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Gluten Free Beef Bourguignon (make ahead) recipe

Gluten-Free Beef Bourguignon

A rich Beef Bourguignon made ahead of time - so you can take your time to build layers of unforgettable flavors. And then, its ready in minutes for the day of your dinner. This version is gluten free.
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Prep Time 4 hours
Cook Time 5 hours
Total Time 7 hours
Servings: 12
Course: Main Course
Cuisine: French
Ingredients Equipment Method

Ingredients
  

  • 3 pounds beef cut into 1.5-inch chunks brisket (trimmed of fat), chuck steak, stew meat
  • 1 tsp smoked salt hickory, applewood
  • 1 tsp kosher flaky salt
  • 3/4 tsp ground black pepper
  • 6 cups red wine, about 2 bottles cabernet, merlot, or red blend
  • 6 cloves garlic, minced divide in halves
  • 1 tsp fresh thyme leaves
  • 2 bay leaves
  • 2 tbsp vegetable oil, high heat ie, canola
  • 2 large carrots, sliced 1/2" thick
  • 1 onion, large chopped
  • 2 tbsp tomato paste
  • 2 cups beef stock, low sodium preferred
  • 12 oz pearl onions, peeling & trimmed frozen package or fresh recommended
  • 2 tbsp olive oil
  • 4 tbsp butter, unsalted divided in halves
  • 1 pound fresh mushrooms, cleaned and quartered white or brown
  • 4 tbsp cornstarch
  • 2 tbsp fresh parsley, minced

Equipment

  • dutch oven (cast iron pot with lid)

Method
 

Prep & Season Meat (2-3 hour prior to cooking)
  1. When cutting up meat, trim off large hunks of fat, leaving some fat marbling and edges that will render. Pat meat dry when done and put on a prep tray.
  2. Blend smoked salt, kosher salt, and ground black pepper together and sprinkle over all sides of meat.
  3. Cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate for 2 hours. Then bring meat out to rest for 30 minutes to come to room temp prior to searing (this is enable easier searing).
Prep Ingredients (1 hour prior to cooking)
  1. For the sake order of operation, I recommend getting ingredients needed for braising prepped at this time. (After seasoning the meat, before the reducing wine).
  2. Garlic: peel, mince and divide in half. Thyme, clean, dry and pull off the leaves from any rough stem parts. Carrots, peel & slice. Onions, peel and chop.
    Pearl onions, if frozen, put in a strainer and run under cold water to start defrosting. If fresh, peel and trim.
Reduce Wine (30 minutes prior to cooking)
  1. Pour wine into a large pot over medium-high heat. You want a wide pot rather than a tall pot, to allow greater amount of surface area to evaporate.
  2. Bring to a boil then reduce heat to medium. Keep an eye on it and reduce further if wine looks to get foaming or boil over.
  3. Keep at a good boil for at least 10 minutes and then until the wine is reduced to about half its original volume.
  4. Then turn off heat. Stir in thyme, bay leaves and half the minced garlic. Set aside until ready to use.
Searing Meat & Veg
  1. Preheat oven to 180°C / 350°F. Make sure you have room for your covered pot to fit. Put rack on bottom lower and remove or raise any upper rack that may be in the way.
  2. Heat up a dutch oven (or thick bottomed pot) on stovetop. Add 2 Tbsp neutral oil (high heat tolerance, not EVOO). Allow to heat up so you see oil begin to shimmer.
  3. Working in batches, place pieces of beef in pan so they are not touching each other. Sear beef to a get some dark brown color all over, but not to the point of burning.
  4. If a lot of liquid accumulates in the pot, it is no longer searing.  The fix this, remove any meat  and let liquid evaporate. Scrape up the bottom of the pot a bit. Then add 1-2 tbsp oil and return beef to sear in smaller batches.
  5. Put fully seared beef in a prep dish/bowl and set aside (you want to catch any juices that release).
  6. Next caramelize carrots in same pot (add 1 Tbsp oil if needed). Allow to get a bit of color on them, about 5-7 minutes. Take out of pan and put into a prep bowl or dish.
  7. Next sear the chopped onion (not the pearl onions). Allow about 5-8 minutes to get some brown coloring.
  8. Turn heat down to low and add tomato paste to onions. Stir around for about minute, making sure you are scraping up from bottom of pot so it doesn’t stick and burn. It should turn a dark red/brown color in just 1-2 minutes.
Add Liquids
  1. Add in beef stock while continuing to stir the tomato paste and onions. Scrape up all the bits off the bottom of the pan.
  2. Turn up the heat to medium-high and spend a few minutes continuing to scrape and stir from bottom and sides as the liquid heats up - you want all those flavorful caramelized bit to dissolve in the hot stock.
  3. Next add the reduced red wine (with the added herbs) and carrots. Giving it all a good stir to combine.
  4. Add the beef back into pot and gently stir everything together. Allow liquid to come to a simmer then cover and turn off stove.
  5. Save Pearl Onions & Mushrooms for later! We will add those at a later stages so they don't overcook.
Braise in Oven
  1. Place the covered pot in the oven at 180°C/350°F on the bottom rack.  The temp should be just hot enough to stay at a very low simmer. If your oven runs hot, consider reducing down to 325° - 330°.
  2. Allow to cook for about 1 hour. While you are waiting, prepare the pearl onions.
Prepare & Add Pearl Onions
  1. Prepare all the pearl onions by trimming and peeling if fresh. If frozen, they should be defrosted to room temp, drained and patted dry.     
  2. Heat a large pan or skillet over medium high heat with 1 tb olive oil and 2 tb butter mixed together. 
  3. Add pearl onions and sauté them to get a nice golden color (stir occasionally to allow to get brown on most sides).
  4.  Once done, remove from heat. Bring beef dish out of oven, remove lid and carefully add pearl onions to pot, gently mixing everything together.
  5. Recover pot and place back in over for another hour.
  6. The next steps depend on how you are planning to store the dish. To finish the recipe, pick either the Refrigeration Path (directly below) or scroll down to the Freezing Path.
Refrigeration Path (1-2 days make ahead)
  1. These are the steps to completing the dish for storing in the fridge a day or two prior to serving. If you want to freeze it, follow the Freezing Path instructions below.
Prepare & Add Mushrooms (refrigeration path)
  1. Clean mushrooms with a damp paper towel, making sure to get all dirt off around bottom. do not directly wash them in water, as they will absorb the liquid
    Cut any tough parts of stem off and quarter each mushroom evenly, slicing from the top down through the stem.
  2. In a large pan (can be same ones used for onions if doing same day), heat up 1 Tb oil and 2Tb butter over medium heat.
  3. Add the remaining 3 cloves of minced garlic and stir into the oil for a few seconds.
  4. Next, add in the mushrooms and allow to cook, stirring occasionally to get all sides. Cooks for about 5-8 minutes. They may absorb all the oils and begin to shrink and smell aromatic.  These are ready to use.
  5. Add mushrooms directly to the dish.
Finish Braise (refrigeration path)
  1. In about 1 hour, check for beef tenderness. It should hold shape but easily fall apart when prodded. If not tender enough, put back in oven and continue to check every 30 minutes until tender.
  2. Once the beef is very tender, take pot out of oven and let it rest for 15 minutes with the lid off, allowing it to cool slightly prior to handling.
Strain to Separate Sauce (refrigeration path)
  1. Place a large colander over large bowl and carefully strain the liquid out, catching the beef and solids in the colander.  Make sure to scrape out everything from pot.
  2. Pick out bits of bay and any herb stems that would be inedible. Place solids in a lidded storage container, large enough to allow some liquid in and around it.
Reduce Sauce (refrigeration path)
  1. Return sauce into the pot and heat on stove over medium-high heat to get to a boil, then reduce to medium to allow it to simmer.
  2. Allow it to simmer for a few minutes, skimming off any fat which rises to the surface.
    If sauce is quite thin, allow to cook down to get to a thicker sauce. However, periodically check for salt levels. If the sauce is quite salty, you don’t want to reduce further (as it will get even saltier).  This is why we don't add too much salt in the early stages and work with low-sodium broth.
  3. Once the sauce looks rich and thicker, taste test. Add any salt and/or pepper to taste - a bit at a time.
  4. Create a cornstarch slurry of 4 TB cornstarch with 4 TB cold water. Stir to dissolve in a small bowl. Then  add a Tablespoon of slurry to the sauce and stir in.
    Give it a few minutes to see how well it thickens. Add 1 TB more at a time to reach desired thickness.  Turn off heat and allow to cool for a few minutes.
Store & Refrigerate (refrigeration path)
  1. Add the sauce to the beef & vegetable container to cover most of it. Any leftover sauce can be stored in a separate contain and used for plating.  Or added back in when reheating.
  2. Store everything in the refrigerator overnight (or up to 2 days) to allow flavors to meld.
Reheat & Serve (refrigeration path)
  1. The day of your dinner, take stew out of fridge about 30 minutes prior to serving.  Heat over medium heat and allow it start bubbling. Once bubbling, give it about 15 minutes to fully heat through all components.
  2. If you have extra sauce you wish to use for plating, heat this up over a stove or in the microwave a few minutes until steaming.
  3. To serve: Ladle out the beef bourguignon onto a plate or bowl with desire accompaniment (such as over mashed potatoes, rice, or with a Potato Pave). 
    Use any additional sauce to create a pool under or glaze over dish.
  4. Garnish with sprinkling of fresh parsley.
Freezing Path (3 days to 4 months ahead)
  1. This is how to best freeze and then finish off the dish if you need to make it well in advance. This process will ensure you get the best results possible across all the ingredients.
Finish Braise (freezing path)
  1. You will finish braising the meat without adding any mushrooms at this time.
  2. After another 1 hour (2 hours total since adding in the pearl onions, check for beef tenderness. It should hold shape but easily fall apart when prodded. If not tender enough, put back in oven and continue to check every 30 minutes until tender.
  3. Once the beef is very tender, take pot out of oven and let it rest for 15 minutes with the lid off, allowing it to cool slightly prior to handling.
Strain to Separate Sauce (freezing path)
  1. Place a large colander over large bowl and carefully strain the liquid out, catching the beef and solids in the colander.  Make sure to scrape out everything from pot.
  2. Pick out bits of bay and any herb stems that would be inedible.
  3. Store the meat and solids in a freezer safe container with a lid. Pour about 1/2 cup of the sauce to ensure it stays moist. Reserve the remaining liquid and store in a separate freezer safe container.
  4. If everything is very hot still, allow to cool in a fridge for a few hours and then place in the freezer (so you do not bring up the temp of your freezer).
Defrosting (freezing path)
  1. The day before you plan to serve the dish, bring the frozen containers into the fridge to begin safely defrosting overnight.
  2. About 2 hours prior to serving, take container with sauce out. Scrape out the layer of fat on top and dispose. Place sauce in a large pot.
    Take the container of meat & veg out and place in a clean dutch oven (or large, heavy bottom pot) with lid. Set aside or place on stove for now.
  3. Heat up sauce (it may still be frozen in the middle) in a large pot over medium-high heat.
Prepare & Add Mushrooms (freezing path)
  1. While the sauce is heating up, begin preparing mushrooms
    Clean mushrooms with a damp paper towel, making sure to get all dirt off around bottom. do not directly wash them in water, as they will absorb the liquid
    Cut any tough parts of stem off and quarter each mushroom evenly, slicing from the top down through the stem.
  2. In a large pan (can be same ones used for onions if doing same day), heat up 1 Tb oil and 2Tb butter over medium heat.
  3. Add in 3 cloves of minced garlic and stir into the oil for a few seconds.
  4. Next, add in the mushrooms and allow to cook, stirring occasionally to get all sides. Cooks for about 5-8 minutes. They may absorb all the oils and begin to shrink and smell aromatic.  These are ready to use.
  5. Once the sauce is simmering, add the sauté mushrooms and continue to simmer for 30 minutes. Turn down to low if its bubbling too much.
  6. Then strain the mushrooms out of the sauce and place in dutch oven pot with the meat and vegetable. Place the pot on stove and begin to heat up on medium heat.
Reduce Sauce (freezing path)
  1. Allow the pot of sauce to simmer for a few minutes, skimming off any fat which rises to the surface.
    If sauce is quite thin, allow to cook down to get to a thicker sauce. However, periodically check for salt levels. If the sauce is quite salty, you don’t want to reduce further (as it will get even saltier).  This is why we don't add too much salt in the early stages and work with low-sodium broth.
  2. Once the sauce looks rich and thicker, taste test. Add any salt and/or pepper to taste - a bit at a time.
  3. Create a cornstarch slurry of 4 TB cornstarch with 4 TB cold water. Stir to dissolve in a small bowl. Then  add a Tablespoon of slurry to the sauce and stir in.
    Give it a few minutes to see how well it thickens. Add 1 TB more at a time to reach desired thickness.  
Finish & Serve (freezing path)
  1. Add reduced sauce (reserving some if you want extra sauce for plating) into pot with beef and gently stir everything together. Bring to a gentle boil.
  2. Lower heat to low and allow to simmer for about 30 minutes to ensure everything will well reheated. Let rest about 10 minutes prior to serving.
  3. To serve: Ladle out the beef bourguignon onto a plate or bowl with desire accompaniment (such as over mashed potatoes, rice, or with a Potato Pave). 
    Use any additional sauce to create a pool under or glaze over dish.