Cooking in quarantine: Beef Bourguignon

OAKLAND, Calif. - Beef Bourguignon

Serves 4

Ingredients

3 slices of bacon, diced

2 pounds beef stew meat (brisket or chuck) cut into 2” pieces

1 carrot, diced

1 onion, diced

1/2 cup celery, diced

1/2 pound of sliced mushrooms

4 garlic cloves, minced

2 cup red wine

2 cups chicken stock

2 TBSP tomato paste

1 TSP fresh thyme leaves, picked

1 TSP fresh oregano leaves minced

1 TBSP cornstarch + 1 TBSP water

Method

Preheat oven to 350 F. Season beef generously with salt and pepper on all sides and let it sit for 5-10 minutes. In a dutch oven or oven proof pot, cook bacon over medium heat until crisp. Remove bacon pieces from pot and allow to drain on a paper towel lined plate. Increase heat to medium high and in batches, as to not crowd the pan, sear beef until golden brown on each side. Once all the beef has been seared, transfer to a plate and allow it to rest. Using the fat from the beef and bacon sauté onions and garlic until they get translucent about 3 minutes, then add add thyme leaves and minced  oregano and saute until fragrant. Add carrots, celery and mushrooms and cook until softened. Season vegetable mixture with salt and pepper then stir in tomato paste to pot and cookie until tomato paste has reached deep red color. Then deglaze the pan with red wine scraping up and browned bits stuck to the bottom of the pot. Let the wine reduce for about a minute and then return the beef and bacon to the pot. Pour over stock and cover pot and transfer to the oven for one and half hours. After one and half hours, remove from the pot from the oven and thicken stew with a slurry of cornstarch and water. Season with salt and pepper and serve.