unless you need to impress).

I often make this dish with a Pinot Noir or a Côtes-du-Rhône, nothing too expensive but good enough to also drink with the meal later. If you’re not prepared to drink the wine, please do not invest 3 hours cooking with it.

Beef Bourguignon in black pan on marble table

What to Serve with Beef Bourguignon

Boiled potatoes or mashed potatoes are the usual accompaniments to a classic Beef Bourguignon.

But for something a bit different, I think Rachel Khoo’s Baguette Dumplings are a wonderful alternative.

These Baguette Dumplings are made from – you guessed it – leftover or stale baguette loaves. They are fried until crispy and golden, and they are perfect for soaking up all the wonderful, rich sauce from the Beef Bourguignon.

The dumplings themselves taste like fried savoury eggy bread – totally delicious!

Trust me – once you have tried these Baguette Dumplings, it will be hard to eat Beef Bourguignon with anything else!

beef bourguignon with baguette dumplings on white plate with vintage cutlery

How to Make Baguette Dumplings

Rachel Khoo stipulates 200 g of stale baguette for her recipe, and this equates to a whole baguette in my neck of the woods. So I set about buying an extra baguette to leave for a few days to become stale.

Tough task given that we go through bread pretty quickly in our home, and a guilt-ridden task given that my husband went without breakfast one morning upon realising that this entire baguette loaf had been reserved for dinner later that night. But it was all for a good cause …

ingredients for baguette dumplings
step-by-step photos for making baguette dumplings

As you can see from the photos, the baguette I used is pretty thin and crusty. It is important that the bread is stale for this recipe so that it can soak up all of the milk but not go mushy.

Trust me – I made these dumplings again a few nights later with somewhat fresh bread and the result was very sticky and messy. However, once the dumplings were cooked, they still tasted delicious.

prepared and pre-cooked baguette dumplings

Beef Bourguignon Pies

Any leftover Beef Bourguignon is delicious made into meat pies. In fact, I regularly make a double portion of Beef Bourguignon just so I can make pies the next day!

If you plan to turn leftovers into pies, it is best to prepare the pie filling whilst the stew is still warm.

Simply shred the leftover meat with two forks, and add enough sauce to moisten the meat and to create enough sauce for the pie filling. You could also add any mushrooms and onions from the stew.

The beef bourguignon pie filling can be kept in the fridge for several days until you are ready to make the pies. During this time, the sauce will have solidified in the fridge (like any meat stew), but it will turn into a nice gravy once it is baked in the pie.

You can use the beef bourguignon pie filling to make classic meat pies by following the steps in my recipe for Classic Meat Pies.

Or you can take a popular short cut and follow the steps in my recipe for Pie Maker Meat Pies.

How to make Pie Maker Meat Pies with step-by-step photos
5 stars (3 reviews)

Beef Bourguignon with Baguette Dumplings

Thanh | Eat, Little Bird
Prep30 minutes
Cook3 hours
Total3 hours 30 minutes
Serves: 4 to 6
A classic and easy recipe for Beef Bourguignon with a delicious side of Baguette Dumplings. 
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Ingredients

For the Beef Bourguignon

  • 1 kg (2 lb) chuck steak, or stewing steak, cut into large chunks, see Kitchen Notes
  • sea salt
  • black pepper, freshly cracked
  • 2-3 tablespoons olive oil
  • 150 g (5 oz) pancetta, or bacon, cubed
  • 2 garlic cloves, finely chopped
  • 10-12 pearl onions, or pickling onions, peeled but left whole
  • 2 tablespoons plain flour, (all-purpose flour)
  • 1 tablespoon tomato paste
  • 500 ml (2 cups) red wine
  • 300 ml (1 ¼ cups) water
  • 1-2 teaspoons sugar
  • 3-4 stalks parsley
  • 1 sprig thyme
  • 1 sprig rosemary
  • 3 cloves
  • 10 black peppercorns
  • 1 bay leaf
  • 10-12 white mushrooms, left whole or halved if large
  • parsley, finely chopped

For the Baguette Dumplings

  • 200 g (7 oz) stale baguette, or other stale bread
  • 250 ml (1 cup) milk
  • 1 pinch nutmeg, freshly grated
  • fine salt
  • black pepper, freshly cracked
  • 1 handful parsley, finely chopped
  • 1 egg
  • 1-2 tablespoons plain flour, (all-purpose flour)
  • 1-2 tablespoons unsalted butter, for frying

Instructions 

To Make the Beef Bourguignon

  1. Preheat the oven to 150°C/300°F (without fan).
  2. Generously season the beef on all sides with sea salt and freshly cracked pepper.
  3. Heat the oil in a large cast-iron pan or other oven-proof pan over high heat.
  4. Sear the meat in batches until they are well browned.
  5. Set the meat aside on a plate.
  6. In the same pan, cook the lardon (or pancetta or bacon) until they are brown and crispy. 
  7. Add the garlic and cook for about 1 minute, or until the garlic is aromatic.
  8. Remove the lardon and garlic with a slotted spoon to a plate.
  9. Remove any excess oil from the pan. Leave just a few tablespoons of oil in the pan.
  10. Add the pearl onions, and cook for a few minutes.
  11. Use a slotted spoon to remove the onions to the same plate as the lardon.
  12. Sprinkle over the flour and cook for a few minutes, stirring with a wooden spoon.
  13. Add the tomato paste and continue stirring.
  14. Pour in the wine, water and sugar.
  15. Stir everything together and let the mixture come to a gentle simmer over medium heat.
  16. Return the meat to the pan together with any of the juices from the meat.
  17. Return the lardon, onions and garlic to the pan as well.
  18. Tie the parsley, thyme and rosemary together with some kitchen string, and add this bouquet garni to the pan.
  19. Place the cloves and peppercorns into a small muslin bag or spice pouch, or simply add them to the pan if you don’t mind fishing out these bits later.
  20. Add the bay leaf to the pan.
  21. Bring everything to a gentle simmer.
  22. Cover the pan with a tight-fitting lid.
  23. Place the pan in the oven for about 3 hours, or until the meat is tender. If you are using large pieces of beef, you may need up to 4 hours cooking time.
  24. Check on the stew regularly to make sure it is simmering away very gently and that nothing is sticking to the bottom of the pan.
  25. At about 2 hours, taste the sauce for seasoning and adjust as necessary.
  26. At about 30 minutes before serving, add the mushrooms to the stew. At this stage, I find it easier to finish cooking the stew on the stove over a low heat.
  27. Remove and discard the bouquet garni, spice pouch (if using), and bay leaf.
  28. Taste for seasoning. Depending on how dry your red wine is, you might need a teaspoon of sugar or more.
  29. Garnish the stew with chopped fresh parsley. Serve with Baguette Dumplings or boiled whole potatoes.

For the Baguette Dumplings

  1. Slice the baguette into little pieces and place them in a medium bowl.
  2. Bring the milk to a boil in a small saucepan and pour the milk over the bread.
  3. Cover the bowl with clingfilm and set it aside for 15 minutes.
  4. Season with freshly ground nutmeg, salt and pepper.
  5. Add the parsley and egg, and sprinkle over the flour.
  6. Use your hands to mix everything together. The mixture should be moist and slightly sticky and able to hold its shape. If it is too wet, add a bit more flour.
  7. Take a small handful of the mixture and shape them into dumplings, slightly larger than a golf ball. Or you can make them as big or as small as you like.
  8. To cook the baguette dumplings, melt some butter in a non-stick frying pan over medium heat.
  9. Cook the dumplings until they are golden and crispy on all sides.

Kitchen Notes

  • INSTRUCTIONS FOR SLOW COOKER
    * Follow the same instructions as for the stove top.
    * Cook on low (95°C/203°F) for 5-6 hours or high (105°C/221°F) for 4-5 hours. The timing may vary depending on the size of the pieces of meat.
  • WHAT TYPE OF BEEF TO USE
    * For a beef stew like Beef Bourguignon, you need to use a cut of beef which is suitable for slow-cooking, such as chuck steak, beef shoulder or even beef shin.
    * I recommend buying the stewing beef in one large piece, and slicing it up yourself into large portions. The large portions of meat take a bit longer to cook, but they are nicer for serving and more pleasant to eat than if you were to cook this dish with lots of small pieces of meat.
  • WHAT TYPE OF RED WINE TO USE
    “If it’s not good enough for drinking, it’s not good enough for cooking.” Use any dry red wine which you would be happy to drink with your meal. It does not necessarily have to be an expensive wine. A Burgundy is traditional for this recipe, but I frequently use a Pinot Noir or Côtes-du-Rhône.
  • RECIPE CREDIT
    The recipe for Baguette Dumplings is adapted from The Little Paris Kitchen by Rachel Khoo.
  • OVEN TEMPERATURES
    All recipes on this website have been tested on an induction stove and/or with a conventional oven (i.e. an oven without fan). All recipes on this website use temperatures for a conventional oven, unless otherwise mentioned. Convection ovens (i.e. fan-forced ovens) are typically 20°C/70°F hotter than conventional ovens, but please check your manufacturer’s handbook.
  • CONVERSIONS
    To convert from cups to grams, and vice-versa, please see this handy Conversion Chart for Basic Ingredients.
Nutrition Information
Serving: 1g, Calories: 441kcal, Carbohydrates: 8.9g, Protein: 39.4g, Fat: 21.5g, Cholesterol: 126.5mg, Sodium: 306.3mg, Fiber: 1g, Sugar: 2.1g

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Update

This recipe was first published on 27 April 2012. It has been updated with more comprehensive recipe notes.

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