During the cold months of winter when the wind is beating mercilessly against the house and the trees around us are groaning and aching under the strain, nothing calms my nerves in quite the same way as a warm and hearty stew. While it doesn’t solve the issue of a tree potentially falling on the house, it does serve as a very pleasant distraction, and this wonderfully aromatic old French country stew is one of my favorite winter dinners. Don’t be intimidated by the fancy incomprehensible name, this dish is simple beef stew at its finest. Tough cuts of beef are simmered down to tender perfection, combining the rich flavor of the meat with the delicious freshness of winter vegetables like carrots, parsnips, shallots, and onions, creating the most delicious gravy-like stock imaginable.
The key to a delicious stew made without burnt bits at the bottom is to make sure to give it a stir when it’s on the stovetop every 20 minutes or so, and to use a quality cooking vessel. In my complete and honest opinion, there is no better quality pot than Falk copper, which I have been cooking with for over a year now. The difference between cooking with copper coated pans versus plain steel, aluminum, or cast iron is that copper distributes the heat evenly throughout the vessel, meaning that the edge of the bottom of a copper pan is just as hot as the center. This keeps food from burning and sticking to the bottom of the pan as easily, since it eliminates the unexpected hot spot that many other types of cookware develop with food getting burnt onto the same area of the pan over and over again.
For this stew, I used their new Pot au Feu, an incredibly beautiful vessel that’s custom made for evenly heating dishes like this one. I’ve been using it for stews and soups in the winter, and in the summer it’s going to make the perfect jam pot for all the fresh Oregon blackberries I plan on picking from the ragged blackberry bushes along the trail near my house. If you’re looking to get someone a holiday gift that will really blow their socks off, I am pointing you directly to this pot. Like literally, both hands pointing vigorously and with enthusiasm. Luckily for all of us, the incredibly generous folks at Falk have offered one Pot au Feu up for a giveaway for one of you! To enter, use the rafflecopter giveaway below. The entry period ends December 26th at 11:59 pm PST. Best of luck everyone!!
Boeuf Bourguignon
This classic French country stew is perfect for the cold weather months. Hearty, but not heavy, it combines the perfect marriages of cozy winter vegetables like carrots, onions, and parsnips with the comforting flavor of beef, bacon, and a touch of cognac. It also keeps very well for leftovers, so you can make this the day before and just refrigerate overnight, too.
Ingredients
Ingredients
- 1 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
- 8 strips bacon thick cut
- 2 pounds chuck beef cut into 2-inch cubes
- salt to taste
- black pepper to taste
- 1 large yellow onion diced
- 2 shallots diced
- 4 cloves garlic minced
- 3/4 lb carrots peeled and sliced
- 1/4 lb parsnips peeled and sliced
- 1/2 cup cognac
- 1 bottle dry red wine
- 2 cups beef broth
- 1 tablespoon plus 1 teaspoon tomato paste
- 3/4 teaspoon dried thyme leaves
- 4 tablespoons unsalted butter melted
- 3 tablespoons flour
- 1 lb pearl onions frozen
- 1 lb brown button mushrooms thickly sliced
- 1 tablespoon fresh thyme diced
Instructions
Instructions
-
Preheat the oven to 250 degrees. Heat the oil in a large dutch oven or pot oven-safe up to 250 degrees over medium heat. Add the bacon and cook until crispy on both sides. Remove the bacon and set it aside.
-
Pat the beef cubes dry with paper towels and sprinkle them with salt and pepper. Cook them in batches until browned on each side, making sure they're in one even layer on the bottom of the pot, about 5 minutes. Remove them and set them aside.
-
Add the onions, shallots, and garlic to the pan and sauté until translucent, about 10 minutes, stirring every few minutes. Add the carrots and parsnips and cook for an additional 5 minutes. Add the cognac and step back, use a match to ignite it to burn off the alcohol. When the fire dies out, cut up the crispy bacon into smaller pieces and add it and the beef back to the pot.
-
Add the wine and enough beef broth to just cover all the meat and vegetables. Stir in the tomato paste and thyme and bring the mixture to a simmer.
-
Cover, remove from the stove top, and place in the oven to continue cooking for 1 hour 15 minutes to 1 hour 30 minutes, or until the beef is tender and the vegetables are cooked through. Remove from the oven and place back on the stovetop over medium low heat.
-
Whisk together 2 tablespoons of melted butter with the flour until a thick paste forms. Stir this paste into the stew until it disintegrates, then add the frozen pearl onions.
-
In a several medium pot, sauté the mushrooms in the remaining 2 tablespoons of butter over medium high heat until they darken and become slightly wrinkled, about 6-10 minutes. Add the mushrooms to the stew and lower the heat to a simmer.
-
Allow to cook for another 20 minutes before removing from heat. Add salt and pepper to taste, garnish with fresh thyme, and serve immediately.
Recipe Notes
Adapted from Ina Garten
My favorite stew is simple, rustic, and one my grandmother used to make regularly. It contained stew meat, potatoes, carrots, onions, and broth. Perhaps some salt and pepper, but other than that, it was very low key. Thank you for the chance to win!
Dang. That is a gorgeous pot! And what a perfect recipe to use it for! This stew will surely brighten up the depths of winter, though I'm not sure I'm ready for the deep, dark cold just yet 🙂
I love rabbit stew served with crusty bread during the winter—perfection!
Fantastic.
I just made this dish earlier this year… so delicious!
That pot is lovely! The stew is something I definitely need to make before the end of the year!
One of our favourite fall recipes!
Boeuf bourguignon is my favorite stew!!!
As a vegetarian, this makes me want tout le boeuf dans le monde!
And my favorite winter stew to make is aloo gobi. I love cooking Indian stews and soups in the winter because they are a great way to add fresh herbs and spices (I love fresh turmeric root) to dishes that might otherwise be bean and potato heavy.
This is making me hungrier than I am at this lunch hour.. it will be something I will give a try! I love traditional Vietnamese Pho.
Absolutely love the traditional South Indian mix vegetable coconut stew
That sounds really good. Do you have the recipe?
My mom's beef stew is the best. I can't even come close.
Winter Harvest Stew
This recipe is so hearty and cozy! I use to hate stews, but now as an adult, I love them. Especially during this cold winter season. And the pot, too pretty!
a lamb stew
Yum yum yum. We would cook a most delicious (time consuming but so not hard) french onion soup with mmmm crackly toasty gruyere cheese on top.
I can't wait to try out the recipe.
OH MY!!!. Now that is an Adventure…:)
I love this autumnal Pork Harvest Stew by Tori Ritchie. I love it so much, I had to share with everyone.
http://trnchd.com/post/103226150869/eat-autumn-harvest-pork-stew
I love soups and stews during the fall and winter. Last year for my birthday, I cooked Julia Child's Boeuf Bourguignon and had all my friends over— it was an awesome night. So I'd have to say that Boeuf Bourguignon is my favorite stew 🙂
I have made this recipe so many times and I love it. For me, this stew is the definition of comfort food.
With your photos and styling, it looks so so beautiful.
roasted root vegetable stew….. yum!
My grandma's Chinese oxtail stew is pretty awesome–has carrot and daikon, 5 spice and lots of other goodies. This stew looks really good, too!
lamb stew!
I'd definitely have to say I LOVE beef stew. Especially when my momma makes it 😉
Stews such as this I describe as "One Pot Wonders"! I like to use a vegetable stock which I boil up weekly from my herbs and vegetable scraps saved in the freezer. Deep flavour.
Beef stew!!
I think your website is one of the most beautiful cooking sites I visit. Your photos are very beautiful, and though I'm not a meat eater, I do want to try this recipe. My husband will love it. My favorite winter stew is one of roasted vegetables.
Living in San Francisco, Cioppino has always been one of my favorite stews. Especially as crab season gets underway!
Beef stew. The pot looks like it makes all food delicious!
I love any stew that is hearty with big chunks of meat and veggies!
White beans, butternut squash, bacon, homemade turkey broth, and swiss chard. Ok, maybe its a soup, but I'm in love.
There really is nothing better than a good old fashioned beef stew. I've never cooked with copper, but I can dream.
Wonderfull photos, an excellent recipe.Which part of the beef do you use? I prefere boneless shank. This stew is really good.
Best greetings from Germany
Toettchen
my favourite stew is always the one my husband makes for me on cold winter sundays
These photos just scream winter, and this recipe is amazing. I'll definitely have to be adding it to my quotidian stews, which usually revolve around big pots of roasted veggies & loads of spices.
This looks fantastic and so comforting! Yum!
I would love to try out this superior copper pan. And when I say I, I mean my lovely boyfriend who makes the meals.
This is my favorite stew and I'm sure the copper pot would make it even better, both aesthetically and flavorwise.
That is such a beautiful pot! I love the patina of copper.
I would love to make a white bean and beef stew in this!
Absolutely my favorite! Serving this just says fall/winter are here…. it takes the chill off.
Italian beef stew.
I love a good Beuf Bourguignon but at the same time love mutton curry too. Reminds me of home and family!!
The photos alone made my taste buds jump…cannot wait to make this!
You have a gorgeous blog, and it is at once heartfelt and intelligent.
Mastering Boeuf Bourguignon is on my short list of cooking accomplishments. My current favorite is a Coconut Chicken Curry stew. So yum.
Love this stew and would love to win this
I love chicken taco stew.
My favorite stew is potato leek stew with green onions and a cream base.
My favorite stew is lamb hotpot.
Looks like a great recipe!
I love oxtail stew
guinness beef muskroom
I prefer slow roasted root vegetables in a dark roux
I like oyster stew. It is my favorite.
This looks incredible!! I can't wait to make this!
white beans and kale is my favorite
Looks amazing. Can't wait to try this recipe.
yeah copper pots!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Tomato-based beef and vegetable stew is my very favorite! Served over rice with cornbread on the side.
The stew I like most is Jambalaya. We make it different ways sometimes we use sausage, rice and seafood. Other times we add beef. The spices are the gem of flavor.
stews are a perfect winter dish
have you ever had brunswick stew? amazing.
This stew looks amazing and I am definitely going to make it before the holidays are over! Thank you, for the recipe! And what a beautiful pot to hold all the ingredients…I don't know if my mouth is watering over the food or that beautiful copper pot it's cooking in! 🙂
I love Ghormeh Sabzi – an Iranian herb stew with kidney beans and beef. Thank you for your recipe and this amazing giveaway!
Gorgeous pot!
My gamma's beef stew.
I love a good vegetable stew with some kick!
chicken and mushroom stew with lots of red wine and thyme 🙂
lentil stew!
I love any kind of stew made with beans or lentils, but Moroccan chickpea stew is my favourite, especially when it is heavily spiced and aromatic.
Nice recipe. Loved the use of Cognac that elevates everything from good to delish. Beautiful photographs.
For my favorite beef stew, I use a recipe I found on Ree Drummond's website. I will definitely be trying out your recipe, as I love beef stew. Thanks for the chance to win such a wonderful cooking vessel! I too, love your beautiful photographs.
I enjoy simple vegetable stews on the shorter, cooler days that are settling down on us. The fresher the ingredients, the more palatable the stew becomes.
I like stews with veggies from my garden.
My favorite stew is goulash but any stew can be made great with fresh ingredients. Beautiful photos in your post!
Thanks for a reminder. I'm making this stew tonight.
I don't know if I've ever really had stew before but my friend once made a white chili for me that was to die for!
I made a beef bourguignon about a week ago that was incredible – yours looks amazing too!
My favorite stew is the italian vegetable stew – shaunie
I love cioppino!
Feijoada is my favorite stew!! We lived above a Brazilian restaurant when I first moved to SF and I fell in love with the stuff! Eva, your photos are INCREDIBLE. Beyond inspiring!
I don't think I've ever had stew… but this looks incredible!
I like Brunswick stew – yummy!
Boeuf Bourguignon has always been my favorite stew! 🙂
Pretty much anything with potatoes is my favorite.
I love THIS stew! So good. Otherwise, I love potato stews and soups of all kind. And copper anything. 🙂
My mouth is watering just from the pictures! I can't wait to try this version.
My friend's husband makes an awesome beef stew!! There's a ton of vegetables like potatoes, carrots, parsnips and a few other ingredients I'm not sure of but it is amazing!!
wimbley73@aol.com
My favourit stew is Beef and Barley.
My husband is going to love this!
My family and I enjoy a bean and veg based Jamaican style "sip" with fresh homemade coconut milk, lots of pumpkin, green banana, whole corn, dumplings, carrots, greens and lots of hot pepper!
I love chicken stew; I've not made it, but enjoy eating it when my parents make it. I need to find a good recipe for it.
Talent, rustic beauty and flavor magic.
Congratulations ! everything is done with a lot of love.
Let's Be Penpals!
from my homestead to your inbox