This has to be the most delicious beef dish I’ve ever tasted! The recipe is quite straightforward—but there are a quite few steps, so you definitely can't rush it.
Ingredients:
6 oz bacon
2-4 T olive oil
3 lbs lean stewing beef, cut into 2-inch cubes
1 sliced carrot
1 sliced onion
1 tsp. salt
1/4 tsp. pepper
2 T flour (or more)
3 C full-bodied red wine
2–3 C good beef stock
1 T tomato paste
2 cloves peeled and crushed garlic
crumbled bay leaf
blanched bacon rind
18–24 small pearl onions, brown-braised in stock
3 1/2 T butter
Herb bouquet (4 parsley sprigs, one-half bay leaf, one-quarter teaspoon thyme, tied in cheesecloth)
1 lb fresh mushrooms, quartered, sautéed in butter
- Trim the rind from the bacon, and cut it into lardons (1/4 inch thick and 1 1/2 inches long). Simmer the rind and bacon for about 10 minutes in a pot of water, then drain and dry.
- Preheat oven to 450 degrees.
- Sauté the dried bacon in the olive oil over medium heat for 2 to 3 minutes until lightly browned in a cast iron pot. Then remove the bacon to a plate with a slotted spoon and set aside.
- Make sure you pat the beef cubes dry in paper towels—otherwise the beef won’t brown. Sauté the beef cubes in batches, so that you don’t crowd the pan. Make sure the bacon fat is nice and hot, you can always add some extra olive oil if needed. When the beef cubes are browned remove with a slotted spoon and add to the plate of bacon.
- In the same fat, brown the sliced carrot and onion, then pour out the sautéing fat.
- Return the beef and bacon to the pot with the carrot and onion, and toss with some salt and pepper. Sprinkle on the flour and toss again to coat the beef lightly with the flour. Put the pot uncovered in the middle position of the preheated oven for 4 minutes. Toss the meat and return for another 4 minutes. This browns the flour and crisps up the meat. Remove the pot and turn the oven down to 325 degrees.
- Stir in the wine, and enough stock so that the meat is barely covered. Add the tomato paste, garlic, herbs, and bacon rind. Bring to a simmer on top of the stove. Then cover the pot and return to the lower part of the oven. Adjust the heat so that the liquid simmers very slowly for about 2 1/2 to 3 hours until the meat is done.
- While the beef is cooking, clean and prepare the small pearl onions and mushrooms. Heat 1 1/2 T butter with 1 1/2 T of the olive oil until bubbling in a pan. Add the pearl onions and sauté for about 10 minutes, stirring them so they brown as evenly as possible, taking care not to break their skins. Add 1/2 cup of the beef stock, salt and pepper to taste and the herb bouquet.
- Cover and simmer slowly for 40–50 minutes until the pearl onions are tender and the liquid has evaporated. Remove herb bouquet and set onions aside.
- Wipe out the pan and add 2 T olive oil and about 2 T butter over high heat. Then as soon as the bubbles from the butter have begun to subside add the mushrooms. Stir for about 4–5 minutes, and as soon as they have begun to brown lightly, remove them from heat.
- When the meat is done, pour the contents of the pot into a sieve set over a saucepan. Wash out the pot and return the beef and bacon to it. Add the cooked onions and mushrooms over the meat.
- Skim fat off the sauce. Simmer sauce for a minute or two You should have about 2 1/2 cups of sauce thick enough to coat a spoon lightly. If it’s too thin, boil it down rapidly, or if it’s too thick, mix in a few tablespoons of stock or canned bouillon. Taste carefully for seasoning.
- Pour the sauce back over the meat and vegetables. Cover and simmer for 2 to 3 minutes, basting the meat and vegetables with the sauce several times. Serve with potatoes or noodles and garnish with parsley.
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