comfort/dinner/meat/recipes/soup

Warm and Cozy Beef Bourguignon

Posted January 16, 2017 by Stephanie
quick and easy beef bourguignon recipe - www.iamafoodblog.com

quick and easy beef bourguignon recipe - www.iamafoodblog.com

There’s something extra cozy about coming in from the cold to a huge pot of something delicious bubbling away on the stove. It’s been extra cold here in Tokyo. The other day, we went to a pottery fair and froze our butts off looking at all the gorgeous pieces. I felt bad for the vendors – at least we were able to move into the sunny patches and warm up for a bit.

quick and easy beef bourguignon recipe - www.iamafoodblog.com

Cold as it was, we had a blast! There was a DIY yakimochi corner where you could buy two mochi cakes, toast them over a grill, then enjoy them on a handmade plate. It was extra cozy, warming up our hands over the grill. I’ve never had yaki mochi with just miso before, but I think it’s going to be a regular thing now. After we filled our bellies, we took at look at the pottery — it was gorgeous. We bought 5 bowls and then stopped because our luggage space is a premium and I promised myself (and Mike) that this time, I wouldn’t buy so much stuff to bring home.

quick and easy beef bourguignon recipe - www.iamafoodblog.com

Speaking of home, after being in the cold for so long, it would have been awesome to tuck into this beef bourguignon. But since I made this back in home, it was not meant to be. Instead I asked Mike if we could stop into a combini (convenience store) to buy some kairo – little disposable Japanese hand warmers that you shake up to activate. My hands were so cold that they didn’t feel warm at all. It would’ve been bomb if I had little hot foil packets filled with stew, that I could rip open and eat. But I don’t think there’s much of a market for that…

quick and easy beef bourguignon recipe - www.iamafoodblog.com

Anyway, back to this beef bourguignon! It’s thick, rich, and beefy – just what you want in a stew. I made it for an ongoing rotating dinner that we have going on with a good friend. We take turns cooking dinner every week (when we’re all in town), usually something that’s impressive/out of our comfort zone. I guess I kind of cop out a little bit because I’m always leaving it to the last minute. I really have to up my cooking game! Any impressive dishes that you guys have up your sleeves?

quick and easy beef bourguignon recipe - www.iamafoodblog.com

The thing is, I always have a ton of things I want to make, but then, when put on the spot, I blank. It took me forever to decide to make beef bourguignon, mostly because I thought it wasn’t impressive enough. But, the truth is, sometimes you don’t want impressive (I hope!). Sometimes you just want a rib-sticking big bowl of stew.

Hmm, now that I think about it, I guess this isn’t just basic beef stew. Typically, if I were doing a basic kind of thing, I’d literally throw everything into a pot and let it gently simmer for a couple of hours and call it a day. Here, I seared the beef in “steaks” because I’ve found that searing cubes is kind of time consuming. Bonus, I like the contrast of seared and un-seared bits on each cube of meat. I also strayed from the typical salt and added soy and fish sauce as umami boosters, which isn’t traditional, but adds that extra bit of oomph. Oh, one last thing, I love cooking the vegetables separately – they retain their bite and flavor without turning into mush. Definitely do the pearl onions, even if peeling them is a bitch. They are one of my favorite parts!

Hope you’re keeping warm!
xoxo steph

quick and easy beef bourguignon recipe - www.iamafoodblog.com

Warm and Cozy Beef Bourguignon Recipe
serves 4-6


Bourguignon:

  • 6 slices bacon, diced
  • 3 pound eye of round or chuck
  • 1 onion, chopped
  • 1 head garlic, peeled
  • 1 bottle red wine (choose something from Burgundy!)
  • 2 cups low sodium beef broth
  • 1 tablespoon soy sauce
  • 1 tablespoon fish sauce
  • 1 tablespoon tomato paste
  • 4-6 stems fresh thyme
  • 3 bay leaves
  • salt and freshly ground pepper to taste

Vegetables:

  • 1-2 tablespoons butter
  • 1 bag pearl onions, peeled
  • 2 large carrots, cut into 1 inch pieces
  • 10 ounces mushrooms

Roux:

  • 3 tablespoons butter
    3 tablespoons flour

Fry the bacon in a dutch oven over medium heat until cooked. Remove with a slotted spoon, leaving a bit of bacon fat in the pan.

Slice the eye of round or chuck into three thick steaks. Season the steaks on both sides with salt and freshly ground pepper.

In batches, if needed, sear the beef, over medium-high heat until well browned on both sides, about 10 minutes. Remove and set aside.

Add the chopped onions and garlic cloves cook, over medium-high until golden, adding oil if needed. Add the wine and bring to a boil, scraping and deglazing the pan. Add the beef broth, soy sauce, fish sauce, and tomato paste. Add the bay leaves and thyme.

Cut the beef into 1.5-2 inch chunks and add it, with the bacon, back into the dutch oven. Bring to gentle simmer and cook covered, stirring occasionally for 2-3 hours, or until the meat is tender.

When there’s 30 minutes left for the beef, prepare the vegetables. Heat up the butter over medium-high heat in a large sauce pan. When hot, add the pearl onions and brown slightly. Add the mushrooms and carrots. Cook until golden brown and set aside.

Make a roux by melting the butter in a small pot over medium heat. Whisk in the flour and cook, whisking until brown and rich.

Whisk the roux into the stew. Add in the vegetables and bring to simmer on the stove, until the vegetables are tender, about 10 minutes. Season with salt and pepper to taste and enjoy hot!

23 Comments

  1. oooh, for some reason i’ve never thought of doing miso with mochi! when i get fresh mochi after mochitsuki, it normally gets dipped in soy sauce and sugar, but i’ll have to try miso with the ones i froze!

    1. Stephanie says:

      miso and mochi, it’s goooooooooooood :) lucky you, having fresh mochi in your freezer!

  2. Cynthia says:

    Aww man I just passed on buying some round that was on sale at the market today! Should have bought to make this… guess I’ll just have to go back to the market tmrw ;)

    1. Stephanie says:

      ooh on sale round!? i would totes be there. i love sale meat. i’m not even kidding :)

  3. Stacy says:

    I love the fish sauce edition! Also, just searing whole steaks. So brilliant.

    1. Stephanie says:

      searing whole steaks is both genius and lazy….so maybe just genius?! ;)

  4. I love the unique additions of soy and fish sauce! Can’t wait to give this a try.

    1. Stephanie says:

      i hope you have a chance to give it a try kristen :)

  5. Susan says:

    I’m so intrigued by the fish sauce in this – genius idea! Your photos are beautiful as per usual!

    1. Stephanie says:

      thank you susan :)
      fish sauce is kinda like worcestershire, in that they’re both fermented and they both have fish!

  6. Margaux says:

    Hi Steph! I’ve been a devoted blog follower for a while now…and I’ve also been cold for a while now! So I thought it’d be perfect to go the shabu shabu route and have a giant steaming bowl of hot pot to huddle around. However, I need to buy a pot first! Do you have a favorite electric pot that you use for hot pot dishes? Any recommendations? Thanks so much! Hope you stay cozy in Tokyo :)

    1. Stephanie says:

      hi margaux!
      at home we use an induction cooker with an ih friendly pot to go with. they usually have a selection of induction cookers at costco. i find it nice to do the induction cooker and pot combo rather than having an electric pot because you can use the induction cooker for other things too. we actually bought a cheap pot here in tokyo so we can do oden/shabu shabu/hot pot here :) we just bought a cheap guy – a yamazen. i did a quick amazon search and don’t see any though. this one might work, but i can’t vouch for it personally: http://amzn.to/2jpteYj

      hope that helps a bit!

  7. cynthia says:

    What!!! Soy sauce and fish sauce sound like absolute gamechangers here — your version is genius, Steph. Like everything you do!

    1. Stephanie says:

      thanks cynthia!! i love adding fish sauce (and soy) to everything lol

  8. Gemma says:

    Are the mushrooms a must? Or will keeping them out change the flavor of the dish completely?

    1. Stephanie says:

      hey gemma,

      you can leave them out if you’re a mushroom hater, but i really like the meatiness and flavor they add :)

  9. Maggie C says:

    MmMmmmmmm!!!!! this looks super amazing!!

  10. Tamra says:

    I just made this tonight and it was so good! Followed the recipe to a t and it was amazing! Thanks!!

  11. JG says:

    OMG – made this last night – so, so, so good. depth, not mushy and the fish/soy was perfect. Thanks!

  12. Alana says:

    I wish i had packets of this beef bourguignon too… how do we make that happen? also, i want to miso mochi with you guys!!! hope you’re staying warm out there, sis!!

  13. Gustavo Woltmann says:

    It is so brilliant. I like the unique additions.

    – Gustavo Woltmann

  14. Gustavo Woltmann says:

    I love to have that kind of ‘heavy’ food once in a while. Definitely going to try this recipe out!

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