We are getting into full Autumnal mode now, folks. And it’s time to start getting into the back of the cupboard to pull out the casseroles and stock pots in readiness for the seasonal ‘low and slow’ dishes that lie ahead.
As warning, do check your pots for spiders, as they also make a beeline for the house once the temperature drops.
Anyway, first up is that French classic, Beef Bourguignon from Richard H. Turner’s PRIME, which never fails to satisfy when all the leaves are brown and the sky is grey. So long as you stick to Chef’s guidelines below:
‘Literally translated as ‘Beef Burgundy’, bourguignon is a much-abused dish that is rather delightful if good-quality ingredients are used and shortcuts eschewed. Contrary to what many cooks might tell you, cheap wine is better drunk than cooked with, and this dish will succeed or fail upon the standard of wine used. Though perhaps a Grand Cru isn’t necessary.’
If you did want to mix things up with the beef - and you should - this recipe also works well using ox cheek or feather blade cut into similar chunks. Just make sure you add another hour or so to the cooking time.
Which in turn gives you more time for sweeping up those leaves on a Sunday.
Or, dare we say it, room for one more drink in the pub.
Ingredients - serves 4-6
100g Waberthwaite pancetta lardons
1tbs plain flour
1kg chuck steak, cut into 4cm chunks
50g beef dripping
20 button onions, peeled
20 button mushrooms
3 garlic cloves, crushed
1 faggot of herbs (bay, thyme and rosemary)
75cl bottle of good red Burgundy
250ml beef stock
Maldon sea salt flakes and freshly ground black pepper
Method
Fry the pancetta lardons until crispy in a heavy-based casserole over a medium-high heat, then remove to a plate, leaving behind the rendered bacon fat.
Mix the plain flour with plenty of salt and freshly ground black pepper. Toss the beef in the seasoned flour. Add half the dripping to the same casserole and, when melted, add half the flour-coated beef.
Colour the beef in the hot pan, browning the meat generously - this is crucial. Then, using a slotted spoon, remove the beef to the plate with the bacon. Add the remaining dripping and beef and brown as before, then transfer to a plate with the rest of the beef and bacon.
Add the onions to the pan and brown them lightly. Add the mushrooms, cook until golden, then remove both the onions and mushrooms to another plate.
Return the beef and lardons to the casserole with the garlic, the faggot of herb, the wine and the beef stock. Season, then cover and simmer gently over a low heat or in a low and slow oven (preheated to 140°C/275°F/Gas Mark 1) for a good 1½ hours, until the meat is tender. This is not a recipe to hurry.
Add the onions and mushrooms to the pan and continue cooking for a further 30 minutes.
Bourguignon improves if kept, so if you can make it the day before, all the better.
Serve with mash, fine beans and plenty of bread to mop afterwards. Oh and don’t forget to get another bottle of Burgundy in!
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