Boeuf Bourguignon a La Julia Child

Reviews

• "I watched the film Julie and Julia and was intrigued. I was dying to see what the fuss was all about and although i detest mushrooms i decided to be brave and give it a try. Yes it took all day to cook but for a mushroom hater likemyself it was to die for. The beef melted in your mouth and the sauce. YUM!!!!
  My family loved it and i felt so posh giving them 'Beef Bourguignon' for their Sunday dinner.
  
  Bon Appetit People!!!"

  By vickiplum on November 21, 2010 | 1165804

• "I've been a Julia fan for many many years but until today, I'd never tried this recipe. Forced retirement can have a fun and interesting side. I have lots of time to cook labor intensive recipes now.
  I thought the recipe was delicious and even more than I expected. I enjoyed every minute/hour of the process. I felt a kindred spirit with Julia as I got into this all day adventure. And that's what it was for me, an adventure in real cooking, not just meal preparation.
  I would make this again, and again. I believe I'd do it even for just myself because I so enjoyed the experience."

  By imjane on December 24, 2010 | 1176057

• "My sister made this a few days ago and told me I NEEDED to make it. (I think she used a recipe off Oprah's website - same thing, right?) I may make a couple of procedural changes next time I make it, as I found the meat to be a tad underseasoned (easily remedied by salting before hand). And I think I'm going to make my own beef stock next time, as I think that will improve the flavor, as well. I used a Merlot as the wine, left the onion slices and carrots in because I was too lazy to pick them out. I also used already cut stew meat to save time. Don't think I'll do that again, either, as I don't think it has as much flavor as a whole roast you cut yourself. The mushrooms and pearl onions were sublime, and I loved the smoky undertones from the bacon. I will be looking forward to the next time I make this, in order to follow the recipe more closely and taste the differences."

  By Jmommy209 on January 10, 2011 | 1180779

• "This dish is most definitely Paris on a plate. Just divine...so many complex layers of flavor and the bacon just makes the dish. Do use the best quality beef you can and it will result in juicy beef that is fork tender. It is definitely a labor intensive meal to prepare because all the components have to be prepared separately but the labor of love is more than appreciated by all...I used a good chianti and will repeat that in the future because it flavored it perfectly. This really couldn't be any better...a must try for lovers of beef and/or French food!!! Julia Child lives on!!!"

  By Epi Curious on December 29, 2009 | 1018106

• "OK I added an anchovy for depth of flavour (an old osso bucco trick) and some herbs de Provence. Needless to say this was amazing. Used LaCrueset and had absolutely no issues with evaporation. I also lowered the heat 300f. Served with horseradish mashed potatoes and haricotes vertes a truly wonderful meal. My girlfriend is jealous! (as always lol)"

  By Chef #1477391 on December 09, 2009 | 1005358

• "This is one of the best meals I have ever made. I was cursing the number of steps and the time it took until everyone tasted it and WOW! We have now tried a few different versions and I learned some tips and tricks. First, use frozen pearl onions that are already de-skinned. If you dont mind peeling all the little onions, then cut one end and boil them for a few minutes and they should theoretically slip off, but when i did this, so did half the onion! Next, use a bouquet garni bag for the herbs. Cook the stew in a cast iron pot...for some weird reason it makes a difference. Dont use bad wine....if you cant afford a bordeaux, use meritage which is usually cheaper. Towards the end, add 1/4 cup of cognac...it really adds more depth and tastes great. Serve with mashed potatoes and more of the wine you cooked it in and definitely double the recipe and freeze the rest....it is wonderful as a leftover and it doesnt take much effort to make twice as much."

  By steff0566 on October 13, 2012 | 1340137

• "I cut most of the first 16 steps out by using regular sliced bacon. I used the specified amount of beef but used 1-1/2 times the amount of other ingredients in that set. (4-1/2 C. of wine, 1-1/2 onions, ect.) That made more of the flavorful sauce. I also left in the carrots and onions. I thought they were too good to throw away! Next time I won't use the pearl onions as they had a VERY strong onion flavor after braising. This recipe has a very condensed, intense flavor! Really good!"

  By "Mean Bean" Chef #689367 on February 19, 2011 | 1193173

• "Love this recipe. I have Mastering the Art of French Cooking and this is one of our many favorites from it. Also good over rice. The best part is that it tastes just as good if not better reheated as leftovers. I like to make a full batch on a Sunday afternoon and divide the leftovers into individual serving containers for lunches for the upcoming week. Yum!"

  By HollyGolightly on January 21, 2011 | 1184423

• "I made this famous and delicious dish yesterday. It was a lot of work and I was pretty exhausted once it was dine. But it was absoloutely marvelous. I used beef brisket which I think is a great cut of meat and I chose a beaujolais. I also used pancetta instead of bacon. I was too tired to cook noodles and rice, but we sopped by all the beautiful sauce with fresh French bread. This is definitely not a weeknight meal but a nice dinner party with close, intimate friends."

  By AMendi on December 22, 2010 | 1175719

• "This is absolutely amazing, I think that this is the best beef stew I have ever had. I used regular bacon because I couldn't find chunk bacon and it was perfect. We served it over mashed potatoes and had a nice crusty bread to soak up all the extras... Loved it Loved it... Its worth all the time.... just anticipate the food love that this has to offer by smelling it in the kitchen all day!!!"

  By adularia98 on April 05, 2010 | 1079436

• "OMG, what a delicious meal. I didn't strain it, and we enjoyed the veggies and more rustic texture. We used canned beef broth, and served with garlic mashed potatoes. Truly a memorable meal we will make again."

  By Ltys on February 25, 2010 | 1060125

• "Perfection. This is a real cook's recipe - best to take your time with it and enjoy the ride!"

  By Chef #487660 on January 22, 2010 | 1038421

• "We've used this recipe straight from Julia's book. I always use the boxed beef stock and have made it with a cheap chuck roast. The results are outstanding no matter what! I use a Pinot Noir from Burgundy. Perfection."

  By jlab on January 06, 2010 | 1025953

• "Just saw the movie and HAD to try this! Great way to start a New Year! Got the meat from the meat market, used a nice Chianti and 6 oz regular bacon. Also 1/2 lb mushrooms because someone reviewed and said that was in the original. Cooked for exactly 3 hours and the meat was perfect. Served over buttered noodles. I think this will become a New Year's Day tradition!"

  By jane49423 on January 01, 2010 | 1021013

• "Very good. I did not own a Le Creuset so I used a combination of my large all purpose calphalon and my crock pot. Just a note...read thru the recipe at least twice and maybe a third time to get a game plan. Also, plan to get your kitchen very messy at least a couple of times in the process which is why this would be a great day before dish. The finishing will need the drippings to be very cool and the onions need at least an hour to boil down. I used a table box merlot with a splash of marsala in the mushrooms. Served it over wide egg noodles and roasted carrots, red potatoes and turnips. Lovely."

  By salsarita on December 28, 2009 | 1017061

• "Just made this tonight and it is delicious. It is definitely a bit more time consuming then most things I cook. A note is that I followed the directions for the onions and the mushrooms according to original recipe. There are two choices for the onions and I baked mine in the oven at 350 for 40-50 minutes. The Boeuf Bourguignon calls for 1 lb of mushrooms, but the recipe Julia Child refers to for the preparation is 1/2 lb so the oil and the butter need to be doubled in this recipe which they are not. I would also cook only 1/2 lb at a time so they get a nice light brown and do not steam. In her cookbook she lists the following meats to use: First Choice: Rump Pot Roast Other Choices: Chuck Pot Roast, Sirloin tip, Top Round, and Bottom Round Julia notes that the better the meat, the better the stew. Serving this the traditional way with boiled potatoes that I'm tossing with butter and fresh parsley."

  By Jencathen on December 27, 2009 | 1016589

• "Made this for my husbands birthday. It definitely takes 6 hours but it well worth the work. It is absolutely fabulous and the step by step instructions were great."

  By Chef #1426114 on October 25, 2009 | 977220

• "Well, thought I'd give the recipe a go, even after reading the "competing" shorter recipe with Cognac and wine by Ina Garten. I wanted the "real" recipe the first time I did this. IT CAME OUT GREAT. Full of flavor. For those who said "blah", it's probably because they didn't use their full "cooksense" to properly season to taste at the appropriate moments. I used salt pork because I couldn't find solid chunk bacon easily. The lean beef I used was round, prepackaged from an upscale grocery store in LA; next time I'll cut my own meat to make it more uniform (better for browning and cooking). Used Wolfgang Puck Beef Stock; EXCELLENT rich flavor to me; about as good as homemade stocks I've made! For mushrooms, used Baby Bellas for a more robust flavor and texture. NEVER plain old parsley, but Italian Parsley. Used a wonderful young Bordeaux (only $7.99). All in my Le Creuset French Oval Oven. Only issues: my meat was so lean that not enough fat leeched from it to continue effective oil-based browning. Things did brown though. Other issue: the liquid really started evaporating after that 3rd hour in the oven, even with a heavy lid. I had to stop cooking, cool quickly and refrigerator, and get to bed. The next day, after placing in the oven again (only for reheating), very little liquid was left, so I need to use more than a few tablespoons of stock. I rushed the pearl onions a bit as my fire was a bit high, but that's an easy fix next time. No straining was necessary. Flavors were about as pronounced as they could be. Meat was either perfectly tender or "decently" tender (more liquid could have helped there, and longer slower cooking a bit). The dish smelled exceptional and tasted like a dream. Served over buttered parsley'd egg noodles."

  By ComputerUp on September 09, 2009 | 943010

• "Just like some others I HAD to try this after I saw the movie, and it was WONDERFUL!! I added a couple more cloves of garlic, used regular onions cut in big chunks instead of pearl onions, and skipped the oven time to crust the flour on the beef. The sauce was the perfect consistency when i drained it and my family loved every bite!! DELICIOUS!"

  By Chef #1367599 on August 29, 2009 | 935109

• "After the movie, this just had to be done. Very good recipe after a few variations. The meat cooked very quickly at 325 degrees and was done in 1 and 1/2 hours which was a pleasant surprise. Based on other reviews, we added more garlic, more Thyme, lots of Penzy's fresh black pepper and four large bay leaves plucked right off the tree and a bit of smoked paprika. Used baby 'bellas for the mushrooms. A big hit."

  By Hashslinger on August 23, 2009 | 931836