Beef Bourguignon
Cook the bacon in olive oil until golden, about 5 minutes, add the beef cubes and brown 3 to 4 minutes, leaving them very rare in the center, and move both to a bowl. Off the heat, pour in the cognac, add the carrots and pearl onions, and simmer until most of the liquid disappears, then repeat with the wine and each cup of beef broth, reducing to about 1 cup, about 10 minutes. Return the meat, season, stir in the cornstarch slurry, cook about 2 minutes, and sprinkle with parsley.
Beef Bourguignon is the dish that made a nation fall in love with the humble braise. This quick version turns beef tenderloin, in minutes, into something profound: rare, juicy beef bathed in a sauce built from cognac, red wine, and beef broth, deepened by rendered bacon and sweet pearl onions. Nothing about it is difficult, and it does not ask for an afternoon.
The Sear Is Everything
The depth of a great bourguignon is built before a drop of wine goes in. Cook the chopped bacon until it just begins to crisp, leaving a pan slick with flavor, then add the beef cubes and brown them for just 3 to 4 minutes, so the outsides color while the centers stay very rare; the meat finishes in the sauce at the end.
The Slow Glow
Once the beef is out, pour the cognac over the pearl onions and carrots off the heat, then reduce it, the red wine, and the beef broth one after another, scraping up every savory bit stuck to the bottom of the skillet. Return the beef and bacon, season, and stir in the cornstarch slurry for about 2 minutes. Pull it as soon as the sauce turns smooth and shiny, so the meat stays rare to medium-rare.
Beef Bourguignon
Ingredients
Equipment
Method
- Heat the olive oil in a large skillet over medium high heat. Add the bacon and cook until golden and beginning to crisp, about 5 minutes. Add the beef and cook until just browned, about 3 to 4 minutes. The cubes should be very rare in the center. Transfer the meat and bacon to a bowl.
- Turn off the heat and pour in the cognac. Add the vegetables. Turn on the heat and simmer until most of the liquid disappears. Pour in the wine and simmer until most of the liquid disappears. Pour in 1 cup beef broth. Reduce until most of the liquid disappears. Pour in the last cup of broth, and reduce until there is about 1 cup liquid remaining in the skillet with the vegetables. This process will take about 10 minutes.
- Add the meat back into the sauce, season with salt and pepper. Stir in the cornstarch slurry. Cook until the sauce is smooth and shiny, about 2 minutes. The meat should remain rare to medium-rare. Sprinkle fresh parsley over top.
The Heart of the Table
There is a particular generosity in a dish that tastes of a whole afternoon and gives back something this soulful. To cook beef this way and set it, steaming, in front of the people you love is to hand them your time as much as your cooking — an old-world gesture of care that no shortcut can replicate. A pot of bourguignon says the evening is meant to be lingered over.
The Art of the Host
A large skillet is the one essential tool. Brown the beef with the bacon, choose a red you would happily drink — a Burgundy or Pinot Noir — since its character defines the sauce, and keep the beef in the pan only briefly so it stays rare. Cook it just before serving so the beef stays rare.
Neighborly Grace
- The Preparation: This is a fast one — cube the beef and blanch the carrots ahead, reduce the sauce when guests arrive, and return the beef at the last minute so it stays rare.
- The Pour: Pour the same red you cooked with — a good Burgundy or Pinot Noir — so the glass echoes the pot. For a non-alcoholic option, a dark cherry or pomegranate spritzer with a squeeze of orange stands up to the richness beautifully.
- The Vibe: This is cold-weather comfort at its most soulful — serve it in shallow bowls over creamy smashed potatoes or soft polenta, with crusty bread for the sauce and a fire nearby. It is a dish for a slow, candlelit evening where no one is in any hurry to leave.