Recipe(tried): Julia Child's Bouef Bourguignon, 1960's (Beef Stew in Red Wine, with Bacon, Onions, and Mushrooms)

BOEUF BOURGUIGNON
(Beef Stew in Red Wine, with Bacon, Onions, and Mushrooms)
Source: Mastering the Art of French Cooking co-authored by Julia Child circa:1961
Can be made the day ahead and reheated.
This recipe serves six (6)

From a six-ounce (6 oz) chunk of bacon:
Remove rind, and cut bacon into lardons (sticks, 1/4-inch thick and 1 and 1/2-inches long). Simmer rind and bacon for 10 minutes in 1 and 1/2 quarts of water. Drain and dry. Preheat over to 450 degrees.

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A 9- 10- inch fireproof casserole 3 inches deep; 1 Tablespoon olive oil or cooking oil. A slotted spoon.

Saute the bacon in the oil over moderate heat for 2 to 3 minutes to brown lightly. Remove to a side dish with a slotted spoon. Set casserole aside. Reheat until fat is almost smoking before you saute the beef.

3 lbs. lean stewing beef cut into 2-inch cubes

Dry the beef in paper towels; it will not brown if it is damp. Saute it, a few pieces at a time, in the hot oil and bacon fat until nicely browned on all sides. Add it to the bacon.

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1 sliced carrot
1 sliced onion

In the same fat, brown the sliced vegetables. Pour out the sauteing fat.

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1 tsp salt
1/4 tsp pepper
2 Tablespoons flour

Return the beef and bacon to the casserole and toss with the salt and pepper. Then sprinkle on the flour and toss again to coat the beef lightly with the flour. Set casserole uncovered in middle position of preheated oven for 4 minutes. Toss the meat and return to oven for 4 minutes more. (This browns the flour and covers the meat with a light crust.) Remove casserole, and turn oven down to 325 degrees.

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3 cups of full-bodied young red wine (such as Chianti)
2 to 3 cups brown beef stock or canned beef bouillon
1 Tablespoon tomato paste
2 cloves mashed garlic
1/2 teaspoon thyme
A crumbled bay leaf
The blanched bacon rind

Stir in the wine, and enough stock or bouillon so that the meat is barely covered. Add the tomato paste, garlic, herbs, and bacon rind. Bring to simmer on top of the stove. Then cover the casserole and set in lower third of preheated oven. Regulate heat so liquid simmers very slowly for 3 to 4 hours. the meat is done when a fork pierces it easily.

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18 to 24 small white onions, brown-braised in stock*
1 pound quartered fresh mushrooms sauteed in butter

While the beef is cooking, prepare the onions and mushrooms. Set them aside until needed.

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When the meat is tender, pour the contents of the casserole into a sieve set over a saucepan. Wash out the casserole and return the beef and bacon to it. distribute the cooked onions and mushrooms over the meat.

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Skim fat off the sauce. Simmer sauce for a minute or two, skimming off additional fat as it rises. You should have about 2 and 1/2 cups of sauce thick enough to coat a spoon lightly. If too thin, boil it down rapidly. If too thick, mix in a few tablespoons of stock or canned bouillon. Taste carefully for seasoning. Pour the sauce over the meat and vegetables.
(Recipe may be completed in advance to this point.)

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Parsley Sprigs

For IMMEDIATE serving: Cover the casserole and simmer for 2 to 3 minutes. basting the meat and vegetables with the sauce several times. Serve in it casserole, or arrange the stew on a platter surrounded with potatoes, noodles, or rice, and decorate with parsley.

For LATER serving: When cold, cover and refrigerate. About 15 to 20 minutes before serving, bring to a simmer, cover, and simmer very slowly for 10 minutes, occasionally basting the meat and vegetables with the sauce.

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*OIGNONS GLACES A BRUN (Brown-braised Onions)

For 18 to 24 peeled white onions about 1 inch in diameter:
1 and 1/2 Tablespoons butter
1 and 1/2 Tablespoons oil
A 9- to 10- enameled skillet

When the butter and oil are bubbling in the skillet, add the onions and saute over moderate heat for about 10 minutes, rolling the onions about so they will brown as evenly as possible. Be careful not to break their skins. You cannot expect to brown them uniformly.

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1/2 cup of brown stock, canned beef bouillon, dry white wine, red wine, or water.
Salt and pepper to taste
A medium herb bouquet:
4 parsley sprigs
1/2 bay leaf
1/4 tsp thyme
tied in cheesecloth

Braise them as follows:
Pour in the liquid, season to taste, and add the herb bouquet. Cover and simmer slowly for 40 to 50 minutes until the onions are perfectly tender but retain their shape, and the liquid has evaporated. Remove herb bouquet.
Serve them as they are or they may be cooked hours in advance and dreheated before serving, such as in Bouef Bouruignon or Coq au Vin.