Cookbook-200623-Final-Reduced | Page 33

MAIN DISH / BEEF
Beef Bourguignon
Contributed by Bastien Guérin
Assistant Professor in Radiology
Physics and Instrumentation Group
Servings: 4-5
Ingredients
2 lbs of lean beef, for example flank steak or steak tips
Kosher salt
Pepper
1 large onion
Thyme
Cardamom
1/2 bottle of full body red wine (Rioja or Bordeaux, you can find
some good bottles for ~$10. No need to use a very fine wine since
the wine will be cooked, but also don't go for a really bad one as the
sauce will not be good otherwise!)
1 lb of potatoes*
1 lb of carrots*
*The total quantity of vegetables should be similar to the weight of
the meat.
There is a similar recipe with oxtail instead of
beef and no potatoes, but otherwise the same
style of cooking (result should look similar)!
Method
1. Cut the beef in medium-size squares (roughly 1"x1"x1"). Season (salt and pepper) and pan fry on high (you can use some high flash point oil,
e.g., grape seed, or cooking spray such as PAM). Do this for 5-7 minutes and turn the beef pieces 3-4 times. The point here is not to cook through
but to brown the meat.
2. Deglaze with red wine. This simply means add the red wine to the hot pan. Reduce at medium heat for ~5 minutes. The alcohol should
completely evaporate (you can tell by sniffing the steam, when the alcohol is gone the smell should not be stingy anymore).
3. Add meat + red wine in pressure cooker with the chopped onion and thyme. I use an Instant Pot, which is a ridiculously awesome tool. Pressure
cook for 20 minutes. If you don't have a pressure cooker, then put in large pot, cover the pot to prevent evaporation and cook on low heat for
90-120 minutes.
4. Chop the vegetables in ~1" cubes. When the meat is cooked, add the veggies to the mixture and keep pressure cooking for ~2 minutes (if you
are cooking in pot, cook for ~10 minutes).
5. Don't add water to make more sauce, since we cooked covered there was no evaporation and the amount of sauce should be adequate.
This recipe is the essence of French cuisine, it reminds me of a Sunday at my
grandparent's. It's actually relatively low calories because there is no added fat and
the beef is lean.
33