5/14/07: Beef Stew with Pearl Onions, Mushrooms, and Bacon (Boeuf À La Bourguignonne)

Source: Glorious French Food by James Peterson
Makes 8 main-course servings

5 pounds [2.3 kg] beef chuck roast, preferably blade, cut into 1 1/2-inch [4-cm] chunks
1 bottle full-bodied red wine
2 medium-size carrots, peeled, cut into 1/2-inch [1.5-cm] sections
2 medium-size onions, chopped coarse
2 clove garlic, crushed, plus 2 cloves, chopped fine (for fatback strips; optional)
1 medium-size bouquet garni
12 ounces [340 g] fatback (including rind), rind removed and reserved, fat cut into 1/4-inch-by-6-inch [.5-by-15-cm] strips (optional)
4 tablespoons "pure"olive oil or vegetable oil (for sautéing the meat and vegetables), plus 2 tablespoons olive oil (for sautéing the mushrooms)
salt
1/2 cup [375 ml] beef or veal broth (optional)
1 pint [335 g] pearl onions, or 16 walnut-size onions, peeled
1 pound small cultivated mushrooms, preferably cremini
pepper
1/2 pound [225 g] thickly sliced bacon, cut into 1-inch [2.5-cm] strips
3 tablespoons all-purpose flour (for optional beurre mainé]
3 tablespoons butter (for optional beurre manié]

STIR the beef chunks in a bowl with the red wine, carrots, chopped onions, garlic, and bouquet garni and let them marinate in the refrigerator for 6 to 12 hours. Stir the meat and vegetables once or twice during the marinating. If you're in a rush, skip the marinating.

IF you're larding the meat, toss the strips of fatback with the chopped garlic and let them marinate in the refrigerator while you're marinating the meat. Cut the reserved rind into strips about 1/2 inch [1.5 cm] wide and tie them in a bundle.

TAKE the meat out of the bowl and scoop out the vegetables, reserving both wine and vegetables. If you're larding the meat, insert a strip of fatback in each piece with a hinged interlarding needle, cutting the strip of fatback off where it comes out of the meat, leaving a 1 1/2-inch [1.5 cm] strip of fatback in each chunk.

OVER medium heat, heat 2 tablespoons of the oil in a heavy-bottomed pot large enough to hold the stew, or in a heavy-bottomed skillet. Brown the vegetables, stirring every few minutes until they have softened and lightly browned. Scoop out the vegetables and reserve. Pat the meat dry and season the chunks with salt. Over high heat, heat another 2 tablespoons of oil in the pot used to brown the vegetables, and brown the meat on all sides. If the oil is smoking and the bottom of the pot looks like it might be burning, turn down the hear to medium. When the meat is well browned, pour out the cooked oil and examine the bottom of the pot to see if it is black with burnt juices. If it is, rinse the pot and wipe out the burnt juices.

PUT the meat back in the pot and add the wine, the broth, if using, and the browned vegetables. Nestle the bouquet garni and the pork rind strips into the pot. Bring the stew to a gentle simmer on the stove, cover, and slide into a 325F [165C/gas mark 3] preheated oven. Cook for about 3 hours, checking every 30 minutes to make sure the stew isn't boiling, but that a bubble rises to the surface every second or so. Check if the meat is done by poking a piece with a paring knife - the meat is done when a chunk doesn't cling to the knife.

STRAIN the stew through a colander or large strainer into a clean pot. Pick out the meat with tongs and set it aside in a bowl covered with plastic wrap. (Never leave stewed meat uncovered or it will get dry and crusty.) Discard the bouquet garni, aromatic vegetables, and rind. Put the pot of braising liquid over low to medium heat, with the pan to one side of the burner so the liquid bubbles up on only one side. Skimming off the fat, simmer the cooking liquid down to 3 cups, about 20 minutes.

WHILE the cooking liquid is reducing, prepare the garniture. Put the pearl onions in a pan just large enough to hold them in a single layer, with 1/2 cup [125 ml] of the stewing liquid. Simmer, cover, until the onions are easily penetrated with the tip of a knife, 10 to 20 minutes. If the mushrooms are larger than 1 inch across, cut them in quarters vertically; otherwise leave them whole. Sauté them in 2 tablespoons of olive oil over high heat until they're well browned, and season them whole with salt with salt and pepper. Pour any liquid left after cooking the mushrooms and onions back into the stew. Heat the bacon strips over medium heat for about 10 minutes until they release their fat and turn just slightly crispy. Scoop them out with a slotted spoon and drain them on paper towels.


JUST before serving, combine the meat with the stewing liquid and the garniture and gently reheat, keeping the meat at a very gentle simmer for about 5 minutes so that it heat through. Check to see if the liquid seems too thin. (It's a matter of taste - I like a brothlike stew and serve it in wide soup plates.) If you want to thicken the liquid, make a beurre manié by working the flour and butter into a paste with the back of a fork. Whisk half the paste into the simmering stew and judge the stewing liquid's consistency (dipping a spoon into the liquid makes it easier to see) . If you still want it thicker, whisk in the rest of the beurre manié.

SERVE the stew on hot plates or in hot wide soup plates. Garnish fresh pepper over each serving.