Mme Imbert's Beef Stewed in Red Wine

By corlear

Mme Imbert's Bœuf Bourguignon

Mme Imbert always serves this during the harvest at the Domaine Leflaive in Puligny Montrachet. As she says, no Burgundian harvest would be complete without it. The bourguignon makes a good party dish (quantities for 25 are given at the end of the recipe). Mme Imbert serves this with steamed potatoes and a big green salad, not forgetting the garlic croutons, which as she says, makes a 'menu complet'.

Ingredients

• For the beurre manie:
• 2 lb topside beef
• 4 oz green streaky bacon in a piece
• 1 large onion
• 2 cloves garlic
• a bouquet garni of fresh thyme, parsley, bay leaf
• 2 cloves garlic
• 1 bottle of red Burgundy (Bourgogne Rouge would be suitable)
• salt
• 6 black peppercorns
• lard, butter, duck or goose fat for sauteing
• 12 small onions, optional (these are the kind that are used for pickling and not always available; shallots can be a good alternative)
• 1 teaspoon butter, room temperature
• 1 teaspoon cornflour (sold in France as Maizena)
• For the garlic croutons:
• French bread
• 1 clove garlic, peeled and cut in half

Details

Servings 6

Preparation

Step 1

'The most important thing,' says Mme Imbert, 'is to prepare the pieces of beef the previous day, marinading them in red wine (preferably a good one), onions stuck with cloves, thyme, bay leaves, a few garlic cloves, and not forgetting the lardons.'

Cut the meat into cubes about 2 in square, trimming off any gristle or extra fat. (French butchers sell suitable cuts as bourguignon, already prepared.) Remove the rind from the bacon and dice into lardons. Peel the onion and stick the cloves into it. Peel the cloves of garlic and tie the herbs in a bouquet with string. Put everything into a bowl with the wine, salt and black peppercorns.

The next day drain the beef and lardons, keeping the marinade. Dry the meat, including the lardons, carefully before sauteing in the fat. Brown all sides well. This must be done at a high heat - not a thing to do in your best silk shirt - so that the meat cubes are sealed ready for a long slow cooking.

Chop the onion from the marinade and brown. If you are using the little onions, peel and brown them whole. Deglaze the pan with a ladleful of the marinade, scraping the bottom of the pan with a wooden spoon to be sure to incorporate the caramelized juices. Add the rest of the marinade with its herbs and garlic. It should just cover the meat - add water if necessary. Bring to the boil. Let it bubble for a few minutes, then turn down the heat, or remove to a slow oven, and gently simmer, with the lid on, for about 2 to 2 1/2 hours. It must not go too fast or the meat will be stringy and chewy instead of tender. Test the meat with a fork after 2 hours.

Work the flour into the butter in a bowl for the beurre manié. At the last minute take a small ladleful of the sauce from the casserole and whisk into the beurre manié. When it is incorporated - a matter of seconds - add it all to the sauce and stir it in. Simmer for about 5 minutes until thickened a little.

Cut a slice of French bread per person - grill or bake in the oven - rub with the cut side of the garlic.

***QUANTITIES FOR 25 PEOPLE***
9 - 10 lb topside beef
1 1/2 lb green streaky bacon in one piece
2 medium onions
3 cloves garlic
3 bottles red Burgundy

Increase the quantity of butter and flour for the beurre manié to dessertspoons. Double the number of peppercorns and use a bigger bunch of herbs.

Increase small onions to 25 if you wish, although when this is done in large quantities they are very often replaced by adding the marinade onions, chopped, and browned at the same time as the meat.

When browning the meat, do not put too much in the casserole at one time as it lowers the temperature of the fat, so that instead of browning, the cubes simply stew, which is not what is wanted at this stage. Better to do a few at a time and keep them on one side until all are browned and sealed and ready to cook in the wine.

If you cook the bourguignon the day before it is needed, you can remove any fat that has solidified on the surface.