I’ve seen a few reviews of the Bouchon cookbook that say the recipe for Beouf Bourguignon is the most complex in the book. While I can’t say for sure that that’s the case as I haven’t read enough into the book, I’m willing to bet that it’s one of the more complex recipes. Lets note that it has 16 ingredients half of which repeat themselves at least once over the course of the recipe.
First came the red wine reduction, of course I didn’t think to take a picture before it had reduced but in the pot is carrots, garlic, leeks, bay leaf, onion, thyme, and of course red wine. After that more of the same was tossed into the reduction.
The beef is then placed onto a “nest” of cheese cloth on top of the vegetables so the vegetables and herbs wouldn’t stick to it and then beef broth was poured over it. After that was done cooking the whole thing got strained a few times and the beef and the resulting broth was put in the fridge for a few days.
The day that the dish was eaten the mushrooms, carrots, lardons, and fingerling potatoes were all cooked and added to the beef and stock. There were also glazed pearl onions that I had made the day I made the broth but I forgot about until after this picture was taken. I added them to the pot to heat them through and then a few to my bowl but, turns out, it tastes better with out the pearl onions. Though this recipe for Boeuf Bourguignon isn’t bad it definitely isn’t my favorite. While the flavors are complex the liquid is very, very thin which isn’t what I look for in a good stew. That being said the beef was extremely tender and flavorful which, no doubt, was due to the cooking techniques laid out in the recipe.
On to the macarons. This is the first time out of many many attempts that have successfully made macarons! There is still a lot of room for improvement and I’m debating on making another batch today but this is by far the best batch that’s come out of my oven. The butter cream is different than what I normally make in that Keller calls for whole eggs instead of just egg whites. I don’t think it’s necessarily better than my usual egg yolk-less butter cream, it’s just different. I made regular vanilla (as called for in the book) as well as raspberry butter cream and both tasted very good.
Thanks for sharing. I will be making over the next two days for a dinner club this Saturday and am looking for real people comments like yours. What gets me is that there’s no deglazing of the saute pan. Seems like a crime not to incorporate the fond, but I’m not going to second guess TK my first time with this recipe.
[Reply]
Adam Reply:
March 15th, 2010 at 12:31 pm
I will say I did think that this was a little overly involved. I’ve made other recipes of this and have had it in France and this one isn’t my favorite (I know – I can’t believe I said that). I the body isn’t full enough or hearty enough for me I guess especially considering the amount of labor involved in making it.
[Reply]
The follow up… I made the recipe to the letter well in advance as suggested to give the flavors a chance to “marry” as the meat sat in the fridge. Did the individual vegetable prep the day of serving as suggested. Reheated on the day. One comment. The recipe is off on the reheating times. It takes more than the allotted time to reheat fully if you’re pulling out of the fridge. I ended up serving and realized after everyone was at the table that it was a “low warm” temp, and the meat was not as tender. The next day I reheated for an additional ten minutes, and it was much more tender and flavorful. Overall, I enjoyed the dish but would not make again. Too much work, and not enough depth of flavor. Next time I want beef, I’ll pan sear a beef tenderloin, finish in the oven while I saute some shallots, deglaze with port, and develop a ton more flavor. (Bourdain – Les Halles cookbook recipe). Anyway, Adam, thanks for the site. It was nice to have this as a referece before my attempt.
[Reply]
I’ve read over a couple of your current posts and I had been wanting to know if you were interesting in swapping website links? I am often seeking to switch links with blogs on the same subjects! I look forward to hearing back from you soon.
[Reply]