Beef Bourguignon

The Blog Tech and his fiance' had a long day yesterday moving all of her stuff back home.  It was a dreary damp day so I wanted to make them some yummy comfort food.  There's nothing quite like a big bowl of beef bourguignon.

 Cut a 3-4 pound chuck roast into 1 inch cubes.  Place them on paper towels to dry them. Preheat your oven to 450 degrees.

 Pat them dry with more paper towels.  The beef will not brown if it isn't dry.

 Cook 1/2 pound of bacon in a heavy pot and leave the grease.  Add 3 tablespoons of oil to the bacon grease.

 Slice 4 onions and set them aside.

 Heat the oil to medium high and add cubes of the beef but do not crowd them. These have to brown on all sides.

 Remove the beef to the pan and continue to brown the rest in batches.

 Slice about 6 carrots into coins and set aside.

 Mix 6 minced garlic cloves with 1 tablespoon of sea salt and 3 anchovies. Set this aside.

 When you are done browning the beef, leave all of the drippings and browned bits in the pot and add the onions.

 Add the carrots and stir until they are covered with the oil.

 As they release moisture, they will pick up all of the bits stuck on the bottom of the pot.

 Add the beef and the bacon (mince it) back to the pot and sprinkle it with 2 tsp. of cracked black pepper.

 Sprinkle 5 tablespoons of flour on it and mix it in. Place the pot in the oven and cook it for 5 minutes.  Stir it and cook it for an additional 5 minutes.  Remove it from the oven and turn the oven down to 325 degrees.

 Add 4 tablespoons of tomato paste along with your garlic mix, 3 bay leaves, 1 tablespoon of fresh rosemary and 1 tablespoon of dried thyme.  Add 4 tablespoons of beef demi glaze.

 Add 3 cups of a hearty red wine.

 I used merlot and I used the whole bottle.

 Add 5 cups of beef broth.

 Stir this all together and put it back in the oven, covered and cook it for about 3 hours.  The stew should thicken and the meat should be very tender.

 I made  a loaf of rosemary bread and roasted garlic and rosemary compound butter to go with it.

I made mashed potatoes to go with it too.

Traditionally it is served with boiled potatoes or noodles.  We prefer mashed potatoes though.