Boeuf bourguignon is one of the main dishes of France’s culinary heritage – one of those dishes that has been made by generations and generations each with its own tweaks. Stewed meat was always a classic in my family’s Parisian kitchen, and making this in my kitchen sends me back to those nice family dinners.
The bottom line is that boeuf bourguignon is extremely cheap to make, the only difficult part being the wait for it to be done while the sweet smell of simmering wine and tender beef takes over your kitchen! Stewing meat is one of the cheapest cuts of meat there is – the idea being that the labor is on you to cook it slowly! As any good stew starts off, it’s about searing the meat (which takes a few minutes), and then basically mixing the beef with aromatics and liquid (good red wine and stock).
In Julie and Julia, Julie Powell makes boeuf bourgignon sound rather dramatic. She forgets it in the oven while she falls asleep and the result is a big, big burnt mess. When Oliver and I were heading home from the market with our stewed meat, vegetables, and wine we were laughing about the scene and how it was made out to be so much more tedious than it actually was. I don’t know if Julia Child got offended by our gentle mockery or if we were just unlucky, but after an hour of cooking time, when Oliver was taking our Creuset pot out to check on the meat, our oven rack tilted and half of our stewing liquid flooded the oven. That set us back a good half hour, the oven was a boozy mess but thankfully we had more Chianti wine and the meal turned out great anyway.
I used Julia Child’s recipe, with a few tweaks, served the meet over whole wheat buttery herbed parpadelle and it was the perfect Sunday night meal.
Enjoy the read!
ABowlOfMush
November 17, 2009 at 3:07 pm (14 years ago)This is one of my favorite meals ever, especially Julias’ recipe!
Looks gorgeous!
Rose
November 17, 2009 at 3:11 pm (14 years ago)Looks beautiful, especially over that soft fold of pasta!
Anja
November 17, 2009 at 5:04 pm (14 years ago)I love those meals that reminds you to childhood… It’s kind of tradition to don’t forget these things-
Hilary
November 17, 2009 at 5:06 pm (14 years ago)Looks lovely. I wanted to make this after seeing the movie but was put off because the recipe seemed to have so many steps. I’m a lazy cook.
Chanel11
November 17, 2009 at 7:14 pm (14 years ago)My husband loves this meal, your’s looks fab.
Barbara
November 17, 2009 at 9:41 pm (14 years ago)Funny post.
I do love this dish- takes time, but it’s basically simple and delcious.
Nina Timm
November 17, 2009 at 11:38 pm (14 years ago)For a stew, this is quite a “clean” plate of food, most elegant!!!! I cannot wait for the movie, you guys are making me green with envy for not seeing it yet!!!
Coco Bean
November 18, 2009 at 1:29 am (14 years ago)It was so good, thanks for cooking the wonderful dinner!
Kate Morgan Jackson
November 18, 2009 at 9:29 am (14 years ago)I just love Julia’s recipe for this. And your picture is just FABULOUS — I have yet to get a decent shot of this dish. Beautiful!!
Mary
November 18, 2009 at 2:26 pm (14 years ago)This is a wonderful recipe. I’m glad you were able to recover from the spill and enjoy the stew, wine and each others company. Have a great day.
Deborah
November 20, 2009 at 2:21 am (14 years ago)I have this on my “to make” list! Yours looks absolutely beautiful.
Trissa
November 20, 2009 at 8:43 am (14 years ago)What a great picture – I’ve never had this dish with pasta but it does sound like a perfect combination. Agree with you – the hardest part is waiting – especially since I love this dish when it’s a day old!
Charmian@Christie's Corner
November 20, 2009 at 11:16 am (14 years ago)I’ve been meaning to try Julia’s recipe for ages and just haven’t gotten around to it. This is prompting me to try it sooner rather than later.
Looks amazing. Lovely photos on your site.
peasepudding
November 21, 2009 at 3:26 pm (14 years ago)I agree, it isn’t a hard dish to make it just needs time. You can’t beat an nice wintery stew either, I love the English ones too (needless to say) with beer bases and dumpling….ooooh I wish it was winter here!
Kathleen
November 21, 2009 at 7:34 pm (14 years ago)I love this meal! Your photos are fabulous!!!
lostpastremembered
November 22, 2009 at 10:27 am (14 years ago)What a beautiful photo…. I’m just learning! Great blog
glamah16
November 22, 2009 at 12:18 pm (14 years ago)And that is why I disliked the bloggers character in that movie. This looks divine. Nothing like slowed cooked goodness.
SavoringTime in the Kitchen
November 22, 2009 at 10:22 pm (14 years ago)I’m sorry you lost those wonderful juices on the oven floor! I’m not sure who got the last laugh but your boeuf bourguignon looks delicious.
Thanks for the visit 😉
Ellie
November 25, 2009 at 1:28 am (14 years ago)Lovely beef bourguignon. Love how you serve it with pasta. Beautiful picture as always!
farawayfoodies
November 25, 2009 at 9:48 am (14 years ago)A classic Julia Child recipe!
Yours looks absolutely scrumptious.
Cheryl Arkison
December 8, 2009 at 3:07 pm (14 years ago)I just had this for the first time on Sunday. So not stew. So much better than any stew I’ve ever made or eaten. Will be trying it with bison soon.
Cheryl Arkison
December 8, 2009 at 3:07 pm (14 years ago)I just had this for the first time on Sunday. So not stew. So much better than any stew I’ve ever made or eaten. Will be trying it with bison soon.
Cheryl Arkison
December 8, 2009 at 3:07 pm (14 years ago)I just had this for the first time on Sunday. So not stew. So much better than any stew I’ve ever made or eaten. Will be trying it with bison soon.
zested
December 13, 2009 at 10:16 am (14 years ago)You’ve reminded me how much I enjoy this dish – I’m going to make it tonight. It’s so hard to get a good shot of meat and pasta – well done. And congrats on your DMBLGIT award!
Michelle @ Greedy Gourmet
May 17, 2010 at 6:24 am (14 years ago)I only got to watch Julie & Julia this weekend. It was okay but as usual the movie isn’t as good as the books. You’re right, BB isn’t very difficult to make, you just need patience. I guess in the movie the only annoying thing for her was to start all over again plus the flavour would have been better to let the meat marinate further in the sauce for another day. Love the idea of serving it with pasta!