Beef Bourguignon

Ingredients

• 2 lbs / 900g stewing beef or rump roasting joint cut into 2-inch cubes
• 500 ml / 2 cups red wine
• 1 tbsp olive oil
• 50 g bacon lardons/ 2-3 strips bacon chopped
• 1 large onion chopped
• 2 garlic cloves minced
• 2-3 tbsp flour
• 1 cup baby carrots/2 large carrots cut into 2-inch pieces
• Up to 1 cup/ 250 ml beef stock optional
• 1 prepared bouquet garni or 3 parsley stalks 3 thyme sprigs, 2 bay leaves tied together
• Salt and pepper to taste
• Parsley chopped

Instructions:

• The night before combine beef and wine in an airtight container or a ziplock bag and marinade overnight.
• When ready to cook take the beef out and lightly dab the pieces with a paper towel to absorb the liquid, salt and pepper them, then set aside for a moment, reserve the wine the meat was marinated in.
• Preheat the oven to 300F/160C
• Heat the olive oil in a heavy cast iron pot and cook the bacon lardons until they render fat, remove with a slotted spoon to a bowl.
• In the same pot brown beef over medium-high heat, do so in batches to avoid overcrowding and steaming. The beef should be nicely browned on each side but not cooked all the way through, approximately 2-3 minutes on each side depending on how high the heat is. Remove the browned beef to the same bowl as the bacon.
• Now add chopped onion to the pan and cook over low heat for 5-7 minutes until tender and translucent, then add minced garlic and cook for 1 minute stirring constantly to prevent garlic from burning or it will turn bitter.
• Return the beef and bacon bits to the pan, add carrots, and flour, and stir, cook for a minute to ensure all flour got saturated in the fat in the pan, then add reserved wine and enough beef stock to cover the beef, add your bouquet garni and bring to a boil, then cover with a lid and put in the preheated oven for 2 hours.
• After two hours check on the liquid in the pot, it should remain at the same level. Put the beef back in the oven with the lid off to allow the liquid to reduce and thicken, and cook for 1 to 1.5 hours for tender, melt-in-your-mouth beef. Taste and add more salt if needed.
• Serve sprinkled with additional chopped parsley over mashed potatoes or noodles.