This is one of my favourite stew and my to go-to every winter. The key is patience and care for every step of the dish, from browning the beef coated in flour, to slow cooking it in the oven for 2+ hours. Trust me, all of it is worthwhile as it will be one of the best, if not the best boeuf bourguignon you have ever tasted in this world. For this recipe, I used beef cheeks instead of the conventional cut for bourguignon as I love the soft gelatinous texture of the cheeks from slow cooking. You can replace it with beef brisket if beef cheek is not readily available.
On Mashed Potato
Joel Robuchon is famous for his rich and smooth mashed potato made by adding 25% butter and 25% milk to it. I had it once and it's truly decadent and to die for. The down side of this? You can't have too much of it before it gets too rich, let alone the fact that there is so much butter that might just clog your arteries. The mashed potato I've made below tried to retain some of those richness and creaminess, made lighter by replacing some of the butter with cream and mayonnaise. I like using Kewpie as it tasted more eggy than most brands and adds a lovely flavour to the potato.
Difficulty: Medium
Time: 30 min prep, 2.5 hrs cooking
Serves: 2-3
Ingredients
Beef Cheek Bourguignon
- 80g pancetta diced
- 650g beef cheeks
- 30g plain flour
- 1 brown onion sliced
- 1 carrot peeled and chopped into bite sizes
- 400ml red wine
- 300ml beef stock
- 1 garlic minced
- 1 bay leaf
- 3 thyme sprigs
- 1 tbsp tomato paste
- oil
- salt
- pepper
Creamy Mashed Potatoes
- 300g Kind Edward potatoes (approx. 2-3 potatoes) whole and unpeeled
- 70g butter
- 1/3 cup milk
- 1/3 cup thick cream
- 1/3 cup Kewpie mayonnaise
- salt
Baby Carrots
- 9 baby carrots
- olive oil
- salt
Method
1. Pre-heat the oven to 160 degrees.
2. Dice the beef cheeks into cubes of approximately 5 cm. Coat it with plain flour and dust off any excess flour. Set aside.
3. In a heavy cast iron pan, fry the pancetta with some oil until lightly browned. Take it out and set aside.
4. Add sliced onions and carrots to the cast iron pan and fry until browned and softened. Take it out and set aside.
5. Brown the beef cheeks in the pan over medium to high heat until golden in batches, careful not to overcrowd the pan to allow the meat to brown evenly. Take it out and set aside.
6. Deglaze the pan with red wine, then add the stock, tomato paste, bay leaf, thyme sprigs, minced garlic, sautéed onions and carrots, pancetta and beef cheeks. Bring to boil and put it in the oven to cook over the next 2 hours. Check the liquid is not too low after one hour and top with a splash more red wine and beef stock if required. You'll want 2/3 of the beef cheeks and carrots to be covered in stewing liquid.
7. Cook the whole potatoes unpeeled in a pot of hot water for 45 minutes or until full cooked through. Remove the skin while it's hot and use a potato ricer to crush it. If you want an even smoother texture like I did, pass it through a drum sieve after this. Soften the butter and milk in the microwave at 50% power for 1 minute until it's warm and the butter softened, add it to the potato, then add the cream and mayonnaise. Mix it well to combine into a smooth mashed potato and season to taste with salt.
8. Place the carrots in a zip lock bag with olive oil and salt and cook in a sous vide bath at 83 degree for 30 minutes using a sous vide stick.
9. Take the beef cheek bourguignon out of the oven when it's ready, bring it to boil on stove top, check the seasoning and make final adjustments if required. Thicken the sauce by combining the remanning flour with cold water into a smooth paste, and gradually add to the stew whilst stirring until it achieves the consistency desired.
10. If you want to assemble it like the picture above, pass the sauce through a sieve in the middle of the plate. Top with a piece of the beef cheek covered in sauce. Pipe on the creamy mashed potato and place the sous vide carrot on top before garnishing with carrot leaves. Enjoy!
This looks amazing - can't wait for cold weather to try it!!!