Boeuf Bourguignon

Ingredients

• 2 Kg of beef (or veal) cut into 5cm cubes
• 12 slices of bacon, cut into small pieces
• Olive oil
• 4 tablespoons of flour
• 4 cloves of garlic, chopped
• 1 tablespoon coarse salt
• A pinch of ground pepper
• A pinch of dried thyme
• 2 bay leaves
• 4 tablespoons chopped parsley (plus more for garnish)
• 1/3 cup cognac
• 3 cups of red wine
• 4 cups of beef broth
• 350gr of small mushrooms
• 24 small onions

Preparation

1. We dry the meat with kitchen paper, so that it browns well. We set it aside.
2. Preheat the oven to 225ºC.
3. We sauté the bacon in the Le Creuset cocotte until golden and crispy, and remove it onto a plate lined with kitchen paper to absorb the excess fat.
4. Pour off the oil left by the bacon in the cocotte, but leave three tablespoons. Add a little oil and place over medium heat until hot. Cook the diced meat in batches until browned on at least two sides.
5. While the meat is browning, crush the garlic and coarse salt until it forms a paste and set it aside.
6. We put all the meat in the cocotte, add the flour and we mix until no trace of flour remains.
7. We heat the cognac in a saucepan and we turn on (remember to have the extractor hood off). We pour it on the meat, shake the cocotte, leave it to flambé for a few seconds and cover it to extinguish the flame.
8. We open the lid of the cocotte again and add the bacon and crushed garlic, along with the pepper, thyme, bay leaves and parsley.
9. We mix and heat the wine and broth and add them to the cocotte, stirring with a whisk. spatula . We will put this mixture until the liquid lightly covers the meat (you can add more wine and broth if necessary). We put the cocotte on low heat until the liquid begins to boil lightly.
10. We cover the cocotte and put it in the preheated oven. We lower the oven temperature to 150 ºC and let it cook for an hour and a half. From time to time, we can uncover it and tilt the lid to remove part of fat.
11. While the meat is cooking, we clean and we cut mushrooms and onions. When the meat is finished cooking, add the mushrooms and onions to the cocotte and leave it in the oven for another 3/4 to 1 hour at 150ºC (the meat will be cooked for a total of approximately 2 and a half hours), until the meat and vegetables are tender.
12. We remove the bay leaves and serve the dish with a little chopped parsley and some boiled potatoes or a little white rice to accompany it.

Grades

• If we want to save the dish for the next day, we can let it cool with the lid slightly open and then cover and put the cocotte in the fridge. To reheat, simply put the cocotte in the oven at 160ºC for 30 minutes, until bubbly. Also can heat the cocotte on the hob over low heat.
• If we have the WMF doufue cocotte or aromatic cocotte, while the cocotte is in the oven we should put cold water or ice cubes in the lid every 15-20 minutes or when we see that it is necessary to activate the flow of liquid inside the cocotte.
• To serve the Boeuf Bourguignon, you can do it on a plate or in the mini ceramic cocottes from Le Creuset , and this way you will be able to serve it individually, maintaining the homely look that the mini cocottes bring to the table. In addition, you will be able to give the dish a quick touch of heat in the oven after serving it in the mini cocottes.