It's Saturday--it's Stew!

[Chef Kate]

A few tips regarding prep for our

Boeuf Bourguignon
(recipe #148007)

First:
If you are using fresh pearl onions, they are a pain to peel. So here's tip--put a pot of water on high heat--when it comes to a full boil--toss in the onions for about 30 seconds. Remove and sit them in a colander and let them drain and cool just a bit. They will now be much easier to peel.

If you are using frozen pearl onions, they need to be defrosted and drained, so sit them in a colander now and let them soften and drain.

[Chef Kate]

If you are planning to eat only some of the stew and freeze the rest, than I suggest you make only enough mushrooms for what you want to eat now, and freeze the stew WITHOUT adding the mushrooms.

That way, when you have stew the next time, you can add fresh sauteed mushrooms to the defrosted stew--and the mushrooms won't get that rather spongy texture that happens when they are frozen.

[Chef Kate]

a couple of permissable short-cuts

1. If you can't get or don't have the chunk of bacon, but have sliced bacon, cut that into pieces and blanch the pieces for just a couple of minutes.

2. If the amounts of butter in the onions and the mushrooms put you off, remember, this is a Julia Child version. You can get by with less butter or with upping the oil and reducing the butter a bit. But don't leave it out or you really won't get the depth of flavor that you should.

3. You can skip the steps with the flour. If you do, you will simply preheat the oven to 325°F. and go from Step 12 to Step 17. If you choose to do this, you will not have the thickened sauce that is traditional. Personally, I don't mind that a bit. In fact, I think I prefer the sauce to be somewhat broth-like. And of course, you can thicken the sauce at the end of the process by adding a little beurre manie.

4. If you want to add the beurre manie, it is very simple. Make a paste of equal amounts of flour and softened unsalted butter and add it, bit by bit to the finished dish, swirling it in the sauce. Probably a tablespoon of each will make more than enough to thicken the sauce. You can, of course, add more. And you can freeze beurre manie--and even add the bits while they are still frozen if need be.

[chia]

great tips kate!
i am not taking the usual series of photos because i am using some shortcuts. i used 8 oz of thick sliced bacon and just cut it into lardons

[chia]

simmering the lardons releases alot of fat so this doesn't look especially appealing, lol

[Chef Kate]

Here's another tip:

If you really need your oven (all the Holiday baking!) you can do this stew on top of the stove--you just have to take great care to make sure the heat is low enough that it doesn't boil or stick to the bottom of your casserole.

[chia]

i am going to use frozen onions too, they are sitting in a colander as we speak. i'm also going to leave the mushrooms whole, i think, so my picky family can fish them out more easily. personally i love mushrooms in any form, though i did hate them as a kid

[chia]

saute the dried lardons in olive oil, then remove to a plate


add the dried beef to the oil, in batches

[chia]

after all the beef is browned remove it to the side
saute the onions and carrot, add the beef and lardons back to the pan with flour salt and pepper

i use the flour, i like a thicker sauce.

[chia]

this is what it looks like when you take it out of the 450 oven


then add , on the stovetop , the wine, beef stock etc

[Chef Kate]

It's really important not to crowd the meat when you are browning it--much better to do it in batches and get each piece nicely seared. If you crowd the meat, it will be more like you steamed than sauteed it.

[chia]

unfortunately my supply of fresh herbs is over until next summer, so i used dry-
bring everything to a simmer, it should look like this before you put it back into a 325 oven

now you can relax for a few hours ad let your oven do the work

[Chef Kate]

Note: when you add the wine--there will be just a touch left. You can throw it in the pot. But, I think, we should all drink it as a toast to Julia who always believed in wine for the Chef!

[Chef Kate]

Make sure when you add the liquid, you scrape up all the lovely fond on the bottom so it is incorporated into the liquid. I have to say that a my flat-bottomed, long handled wooden spoon/spatula is one of my favorite kitchen tools.

[Chef Kate]

Whether you are cooking in the oven or on top of the stove, it is important to check occasionally to make sure the stew is no more than gently simmering and that there is sufficient liquid to barely cover the meat throughout the cooking process.