Beef Bourguignon

[SheikYerbuti]

I did Julia Child's Beef Bourguignon today (recipe here), with a few minor changes:

 

1. She says to cut the meat into 2" cubes. I did them larger, like a petit filet sized piece for each person.

2. She renders the fat out of the bacon, then puts the bacon aside, then adds it to the broth for the slow cooking. That made it all mushy and non-bacony, so I took the other half of the package and sauteed it to a crisp and garnished the final product with it. More pronounced bacon flavor and texture.

3. She says to serve with boiled potatoes, rice or buttered noodles. I went with large cubed roasted potatoes. More texture and roasty flavor than a boiled potato.

 

I was a little confused about the sliced onion and carrots, whether or not they were supposed to make it to the final dish. They wound up in the strainer when straining the sauce, and then the garbage. . .not sure if they're there for flavor or to actually get eaten.

 

Bottom line: The crowd loved it!

[Bier Meister]

yep. i put half of the lardons back in during cooking and half towards the end. i also cook the onions and carrots for the duration. i typically go smaller with my cubes... closer to 1".