The woman who brought French cuisine to the American table requires no introduction. Countless movies, books and TV series have been dedicated to telling Julia Child’s remarkable story. If you’ve seen the 2009 film, Julie and Julia, you will be quite familiar with the dish I’m sharing here, Beef Bourguignon. Making and savoring this cozy beef stew is the perfect way to spend a chilly winter day. I followed Julia’s recipe pretty closely, but I did make a few modifications, which cuts down on time and dish washing.

Julia’s classic recipe has everything you could want in a stew: tender beef, mushrooms, bacon, pearl onions, and carrots floating in a rich wine sauce. You can serve it over mashed potatoes, noodles or on its own as a stew (with plenty of crusty French bread, of course). Personally, I enjoy it as a stew, but if you’re hosting a dinner party or serving this to someone you’d like to impress, I would suggest serving over mashed potatoes with another vegetable side like sautéed green beans. Red wine is an absolute must for serving alongside this winey dish. Julia suggests using a Burgundy for cooking and for serving. I used a Burgundy in my budget and I was very pleased with the end result, but feel free to experiment with any red you enjoy. Julia does a few steps that I personally skip. If you are a strict traditionalist, you might want to grab a copy of Mastering the Art of French Cooking and find the original. If you’re interested in great flavor, fewer steps and fewer dishes to wash, follow me! 

Julia has a step in her recipe that I find to be an absolute waste of time. She boils the bacon lardons before browning them to remove some of the smoky flavor of American bacon. Why use bacon at all if you are trying to remove flavor? The recipe below doesn’t use bacon. Personally, I feel that beef has so much flavor on its own that bacon is unnecessary. She also cooks the mushrooms and onions separately from the stew and adds them in later. I like for those vegetables to soak up all the flavor of the stew, and this saves me a step. However, Julia’s techniques for browning are essential! You absolutely must dry the beef with paper towels to ensure that the meat will brown in the pan. Browning the beef takes time and patience. Cooking the meat in two separate batches ensures that the pan is not overcrowded. A crowded pan is a recipe for steamed meat, not the beautifully browned end result you want.

If you’ve never seen the new series, Julia, I recommend that you check it out! At first when I saw that HBO was creating another iteration of Julia Child’s story, I was opposed. Surely, Meryl Streep had done it perfectly in 2009. I was wrong! Julie & Julia told the story of how Julia Child went to Le Cordon Bleu and how she wrote Mastering the Art of French Cooking. Julia, the series, tells the story of how she started her cooking show, The French Chef. The second season just came out a few weeks ago, and I have been thoroughly enjoying watching Julia and Paul in France and getting to know James Beard and editor Judith Jones in detail. I hope you’ll enjoy it, too.

Beef Bourguignon (Serves 4-6)

2 1/2-3 lbs. beef round chunks

1 carrot (peeled and diced)

2 tablespoons butter plus 1 tablespoon oil (for browning, plus more for the buerre manie)

16 ounces quartered mushrooms (button or baby Bella)

1 package frozen pearl onions, thawed and drained (14.4 ounces)

2 1/2 cups red wine

2 1/2 cups beef broth

2 tablespoons tomato paste

2 bay leaves

Buerre Manie (2 tablespoons butter mixed with 2 tablespoons of flour)

1. In a large Dutch oven, add butter and oil. Heat pan over medium-high heat. Dry the meat with paper towels. Brown the beef in 2 batches. Brown the outside for just a few minutes. Remove the beef to a separate plate.
2. In the same pan, add the carrot, mushrooms and pearl onions. Brown nicely for several minutes. Add the buerre manie and tomato paste. Brown for a minute or 2. Add the stock, wine, bay leaf and beef to the pot. Stir to mix everything together. 
3. In an oven set to 350 degrees Fahrenheit, let the stew cook for 3 hours in a covered Dutch oven. You can check halfway through and give everything a stir.
4. Serve with French bread or over mashed potatoes.