Beef Bourguignon

A old French Classic that tastes as good today as it did way back when. You can never tire of a good thing.

Ingredients:

1/4 lb. bacon, diced
flour for dredging the beef
3 lb. round steak, cubed
1 tsp. thyme
Bouquet garni (fresh parsley and bay leaf tied together)
3 cups red wine
3 tbsp. tomato paste
1 cup beef stock
20-30 small silver skin onions
2 garlic cloves, minced
2 whole heads garlic, separated and unpeeled
1/2 lb. fresh button mushrooms, quartered
10 medium carrots, peeled and chopped
Sea salt and ground pepper, to taste
1/4 cup madeira
1/4 cup brandy

Method:

Fry the bacon in a large sauté pan, remove and set aside. Dredge the beef cubes in the flour and brown them well in the same pan. Add the peeled onions to the pan and brown them well. As soon as the onions & beef are browned, transfer to a large roasting pan. Add the thyme, tomato paste, bouquet garni, wine, stock, bacon and whole garlic cloves, cover and place in a 325F degree oven for about 2 1/2 hours or until the beef is tender.
Peel and coarsely chop the carrots, adding them to the roasting pan during the last hour of cooking. Add the mushrooms to the roasting pan the last 15 minutes of cooking.
When the meat is cooked and tender throughout, stir in the madeira and brandy. Season with sea salt and ground pepper. If you find the sauce too thin, thicken it with 2 to 3 tablespoons of beurre manie, whisking it into the sauce a tablespoon at a time. Ladle the beef over buttered noodles or serve it alongside roasted potatoes. A generous sprinkle of chopped parsley gives a simple garnish.

Note: Beurre manie is a French term, meaning kneaded butter. Made using equal portions of butter and flour, it is used to thicken sauces. When whisked in it provides a lump-free sauce.

Serves 6 to 8.