About the Recipe
This is a new twist on the traditional beef Bourguignon, which is essentially an old fashioned country style stew with red wine and thick cut bacon added. With that in mind, I decided to add pork and rutabaga, like my mom used to do when making a very similar stew. The bacon fat and red wine complement the original dish with bold and deep flavor that is amazing.
Ingredients
1.1-1.2 Kg of lean sirloin beef
453 grams (1 lb.) of thick cut bacon
1 whole pork tenderloin (500-600 grams)
900 ml of beef stock
3 cups of dry red wine (Something robust like Valpola)
400-500 grams of diced rutabaga
400-500 grams of diced carrots
400 grams of small mushrooms
350 grams of pearl onions
1 ½ cups of diced tomatoes
⅓ cup of all-purpose flour
2 tablespoons of tomato paste
2 tablespoons of beef bouillon concentrate
1 tablespoon of chopped garlic
1 teaspoon of thyme
1 bay leaf
½ teaspoon of ground black pepper
¼ to ½ teaspoon of salt
Preparation
What you will need, at a glance.
Preparing the Pearl Onions
Cut the base off of each onion.
Rinse the onions in cold water.
Bring a few cups of water to a boil in a saucepot.
Immerse the pearl onions in the boiling water for 2 minutes.
Drain the water and then soak the onions in cold water for 3-4 minutes.
Drain again.
Pinch the skin off of each onion by squeezing it from the top. The onion will pop out of the skin easily.
Set the onions aside. They will only be added to the bourguignon in the later stages of cooking.
Precooking the Bacon
Preheat the oven to 350˚ F (176˚ C). Use the "Convection Roast" setting, if your oven has the feature.
Cut the bacon into pieces approximately 1 inch square.
Spread the cut pieces onto the bottom of the roasting pot you intent to use for the bourguignon.
Roast covered for one hour then remove the cover and give the bacon a stir.
Continue roasting uncovered for 30 more minutes or until the bacon is crispy.
Remove the pot from the oven and remove the bacon from the pot and set it aside.
Make sure to keep all the bacon fat in the pot.
If you want to save a bit of time, you can cook the bacon on the stovetop. However, the stovetop method requires your attention for the duration of the cooking process. The oven method allows you to complete other steps while the bacon is cooking, like cutting the meat and prepping the vegetables.
Preparing and Searing the Meat
Start by cutting 1.1 to 1.2 Kg of beef into chunks that are about 2 inches square.
Remove any tough looking gristle.
Cut the pork tenderloin into similar sized chunks.
Make sure to cut off the silver skin on the tenderloin before cutting it into chunks.
Pat all the meat chunks dry using a paper towel.
The next step will be to sear the meat and wet meat does not sear well.
On the stovetop with the element set to medium high, heat the roasting pot that you cooked the bacon in earlier.
The fat has to get very hot so that the meat will sear quickly. It should boil vigorously and crackle when you add the meat.
Add a few pieces of meat at a time to the hot fat and fry them on all sides until they are well browned.
Do not crowd the pot with too many pieces at a time or the fat will cool off and the meat will lose its juices. This will make the meat boil instead of frying, resulting in tough meat.
As the pieces are browned, remove them from the pot and set them aside. Continue until you have browned all the chunks of meat.
Reduce the temperature to medium and immediately go onto the next step.
Preparing the Vegetables
Preheat the oven to 425˚ F (218˚ C) on convection roast.
Add 400 grams of mushrooms to the pot and fry them until they are lightly browned.
Add 400-500 grams of diced carrots and the same amount of diced rutabagas and continue to stir fry for a few more minutes.
Pre-Baking
Add ⅓ cup of all-purpose flour to the pot and mix well.
Add the seared beef and pork chunks and mix everything again.
Put the pot in the oven, uncovered, and roast for 10 minutes.
Remove the pot from the oven and reduce the temperature to 325˚ F (163˚ C)
Final Steps
Return the pre-cooked bacon to the pot.
Add the following ingredients to the pot and mix everything together:
900 ml of beef stock
3 cups of dry red wine (Something robust like Valpola)
1 ½ cups of diced tomatoes
2 tablespoons of tomato paste
2 tablespoons of beef bouillon concentrate
1 tablespoon of chopped garlic
1 teaspoon of thyme
1 bay leaf
½ teaspoon of ground black pepper
¼ to ½ teaspoon of salt
Cover the pot and roast the stew for 3 hours.
After 3 hours, add the pearl onions and continue cooking for ½ hour.
Remove from oven and serve.
