The BEST Beef Bourguignon

Most know about our flopped attempt when making Julia Child’s Beef Bourguignon the first time a few year ago. The toughest part with this experience was that it didn’t taste bad, it was just okay.

Some changes we made this time:

• We got tender stew beef, which became so tender and fell apart after cooking

• Though Julia did not recommend this, we salted and peppered each piece of meat like we normally would ahead of browning

• We took a couple pages from Ina’s rendition and added 1 pound of carrots instead of just one, and flambéed things with 1/2 cup of cognac to deglaze

• We used homemade beef stock, which was rich and congealed just the way you want stock — fortunately we have a gourmet grocery store who makes this for sale

• And lastly, we skipped the final step of straining the sauce out because honestly, everything looked, smelled and tasted delicious at this point. The right texture was there and there just wasn’t a need.

So for anyone who loves beef stew or a cooking project, I highly recommend trying Julia’s version. The extra steps are worthwhile too, like cooking the mushrooms in butter until browned separately and braising the onions in broth with herbs, also separately. The best thing you can do for your self is get quality ingredients, prep everything before starting and giving yourself plenty of time to complete.

And, Julia’s direction and commentary make it special and the end result is sublime.