Beef BourguignonBeef in Red Wine Sauce

• Optional, but traditional for added flavor: 6 ounces blanched bacon lardons (see below)
• 2 to 3 Tbs cooking oil
• About 4 pounds trimmed beef chuck, cut into 2-inch cubes
• Salt and freshly ground pepper
• 2 cups sliced onions
• 1 cup sliced carrots
• 1 bottle red wine (such as zinfandel or Chianti)
• 2 cups beef stock (page 5) or canned beef broth
• 1 cup chopped tomatoes, fresh or canned
• 1 medium herb bouquet (see page 58)
• Beurre manie for the sauce: 3 Tbs flour blended to a paste with 2 Tbs butter
• 24 brown-braised small white onions (page 28) and 3 cups sauteed quartered mushrooms (page 31)

1. (If using lardons, saute them to brown lightly in a little oil; set them aside and add to simmer with the beef, using the rendered fat in browning.)
2. Choose a large frying pan and brown the chunks of meat on all sides in hot oil, season with salt and pepper, and turn them into a heavy casserole.
3. Remove all but a little fat from the frying pan, add the sliced vegetables and brown them, and add to the meat.
4. Deglaze the pan with wine, pouring it into the casserole along with enough stock almost to cover the meat.
5. Stir in the tomatoes and add the herb bouquet.
6. Bring to the simmer, cover, and simmer slowly, either on the stove or in a preheated 325F oven, until the meat is tendereat a little piece to check.
7. Drain through a colander set over a saucepan and return the meat to the casserole.
8. Press juices out of the residue into the cooking liquid, then degrease and boil down the liquid to 3 cups.
9. Off heat, whisk in the beurre manie, then simmer for 2 minutes as the sauce thickens lightly.
10. Correct seasoning and pour over the meat, folding in the onions and mushrooms.
11. (May be completed a day in advance to this point.)
12. To serve, bring to the simmer, basting meat and vegetables with the sauce for several minutes until thoroughly hot throughout.
13. POT ROAST AND DAUBE OF BEEF.
14. For a 4-to-5-pound bottom round or top round of beef, serving 10 to 12.
15. (Other possibilities: chuck shoulder, eye of round, middle cut of brisket.)
16. Simmering time: 3 to 4 hours.
17. Brown the beef on all sides, either on top of the stove or under the broiler, turning and basting with oil.
18. Season with salt and pepper and set in a covered casserole with the same browned sliced vegetables, wine, stock, and other ingredients as for the preceding master recipe.
19. When tender, proceed to make the sauce in the same manner.
20. COQ AU VINCHICKEN IN RED WINE.
21. For 3 pounds of cut-up frying chicken, serving 5 or 6 people.
22. Cooking time: 25 to 30 minutes.
23. Brown the chicken all over in hot oil and the rendered fat from the optional lardons.
24. Then proceed exactly as for the master beef recipe, using the same ingredients and the garniture of onions and mushrooms.
25. CHICKEN FRICASSEE.
26. The fricassee is essentially the same as the coq au vin, but it is done in white wine rather than red, and the chicken is not browned.
27. For 3 pounds of chicken, serving 5 to 6.
28. Cooking time: 25 to 30 minutes.
29. When 3 tablespoons of butter are foaming in the frying pan, stir in 1 cup of sliced onions; when they are tender, add the chicken pieces.
30. Turn frequently until stiffened slightly but not browned.
31. Season with salt and pepper, add a pinch of tarragon, cover, and cook very slowly for 5 minutes more, without coloring.
32. Then simmer with 2 cups of dry white wine or 1 1/2 cups of dry French vermouth and about 2 cups of chicken broth.
33. Complete the sauce as described in the master recipe and garnish with white-braised little onions (page 28) and simmered mushrooms (page 32).
34. You may wish to enrich the sauce with a little cream.
35. When you cant find a piece of pork fat to protect the surface of roasting meat, use sliced bacon or salt pork, but you need to remove its smoky or salty taste.
36. To do so, drop 6 to 8 slices into 2 quarts of cold water, bring to the boil, and simmer 6 to 8 minutes.
37. Drain, rinse in cold water, and dry on paper towels.
38. Lardons, pieces of blanched bacon or salt pork cut into 1/4-inch-thick pieces about 1 inch long, are used for flavoring dishes such as beef bourguignon and coq au vin.

bacon, cooking oil, beef chuck, salt, onions, carrots, red wine, beef stock, tomatoes, herb bouquet, beurre, brownbraised small white onions

Taken from www.epicurious.com/recipes/food/views/beef-bourguignon-beef-in-red-wine-sauce-391555 (may not work)