Sunday beef braise

A silky smooth concentration of broth and wine enrobing chunks of tender, melting beef, studded with glistening pearl onions and meaty sauteed mushrooms.  Hmmmm.... Sounds like a Sunday supper dish to me.

It's my riff on Boeuf Bourginon.  And while not classical, I think it's easier, less fussy, with straight forward flavors.  And it starts with the beef.

a shoulder roast or a pot roast is perfect for this dish

I like to buy a whole roast and cut it into about two inch square cuts.  Stew meat is more expensive, and in my opinion, cut in too small pieces.  I like having a decent-sized hunk of meat that yields to the side of a fork.  While it is not completely necessary, browning the meat first in a couple of tablespoons of oil creates beautiful brown bits on the bottom of the pan, and more attractive meat in the end.

brown right in the pan you are going to braise in,

here an enameled cast iron pot

Once the meat is browned on all sides, remove it from the pan, and stir a couple of tablespoon of flour into the hot fat.  I like Wondra flour for this, because it is easy to pour, quickly absorbs the fat and begins to color.  Once it begins to color, for a couple pounds of meat, deglaze the pan with half of a bottle of drinkable red wine.  It doesn't have to be expensive, just something fairly dry, with a decent flavor.  Scrape up all of those brown goodies in the bottom of the pan, and add in a couple of cups of beef stock.  Home made is marvelous, but store bought will do.  Use a lower sodium version of the store bought, because the broth is going to concentrate, and saltiness can be a problem.  Add your beef back in, continuing to simmer the mixture on the top of the stove.

Now comes the aromatics.  Just cut up an onion or a couple of large shallots into quarters, peel and all.  Same thing with 8-10 cloves of garlic.  Just give them a whack with a knife and toss them in, no fussing with peels -- the sauce will be strained before serving.  Add about six sprigs of thyme (a heaping tablespoon of dry), a couple of bay leaves, and six or so whole peppercorns.  A typical boeuf bourginon has carrots as well.  I don't add them because I don't care for the grassy sweetness they bring to the party, but you make your own call on that.

The braise is now ready for the oven

The pot gets covered, and slid into a 300 degree oven.  Or even a 275 oven, if you intend to let it cook longer than 2 1/2 hours.  Or a crock pot, for that matter, if you want to leave it in there all day, though if cooked in a crock pot, the sauce will have to reduced a bit on the stove before serving, because not enough moisture will evaporate during the cooking time.  Now, tidy up the kitchen and go practice your tennis swing, or start that novel you always wanted to write.  Lori, you go take the dogs on a walkabout on the ranch.

About thirty minutes before you are going to serve, pull the braise out of the oven, and check the body of the sauce.  It should be silky and unctuous enough to coat the back of a spoon.  If it is too thin, stir the meat around, and leave off the pan lid.  If it is too evaporated, thin it a bit with a little water.  Yes, water.  It's neutral, and basically what evaporated away in the first place.  Remove the meat from the pan, strain the sauce through a strainer, pressing on the aromatics to extract all of that goodness, and return the meat and sauce to the pan.

Now come the pearl onions and the mushrooms.  You can blanch and peel those pesky little onions from the produce isle if you want, but I am a huge fan of the frozen pearl onions.   They are sweet, perfectly frozen at the peak of flavor, and they require nothing more complicated than opening a bag. If your local grocer doesn't carry them, stomp your foot and pitch a (polite) fit at the service desk.  It works.  If you wish, you can just dump the frozen nuggets straight in the pot.  However, a quick saute in a little butter gives you...

glistening, golden pearl onions in about 5 minutes over medium heat

sauteing the mushrooms is a must --

they need to brown and give up much of their moisture

Once the onions and mushrooms are added into the braise, warm for a few minutes, either on  the stove top or in the oven, then taste and adjust the seasonings for both salt and pepper.

finished  braise

If you are familiar with Boeuf Bourginon, you may have noticed that I didn't include the lardons of bacon or fat back.  I don't care for the texture of pork fat that has stewed in liquid, but I have been known, if I have some on hand, to brown the beef in bacon fat for that salty, smoky flavor.  I suppose the point is, don't be afraid to play with your food.  Figure out what you like and what you don't like, and adjust accordingly.  One thing missing in this dish that I do like is the sour cream element of a stroganoff.  So, I choose to serve this dish ringed with traditional egg noodles, tossed in a mixture of sour cream or creme fresh, grated parmesan, and minced parsley.  The cream in the noodles oozes into the sauce of the braise, and the noodles soak it all in.  This is a favorite winter Sunday supper dish in our house.  But, hey, if you prefer rice, or boiled potatoes,  or even just a crusty loaf of bread, just go for it!

and not complete without a complimentary glass of red

up close -- the sour cream melts into the very lightest 

of sauces on the hot noodles