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Beef Beerguignon

Beef Bourguignon – And though I do enjoy cooking with wine, we’re going to stir things up a bit (pun intended). We’re going to cook this recipe with BEER! And today, Beef BEERguignon (beer-g-in-Ya) is born.
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Prep Time 45 minutes
Course Main Course
Cuisine French
Servings 6
Calories 653 kcal

Equipment

  • 5 or 7 Quart Cast Iron Dutch Oven A 5-quart will work well unless you are like me and always over-add ingredients. Also, the pot may initially look FULL. But, as it cooks and reduces, there’ll be plenty of room.  
  • Cast Iron Skillet (10.25” to 12”) for braising the pearl onions and the mushrooms at the end For braising the pearl onions and the mushrooms at the end
  • Cutting Board
  • Wooden Spoon or Spatula For Turning and Stirring.
  • Vegetable Peeler
  • Knife To cut the meat and vegetables
  • Fork For mixing the flour with the liquid
  • Bowl To mix the four and the liquid in
  • Spoon for tasting For tasting
  • Bit of Food-Safe String For tying the Herb bouquet like butcher’s twine
  • Scissors To cut the string (or just chop it with the knife).
  • Teaspoon Measuring Spoon
  • Tablespoon measuring spoon
  • Small glass container For storing the left-over tomato paste (we’ll use about half (or less) of a 6 ounce can for this recipe).
  • Tongs For easier turning of the beef during searing.
  • Rubber Spatula Optional: For scooping and “squeegee-ing out” the ingredients from the preparation bowls

Ingredients
  

  • 3 Pounds Beef 3-4 pounds of Tri Tip, Chuck Roast, or other low-and-slow cuts of meat
  • 6 Ounces Whole, unsliced bacon Cut the bacon into lardons. If you have sliced bacon, you are A-OK. Just slice the bacon up in short slivers or leave whole.
  • 1 Onion Finely chopped
  • 3 Large Carrots Thick Sliced
  • 2 Cloves of Garlic 2-6 Cloves of Garlic
  • 1 Tablespoons Tomato Paste 1-3 Tablespoons of Tomato Paste
  • 2 Tablespoons Flour 2-3 Tablespoons of Flour
  • 2 Bay Leaves 2-4 Bay Leaves
  • Thyme – Sage – Bouquet Or dried equivalent
  • 10 10-15 Pearl Onions 10-15 Pearl Onions
  • 8 Ounces Whole Mushrooms 8 Ounces of Whole Mushrooms (or more)
  • 12 Ounces Beer 12-16 Ounces Beer (or more). Use a sour with a fruit base.
  • 8 Ounces Beef Broth or Beef Bone Broth 8-16 Ounces Beef Broth or Beef Bone Broth (Box or Homemade; Broth from a Roast or Beer and Iron's Beef Beer Bone Broth)
  • Salt and Pepper to taste (I’ll add as I cook). I add as I cook

Instructions
 

PREPARE THE INGREDIENTS

  • Step 1 – Get everything out and let it warm to room temperature. This is most important for the broth and the beer. We will be adding these to the pot when the pot is wicked hot!
  • Step 2 – Prepare the Bouquet. If using fresh Thyme and Sage, tie the spriggles together with a bit of butcher's twine or other food-safe string.
  • Step 3 – Cut the 3–4-pound chuck roast (or other) into 1–2-inch chunks. Don’t worry with being perfect; longer, shorter, smaller, bigger…it’s all good.
  • Step 4 – Pat the beef dry with a paper towel. You can’t get it too dry; keep patting. And…this is a must-do step. The beef will not brown during the sear if you don’t pat-dry the cut beef before you put it in the hot pot. Let the beef get to room temperature.
  • Step 5 – Cut about 6-8 ounces of Bacon Lardons. Optional: pancetta or slivered bacon.
  • Step 6 – Finely Chop the 1 onion.
  • Step 7 – Dice the 2-6 Garlic Cloves.
  • Step 8 – Wash or Peel 3 Carrots. Chop the carrots in thick slices or chunks about ½ inch to an inch long.
  • Step 9 – Measure out your flour to the cereal bowl-sized bowl. Add a bit of the beer or broth. Use your fork to mix the flour and the liquid together very well and without lumps or chunks. Smooth… Set aside and keep that rubber spatula nearby too.
  • Step 10 – Open up the tomato paste can and set aside
  • Step 11 – Quarter the button or baby bella mushrooms. Set aside / refrigerate for the end of the cook.
  • Step 12 – Have your room temperature 12 ounce or 16-ounce can or bottle of beer nearby.
  • Step 13 – Measure out the beef broth / bone broth.
  • Step 14 – Pull out about 10-15 pearl onions and either leave them out or put them in a container in the refrigerator.

READY TO COOK

  • Step 1 – Set your 5-7 quart cast iron Dutch oven and on medium heat (or a bit higher) over one burner. Use the lid or a bowl nearby the Dutch oven (and not over any heat) to "receive" the seared beef. We'll sear only part of the beef at a time.
  • Step 2 – Render the fat from the Lardons. Once they are a bit brown but not too crispy, transfer them to the upside-down lid or (right-side up) bowl; leave the rendered fat in the pot.
  • Step 3 – Increase the temperature from medium heat to medium-high heat and wait for the rendered bacon fat to just start smoking. For you folks with a surface thermometer 400-450°F (205-235°C) is the temperature we are shooting for.
  • Step 4 – Add SOME of the beef to the hot, slightly smoking pot. SIZZLE!! But, don’t add to much at once. We’re going to sear in batches.
    Sear each side of the beef chunks by searing-and-turning each as they brown. Use the thongs; they’ll make life easier. When each are seared and browned on all sides, transfer them to the nearby lid and start a new batch.
    Render the fat from more lardons or add a bit of oil as you need.
  • Step 5 – Now, all the beef is seared and the bottom of that pot is covered with all that flavor. Leave it there! Reduce the heat to medium, add the onions (not the pearl onions) and the garlic, and deglaze the bottom of the cast iron Dutch oven.
  • Step 6 – Add the chunks of carrots at this point and, using the wooden spatula, mix everything all about and let things cook just a bit…not too long.
    We’re about to “get busy” adding most of the remaining ingredients. Turn the heat down a bit to keep from burning anything while we add the ingredients.
  • Step 7 – Add the flour mixture to the pot, the tomato paste, all the beef, and however many browned bacon lardons you want to add back. Mix everything together and level off the ingredients.
  • Step 8 – Slowly pour in the room-temperature beer. It will “head up” but that’s okay. Mix everything in well and level off again.
  • Step 9 – Slowly pour in the beef broth BUT NOT ALL OF IT. Take your time to fill just to a bit over the top of the meat and vegetables. We want the end result to be a stew with the ingredients level and sticking out of the final stew.
  • Step 10 – Add the bay leaves and the herb Bouquet (or chopped / dried) and the salt and pepper. Keep in mind that there’ll be ingredients that you will use from time-to-time that have salt. We have plenty of time to test the saltiness and add salt as we cook.
  • Step 11 – Turn the heat down to medium low or even low. Cover the Dutch oven, and let it simmer for a few hours and stir things up a bit form time to time to avoid sticking as the stew thickens.
  • Step 12 – Okay, everything is in the pot except for the pearl onions and the mushrooms. We’ll tend to those in a bit. Let everything cook until the meat is tender and not chewy. We are looking for the consistency of an all-day-cooked roast and not the chewiness of a grilled steak. Once you have reached this point or are very close to it (2-3 hours), it’s time to do the pearl onions and the mushrooms.
    Go ahead and pull out the pearl onions and mushrooms to reach room temperature for later.
  • Step 13 – After simmering for 30 minutes, check the saltiness. Use a spoon and dip out just some of the broth / liquid. Taste it. Do you need to add any salt? Do this again after 1 hour and you should have it spot on.
  • Step 14 – Using the Cast Iron Skillet (10.25” to 12”) (we are going to be braising the pearl onions and the mushrooms here at the end of the cook). Place the skillet on a medium high heat and add a bit of oil, remaining fat, or even more bacon lardons’ rendered fat. Add the room-temperature pearl onions and mushrooms to the hot, oiled skillet and add (slowly) about ¼ cup of liquid (beer, broth, stock, or even water). STEAM!!
  • Step 15 – Sauté the pearl onions and the mushrooms until they go from braising to searing and just at the caramelization “event” takes place. They should (the pearl onions will show this the most) have some areas that are “toasted” looking but not cooked to the mushy, soft stage.
  • Step 16 – Remove the cooked herb Bouquet and the bay leaves. We are about to “ordain” and garnish this pot of stew with the onions and the mushrooms; we don’t want to mess up our masterpiece by trying to fish-out the bay leaves and the herb Bouquet.
  • Step 17 – Open the stew pot and add the mushroom / pearl onion mixture to the top of the stew and let settle in. I don’t stir the mushrooms and pearl onions in. However, it’s perfectly A-OK to do so.

Notes

For me? I like to present this recipe in a bowl first adding a scoop of mashed potatoes to the side of the bowl and then this stew to fill the bowl. A garnish of finely chopped parsley really brings it home.
ENJOY or, since we are cooking in French, we’ll talk in French, “bon appétit!”
Cast Iron Chef Tip: When preparing and measuring your ingredients, set your Cast Iron Dutch Oven in a preheated oven at 350° / 175°C (or a bit warmer). This way, the pot is universally preheated before you put the Dutch Oven on the stove top. The sizzling can start right away when you are ready to cook.
Cast Iron Chef Tip: You'll find beef broth in two different consistencies: Liquid and Jelled. Liquid is usually store-bought and Jelled is what you'll find when you prepare you homemade broth. When adding Jelled broth, do it very slowly. The Jelled broth will "rest" on top of the ingredients while it "melts." Let all the Jelled broth "melt" before adding more to allow the true liquid level to become clear.
NOTE: Sear the beef in stages to avoid too much of the liquid in the meet to render too quickly. We want sear the meat to a nice, brown color. Too much liquid will cause a braising effect rather than a searing effect.
Braising is to cook something, like chunks of meat, in a small amount of liquid. Though we pat-dried our meat, there is still a lot of moisture in that meat. If you put too many pieces of meat in the pot at the same time, the meat will cool the 400-450°F (205-235°C) pot down too quickly, the excess meat will over-whelm the cooling pot and not steam off fast enough, and the meat will bathe in its own juices. Then, we will have braising going on and not searing.
NOTE: We will need just a bit of liquid to cook the mushrooms and pearl onions in during the last few steps of this recipe. Reserve about ½ cup. We usually have a bit of beer in the bottom of a glass that didn’t get drink, drank, or drunk (no pun intended). But, visitors may not like your left-over, back-washed beer used in this recipe. But then again, what they don’t know…
NOTE to Step 2 – Prepare the Bouquet.  Using a few thyme and sage tips and spriggles (and even a bit of rosemary), tie them together in a little bouquet-like arrangement with the butcher’s twine. You’ll just toss these in when the moment comes.
Fresh Chopped and Dried Herbs – There are many conversions out there, but we keep it simple. Three teaspoons (1 tablespoon) of fresh-chopped herbs will equal about 1 teaspoon of dried herbs. But, you know the caveat here, right? How fine are they chopped and is it a leaf or a needle-like shape and the drama goes on and on. Like salt and pepper, “herb” to taste. If you are looking for a starting point, put a teaspoon of dried thyme and a teaspoon of dried sage in this recipe and make note for next time you create this recipe.
NOTE: Mushroom and Pearl Onion Garnish Cook: If you cook the mushrooms in this recipe at the start, they will likely either cook to oblivion or end up over-cooked and rubbery (depending on the variety of mushroom you are using).

Nutrition

Calories: 653kcalCarbohydrates: 12gProtein: 43gFat: 46gSaturated Fat: 17gPolyunsaturated Fat: 1gMonounsaturated Fat: 20gTrans Fat: 3gCholesterol: 161mgSodium: 194mgPotassium: 878mgFiber: 2gSugar: 4gVitamin A: 44IUVitamin C: 6mgCalcium: 62mgIron: 5mg
Keyword Beef, Beef Bourguignon, Beef Stew, Beerrguignon, Bourguignon, camp dutch oven, Carrots, Cast iron, Chicken Stew, Perl Onions, Slow Cook, Slow Cooked, Tender, Tender Beef
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