I spent yesterday cooking, oh-so-happily.
After seeing Julie & Julia, I have been obsessed with the legendary Boeuf Bourguignon recipe that got Julia Child published after ten long years of recipe testing. I know it sounds ridiculous, but I have never cooked even one recipe from Child's Mastering the Art of French Cooking (1961). I was, in a word...intimidated.
I know. I have a Culinary Arts degree, I am an excellent cook, but somehow, I just never took the Julia Child plunge.
I watched Julia's The French Cook on PBS when I was in elementary school. I would walk my brother home each day for lunch (our new school had no cafeteria, until I was in fourth grade), and I would make lunch for the both of us. We would then munch away the blistful hour, watching Jeopardy! with Art Fleming, and then Julia's show. My dreams from childhood then became: appearing on Jeopardy! and learning to cook like Julia.
Having made it as a contestant on Jeopardy! in 1994 (and acquitting myself honorably), the only thing left was to cook like Julia. I was going to school in 1994-95 in Culinary Arts at Adirondack Community College. Though we made tons of classic French sauces (in the footsteps of L'Escoffier), we never made anything with them. Our experiments ended up in the soup pot for the cafeteria, who controlled our budget.
After seeing the movie, though, I was inspired. I checked out Julia's book and vintage videos from the library, and decided to take the plunge. Having a freezer full of venison, it seemed like a great place to start.
First, you need to know--the stew was AWESOME. My whole house smelled terrific while it was cooking, and I spent the whole day salivating. What I thought would be complicated, was so easy. Though detailed, Child's instructions were step-by-step, with no surprises. I was tempted to fiddle with the recipe, but squelched that impulse, wanting to know how it would turn out if I just followed it exactly. It was perfect.
And even if you have no venison (my only divergence from the printed recipe), it would be excellent with a cheap cut of beef (use Lean Chuck, Sirloin or Top or Bottom Round steak):
Boeuf Bourguignonne by Julia Child
[Beef Stew in Red Wine, with Bacon, Onions, and Mushrooms]
6 oz. chunk of bacon - Remove rind, and cut into lardons (sticks, 1/4" thick & 1 1/2" long). Simmer rind and strips for 10 minutes in 1 1/2 qts. of water. Lift out bacon pieces and rind to a side dish and dry on paper towels. ( Pam's note: Keep water boiling and add 24 small boiling onions for 10-30 seconds. Drain and rinse onions in colander under cold water)
Preheat oven to 450.
In a dutch oven or 5 qt. pot - Saute the bacon in 1 Tbls. Olive Oil over moderate heat for 2-3 minutes and brown lightly. Remove bacon & rind to a side dish with a slotted spoon. Reheat fat until almost smoking.
3 lbs. lean beef, cut into 2" cubes - Dry the meat well in paper towels. It will not brown if it is damp. Saute it, a few pieces at a time, in the hot bacon fat until nicely browned on all sides. Add it to the bacon in the side dish.
When all the meat is browned, add 1 sliced carrot and 1 sliced onion to the hot fat. Brown the vegetables and remove to the dish with the meat & bacon. Drain all fat from the dutch oven.
Return meat, bacon and vegetables to dutch oven, and toss with 1 tsp. salt, 1/4 tsp. fresh ground pepper, and 2 Tbls. flour. Set dutch oven in the lower third of the hot oven and bake for 4 minutes. Remove, toss again, and return to oven for another 4 minutes. (This browns the flour and covers the meat with a light crust). Remove from oven, and turn oven down to 325.
Add to the meat in pot: 3 cups full-bodied young red wine (I used 1.5 cups of cabernet, 1.5 cups shiraz), 2-3 cups beef broth, 1 Tbls. tomato paste, 2 cloves mashed garlic, 1/2 tsp. crush thyme, 1 crumbled bay leaf, the blanched bacon rind. Bring to a simmer on top of the stove, then cover and place in the 325 oven for 3-5 hours. Meat is done when tender to the fork.
While the meat is cooking, prepare onions and mushrooms:
Peel the 24 cooled onions by cutting off both ends and removing peel with fingers. Poke paring knife into the root end about 1/4", cutting a "cross" so the onions won't burst when cooking. Heat 1.5 Tbls. butter and 1.5 Tbls. canola oil in a saute pan. Wait until the butter stops foaming, then add onions. Roll them around by shaking the pan over medium heat for about 10 minutes, browning on all sides.
Add: 1/2 cup beef broth, 4 parsley sprigs, 1/2 bay leaf and 1/4 tsp. crushed thyme. Cover and simmer at very low heat for 40-50 minutes, until tender but still holding shape, and stock is evaporated. Set aside.
Wipe 1 lb. mushrooms with paper towels and cut into quarters. Heat 2 Tbls. butter and 1 Tbls. oil until foam subsides, then add half the mushrooms. Shake pan and toss for about 5 minutes, until browned. Remove to side dish. Repeat with remaining mushrooms. Set aside.
When meat is done, remove from oven. Strain all liquid into saucepan, clean the dutch oven, then put the meat and vegetables back into the pan. Add the reserved pearl onions and mushrooms.
Heat the liquid to a rapid boil, skim all the fat off with a spoon, and reduce to about 3 cups, until it is thick enough to coat a spoon.
[Pam's Note: I was hungry at this point, so I hurried it by adding beurre manee, equal parts of soft butter and flour, stirred to a paste and whisked into the broth until it thickened]. Pour sauce over meat and vegetables and toss to coat. Simmer for 2-3 minutes over medium heat, sprinkle with chopped parsley, then serve.
Accompany with salad, the rest of the red wine and good crusty bread & real butter.
Fabulous.
(It's supposed to be even better the second day, after being refrigerated. Just reheat gently, stir gently and serve).
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