Slickhorn Style Bœuf Bourguignon

The only way to improve a Julie Child recipe from Mastering the Art of French Cooking is to upgrade the beef to Diamond-grade Wagyu or dry-aged beef. It's shocking the French don’t excel in something culinary, but their beef lacks the richness that comes from grain finishing and dry aging.  

This recipe doesn’t need any advanced cooking techniques, it just needs time and great ingredients. If you’re making it for a dinner party, you can actually cook everything a day and advance and gently reheat on the stove. It gets even more delicious when the flavors have time to meld together overnight. 

Supplies 

• A frying pan
• A Dutch oven
• A slotted spoon
• Plenty of time to chop and sauté  

Ingredients

• 6 ounces bacon
• 1 tbsp olive oil
• 1 Wagyu or dry-aged chuck roast, cut into 2-inch cubes
• 1 sliced carrot
• 1 sliced onion
• 1 tsp salt
• ¼ tsp pepper
• 2 tbsp flour
• 3 cups red wine (that you wouldn’t mind drinking)
• 2 -3 cups brown beef stock
• 1 tbsp tomato paste
• 2 cloves mashed garlic
• ½ tsp thyme
• 1 crumbled bay leaf
• 18 to 24 small pearl onions, or sliced onions
• 1 pound quartered mushrooms 
• Parsley sprigs 

Let's Cook!

1. Cut the bacon 1.5 inch strips.  

2. Preheat oven to 450 degrees. 

3. Sizzle bacon in the oil in the frying pan over moderate heat for 2 to 3 minutes to brown lightly. Put it in the Dutch oven, to the side. Reheat until fat is almost smoking. 

4. Pat the cubed chuck roast dry so it browns. Sauté it, a few pieces at a time, in the oil and bacon fat until nicely browned. Add to the Dutch oven. 

5. In the same pan, brown the carrot and the onion.  

6. Toss the beef and bacon (in the Dutch oven) with the salt and pepper. Sprinkle with flour and toss to coat lightly.  

7. Set Dutch oven uncovered in middle rack of preheated oven for 4 minutes. Toss the meat and return to oven for 4 minutes more. This process browns the flour and helps develop a crust on the meat. Carefully remove Dutch oven. Reduce heat to 325 degrees. 

8. Stir in the wine and enough stock so the meat is just covered. Add tomato paste, garlic, and herbs. Bring to simmer on top of the stove.  

9. Cover the Dutch oven and set in lower third of preheated oven. Braise the beef very slowly for 2 1/2 to 3 hours. The meat is done when a fork pierces it easily. 

10. While the beef is cooking, braise some onions in beef stock and sauté your mushrooms with butter until they’re brown. Set them aside until needed. 

11. When the meat is tender, carefully pour the braising liquid into a heat-safe dish.  

12. Add the cooked onions and mushrooms to the Dutch oven. 

13. Skim fat off the braising liquid and add it to a saucepan. Simmer for a few minutes, skimming off fat as you please. The sauce should thicken as it simmers. 

Pro Tip: You should have about 2 ½ cups of sauce. If you think your sauce is too thin, turn up the heat. If it’s too thick, mix in a few tablespoons of stock 

14. When the rich sauce coats the back of a spoon, it’s ready to go back into the Dutch oven. Pour the sauce over the meat and vegetables.  

To Eat Now: Covet the Dutch oven and simmer to redistribute the sauce and baste the meat. Serve straight form the Dutch oven over crispy roasted potatoes or creamy mashed potatoes.  

To Eat Later: Let it come to room temperature, then cover and refrigerate. About 20 minutes before you’re ready to serve it, bring it back to a simmer to the simmer, cover, occasionally basting the meat and vegetables with the sauce.