Boeuf Bourguignon (Beef Stew With Red Wine, Mushrooms, and Bacon)

Arguably the world's greatest beef stew.

A bowl of Boeuf Bourguignon and noodles next to the pot.

Serious Eats / Vicky Wasik

Why It Works

  • Searing slabs of boneless beef chuck and cutting them into large cubes afterward ensures good browned flavor and tender meat.
  • A small amount of flour, combined with gelatin and reduction, makes a sauce with good body and a rich, silky texture.
  • Cooking the stew with large pieces of aromatic vegetables, then discarding those and adding fresh diced and lightly sautéed ones later, yields a flavorful stew with vegetables that haven't been cooked to death.

If several of my cookbooks are to be believed, boeuf Bourguignon is not exactly a Burgundian dish. Sure, cooks have been making boeuf Bourguignon—or boeuf à la Bourguignonne, or even beef Burgundy, as it's sometimes called—in Burgundy for generations now, but so have cooks all over France and around the world.

What's this all about?

It has to do with the French way of naming certain foods. In the case of boeuf Bourguignon, what the name communicates is not that it's a classic Burgundian dish, but that the beef is prepared with classic Burgundian flavors, namely, a red wine sauce with mushrooms and small onions. I could serve tofu with the same sauce and accompaniments and call it tofu Bourguignon, and it'd be just as accurate as the name of the beef stew, even if I was the first person to ever make it. Maybe the great cooks of Burgundy were the first ones to whip up this beloved stew, or maybe someone else did it in the style of those great cooks and attached their adjective appropriately.

All of this is ultimately just a technicality, one that doesn't matter much in the scope of things. Some technicalities, though, do matter. In particular, the technicalities of how we make what is arguably the world's greatest beef stew.

Let's start with the beef.

Choosing the Right Cut of Beef

Beef chuck, raw and cooked.
Beef chuck, raw and cooked.

Serious Eats / Vicky Wasik

Before you start cooking your stew, you want an appropriate cut of beef. More specifically, you want one that's rich in connective tissue made of collagen (some good marbled fat in the mix doesn't hurt either). Meat that has lots of collagen in it starts off tough as heck—it tends to come from the strongest parts of an animal's body—but, as it cooks, it very slowly transforms into meltingly soft and moist gelatin. It's that gelatin that makes the meat still seem moist even after the muscle fibers have inevitably dried out from long cooking. Try stewing a lean, tender cut of beef, like filet mignon, for a couple of hours and you'll end up with scraps of meat that would compete with jerky in toughness and dryness.

A boneless chuck roll, which comes from the cow's incredibly strong shoulder, is perfect for stewing, and it tends to be pretty cheap, so it's what I call for here. You have other options, though, so feel free to peruse my list of top stewing beef cuts for more ideas.

To prep the beef, most recipes tell you to dice it into small pieces first, then brown them on all sides. That browning helps develop flavor, but it also dries out the surface of the beef cubes. Even after they've spent a couple of hours submerged in stewing liquids, you can still detect the toughness of their browned exteriors.

To mitigate this, we take a slightly different approach with our stews on Serious Eats. We start by slicing the beef into about three large steaks or slabs, and then we brown only the two largest sides of each.

Only after the beef is browned do we cut it up into stew-size cubes. How big is stew size? Well, for some folks, it's about an inch. The problem there is that, while one-inch cubes will give you spoon-size bites, they'll also dry out a lot faster than larger pieces. We want moist and tender meat, so we size our cubes up to somewhere between one and a half and two inches. The final stew will have meat that may require being cut with a knife (or, more likely, the side of your fork, if your stew is cooked right), but we're okay with that.

Should You Marinate the Beef?

A lot of beef stew recipes, including ones for boeuf Bourguignon, say that for the best flavor, you should marinate the beef first. I've been running marination tests with beef stews for the past couple of weeks, and I haven't found this advice to be true.

Marinades don't actually penetrate deeply into meat, getting not much further than the first couple of millimeters in from the surface, even after many hours. That shallow penetration is enough to make a marinade worthwhile in quicker-cooking applications, like when grilling meats. It even helps the chicken in my coq au vin recipe, in which the breast meat is braised quickly, just long enough to cook it through.

But with stew, the meat spends enough time in the pot with the stewing liquid that it ends up taking on as much flavor as meat that was marinated first. In none of my tests could I tell a difference between beef that had been marinated in red wine for as much as 24 hours and beef that first encountered the wine in the Dutch oven.

The Best Method for Cooking Vegetables in the Stew

Once the beef is browned, the next step is to brown the aromatics. A lot of stews simplify this by having you brown the diced vegetables you'll be serving, then cook them in the stew. This is, to be sure, the easiest way to do it, but the price you pay is overcooked vegetables with little flavor left to them (because it's all come out into the stewing liquid).

A better way: brown large pieces of aromatic vegetables, like halved carrots, onions, and crushed cloves of garlic, and cook those in the stew along with an herb bundle tied together with cooking twine.

Later, when those vegetables are verging on mush, just pluck them out and replace them with a fresh set of diced ones that you'll actually be serving, which I'll explain below.

A collage: picking up herb and onion from the pot of boeuf bourguignon.

Serious Eats / Vicky Wasik

In my recipe, once the large aromatics are browned, I deglaze the pot with a splash of brandy. That's an optional ingredient—use it if you have it, but don't skip the recipe if you don't. The flavor gain is subtle, not nearly reaching deal-breaker status.

For the other liquids, I use a small amount of chicken stock with unflavored gelatin bloomed in it, and plenty of dry red wine. A small dose each of both fish sauce and soy sauce adds some complexity and deeper savoriness, but rest assured, you won't taste them.

The gelatin helps give body to the stew's sauce, and a little thickness. Also helping to thicken the stewing liquid ever so slightly is a modest amount of flour, which I toss with the beef chunks right before adding them back to the pot. Combine that with the reduction that occurs when the dish is in the oven at 300°F (150°C) with the lid partly open, and we get a finished stew with a viscosity and body that's pleasing but not thick.

A lot of stews, including many that come out of a can, are loaded with starches like flour to thicken them up to the point of being like gravy. I see the appeal in that, but the problem is that flour dulls the flavor of a stew, and the more you add, the duller it gets. Exactly where the perfect balance point between thickness and flavor is a personal decision, but I'm happy with a more liquid stew that also has a more pronounced, complex taste.

How Good Does the Wine Need to Be?

Side note on the wine: Last year I did a series of tests on cooking with wine, red and white, to find out how important the quality of it is. What I found was that it matters very little. In fact, even the oft-repeated instruction to "only cook with wine that you'd be willing to drink" isn't entirely true: A lot of flaws in a wine, along with pretty much all of the nuance that makes a good wine good, are erased with cooking.

There are really only two important rules. First, don't cook with a "cooking wine" (typically very inexpensive wine with salt and preservatives added to it), or, worse, a wine product that is not actually wine. They're vile, and your food—especially a dish like this that has so much wine in it—will taste vile, too.

Second, use a dry wine unless the recipe specifically calls for an off-dry one. Dryness in wine refers to its sweetness, i.e., the actual amount of sugar in it, not how "fruity" the wine tastes. In most recipes, boeuf Bourguignon being one of them, a dry wine is essential. Any sugar in it will do very strange things to the flavor of the stew.

Beyond that, you have a ton of latitude. Of course, you could choose a lighter red in a recipe like this, to emulate the lightness of a Burgundian Pinot Noir, but you honestly don't have to. Any dry red wine will work; the differences will be noticeable, but none of them will be bad. Whatever you do, do not waste your coin on a pricey bottle of Burgundy unless it's to drink alongside this stew, okay?

Adding the Final Ingredients

Adding chunks of bacon into boeuf Bourguignon.

Serious Eats / Vicky Wasik

While the stew is in the oven, I get my garnishes ready. I use the classic boeuf Bourguignon combination of lardons, mushrooms, and pearl onions, plus carrot for color and flavor.

In France, the lardons are made from salted pork, but in the States, bacon is more common. I happen to love the smoky flavor of bacon in this stew, though it's important to keep it from overpowering everything else. The best way to tame the smoke of your bacon is to blanch it for a couple of minutes first. It's an optional step, but useful if you don't want a very bacon-centric stew. Of course, to cut lardons into proper sticks, you'll need a slab of bacon—thick-sliced bacon can work in a pinch, but the results will have a very different texture from the meatier lardon pieces.

A collage: browning bacon and sauteing pearl onions and carrot in bacon fat.

Serious Eats / Vicky Wasik

I fry them over moderate heat to render their fat and crisp and brown them slightly, then remove the lardons with a slotted spoon. I then add the mushrooms and cook them in the rendered pork fat. It'll take at least 10 minutes, if not more, to properly brown the mushrooms. When they're browned, I add the carrots and pearl onions, sautéing them just long enough to lightly brown them as well.

After the stew has been cooking for about an hour and a half, I take it out of the oven, discard the stewing aromatics, and then add these instead, allowing them to finish cooking in the stew, which takes about a half hour longer.

The finished stew is filled with tender chunks of meat and mushroom, along with plump onions and carrots and a deeply rich red-wine base. It's what Burgundy might taste like...if Burgundy had a land made of mushroom, pork, and onion, and rivers flowing with vin rouge.

Close up view of boeuf Bourguignon in a pot ready to serve.

Serious Eats / Vicky Wasik

January 2016

This recipe was cross-tested in 2023; the oven temperature was raised slightly and the cooking time extended to ensure best results.

Recipe Details

Boeuf Bourguignon (Beef Stew With Red Wine, Mushrooms, and Bacon)

Prep 10 mins
Cook 3 hrs 30 mins
Active 90 mins
Resting Time: 15 mins
Total 3 hrs 55 mins
Serves 4 to 6 servings
Makes 9 cups

Ingredients

  • 2 cups (500ml) homemade chicken stock or store-bought low-sodium broth

  • 4 packets unflavored powdered gelatin (3 tablespoons plus 1 teaspoon; 30g)

  •  2 tablespoons (30ml) vegetable oil, plus more as needed

  • 3 pounds (1.25kg) whole boneless beef chuck roast, cut crosswise into 3 steaks

  • 4 teaspoons (12g) Diamond Crystal kosher salt, divided; for table salt, use half as much by volume or the same weight

  • 1 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper

  • 1 1/4 pounds carrots (600g; about 3 large), 1/2 pound (250g) peeled and split lengthwise, 3/4 pound (350g) cut into large dice (about 1 1/2 cups)

  • 1 medium yellow onion (8 ounces; ; 227g), peeled and split in half through the root

  • 4 medium cloves garlic, lightly crushed

  • 1/4 cup (60ml) cognac or brandy (optional)

  • 3 cups (750ml) dry red wine

  • 1 tablespoon (15ml) fish sauce

  • 1 tablespoon (15ml) soy sauce

  • 1 bouquet garni (about 4 sprigs thyme, 3 sprigs parsley, and 1 bay leaf, tied together with kitchen twine)

  • 5 tablespoons all-purpose flour (1.4 ounces; 40g)

  • 1/4 pound (110g) slab bacon or salt pork, cut into 1-inch-long by 1/4-inch-thick sticks (about 1 cup)

  • 1 pound cremini mushrooms (450g), woody stems trimmed if necessary and caps quartered

  • 8 ounces white and/or red pearl onions (225g), peeled

  • Minced flat-leaf parsley leaves and tender stems, for garnish

Directions

  1. Preheat oven to 325°F (160°C). Pour chicken stock into a medium bowl and sprinkle gelatin evenly all over surface, allowing each packet's worth of gelatin to soak up stock before sprinkling next one on. Set aside.

  2. In a large Dutch oven, heat oil over medium-high heat until shimmering. Season beef all over with 3 teaspoons of salt and 1 teaspoon of pepper and add to Dutch oven. Cook, turning occasionally, until beef is well browned on 2 sides, about 10 minutes. Transfer beef to a rimmed baking sheet.

    Browning beef in a Dutch oven for boeuf Bourguignon.
  3. Lower heat to medium; add split carrots, halved onion, and garlic to Dutch oven and cook, turning occasionally, until lightly browned, about 4 minutes.

    Browning carrots, garlic, and onion for boeuf Bourguignon.
  4. Add brandy, if using, and boil until alcohol has nearly cooked off, about 2 minutes. (If not using brandy, proceed with next step.)

  5. Scrape chicken stock and  gelatin mixture into Dutch oven. Add red wine, fish sauce, soy sauce, and bouquet garni and bring to a simmer over medium high, then lower heat to medium to maintain simmer. Meanwhile, cut beef into 2-inch chunks and transfer to a large mixing bowl. Add flour and stir until beef is evenly coated in a floury paste. Add beef and any accumulated juices to Dutch oven. Bring back to a simmer then transfer to oven, partially cover with a lid, and cook until beef starts to become tender, about 2 hours.

    A collage: adding brandy, chicken stock, red wine, fish sauce, and soy sauce into a pot of boeuf Bourguignon.
  6. Meanwhile, in a large nonstick skillet, cook bacon lardons over medium-high heat, stirring occasionally, until fat has rendered and lardons are lightly browned and crisp, 4 to 6 minutes. Using a slotted spoon, transfer lardons to a plate.

  7. Add mushrooms to skillet and cook over medium-high heat, stirring occasionally, until mushrooms have released their liquid and browned, about 10 minutes; add oil as needed if pan becomes too dry. Add diced carrots and pearl onions and continue to cook, stirring occasionally, until lightly browned, about 5 minutes.

  8. Remove stew from oven. Using tongs, fish out and discard large pieces of carrot and onion. Discard bouquet garni. Using a ladle, skim off and discard accumulated fat on surface. Add reserved lardons and sautéed carrots, onions, and mushrooms to stew, return to oven, and continue to cook, uncovered, until beef is fork tender, pearl onions are soft but still hold their shape, and sauce is nappe, about 1 hour.

    Adding saute vegetable and aromatics into boeuf Bourguignon pot.
  9. Remove stew from oven. If serving right away, skim off any additional fat from surface. Season to taste with salt and pepper. Allow to cool slightly before serving, then serve topped with parsley. If making ahead, cool down stew, then chill in refrigerator; remove solid fat cap from surface once fully chilled. Reheat stew on the stovetop or in a low oven.

Special Equipment

Dutch oven, rimmed baking sheet

Notes

If you're using smoked bacon and you want to decrease the smokiness of it slightly, blanch the lardons in boiling water for two minutes, then drain and use as directed.

Make Ahead and Storage

The stew can be refrigerated in an airtight container for up to 5 days.

Read More

Nutrition Facts (per serving)
855 Calories
54g Fat
20g Carbs
62g Protein
×
Nutrition Facts
Servings: 4 to 6
Amount per serving
Calories 855
% Daily Value*
Total Fat 54g 70%
Saturated Fat 20g 101%
Cholesterol 204mg 68%
Sodium 2118mg 92%
Total Carbohydrate 20g 7%
Dietary Fiber 3g 11%
Total Sugars 6g
Protein 62g
Vitamin C 6mg 29%
Calcium 102mg 8%
Iron 7mg 37%
Potassium 1437mg 31%
*The % Daily Value (DV) tells you how much a nutrient in a food serving contributes to a daily diet. 2,000 calories a day is used for general nutrition advice.
(Nutrition information is calculated using an ingredient database and should be considered an estimate.)