A New Favorite Stew ~ Anne Burrell's Beef Bourguignon

Let's start off by saying that my hubby is not a big soup, stoup, or stew kinda guy. I, however, am. This week I came across a recipe from one of my favorite chefs, Beef Bourguignon by Anne Burrell.

Oh my GOSH!  This stew is like a big, warm, fuzzy blanket of savory love wrapping you from the inside. Yeah, it's that good. Rather than keep this delectable tidbit to myself, because that would just be wrong, I have the recipe here for your enjoyment too! The recipe listed below has half the meat, a change in mushrooms and a little more potatoes and less time peeling carrots...easier for me and tailored to my hubby's tastebuds.

Anne's original recipe: Beef Bourguignon



BEEF BOURGUIGNON
Prep Time: 15 minutes
Marinade Time: 6 hours
Cook Time: 3 hours 45 minutes
Oven Temp: 350°F
Makes 6-8 servings

Ingredients

Marinade:
5 Cloves garlic, smashed
3 Bay Leaves (dried)
1 1/2 cups Baby Carrots
2 ribs Cellery cut into 1/2" pieces
1 tsp. Onion powder OR 1 Tbsp. Onion Flakes
One 750-ml bottle red wine, Cabernet Sauvignon
2.5 pounds beef chuck, cut into 1-inch chunks

Stew:
Extra-virgin olive oil
Kosher salt
1/2 cup All-purpose Flour
8 ounces Bacon, cut into 1/2" wide peices
1 pound Baby Bella mushrooms, quartered
2 cups Baby Carrots or 8-12 oz. bag
2 ribs Celery, cut into 1/4-inch dice
2 cloves Garlic, pressed through a garlic press or diced
1/2 large Onion, peeled and cut into 1/4-inch dice
1 can Tomato Paste
1 carton Rachel Ray Beef Stock (4 cups)
3 dried Bay Leaves
1 bundle fresh Thyme (4-5 sprigs)
6 large Red Potatoes, quartered or cut into 1 inch cubes

My Cheesy Pub Beer Bread, for serving


Directions
For the marinade:
Combine the garlic, bay leaves, carrots, celery, onions and wine in a large bowl or container. To prepare beef, give it a quick rinse to remove packaged blood. Pat dry well with paper towels before proceeding. Add the beef; cover and let sit in the refrigerator at least 4 hours or overnight. (This is a really important step: it makes a huge flavor difference.)

For the stew:
Remove the beef from the marinade. Strain the veggies and bay leaves from the marinade and discard. Reserve 2 cups of the marinade.

Preheat the oven to 350° F.

Coat a large, wide pan or Dutch oven with olive oil and bring to medium-high heat. Sprinkle the beef with salt and toss with the flour; do not flour the beef until you're ready to brown it. Add the flour-coated beef to the hot pan, but be sure to not crowd the pan; you will need to work in three to four batches. Brown the meat well on all sides, 12 to 15 minutes. Remove from the pan to a baking sheet or large bowl.

After the first two batches, deglaze the pot with 1/2 cup of the reserved marinade, scraping up any browned bits. Drain the liquid into a small bowl. Add more olive oil to the pan to coat and cook the remaining batches of meat. Add the meat to the baking sheet or large bowl. Deglaze the pan with 1/2 cup marinade, scraping up any browned bits.

Add the bacon and cook until it gets brown and crispy, about 5 minutes. Add the mushrooms, carrots, celery, garlic and onions, and season with salt. Cook until the mixture starts to soften and becomes very aromatic, about 10 minutes. Stir in the tomato paste and cook, 1 to 2 minutes. Add the remaining 1 cup marinade and deglaze the pan, stirring up all of the browned bits, 1 minute. Add the beef. Stir to combine and cook until the wine has reduced by half, 1 to 2 minutes. Add enough of the beef stock to just cover the surface of the beef. Add the bay leaves and thyme bundle on top. Cover the pan, bring to a boil and put in the oven.

Cook the beef for 2 hours. During the last hour of cooking time, add the potatoes. Cover the pan with the lid and put the stew back in the oven to cook for an additional hour.

Remove the pot from the oven and skim off any excess grease from the surface of the stew. Serve with my Cheesy Pub Beer Bread or other crusty bread.