Beef Bourguignon Cheat Recipe

Beef Bourguignon is a traditional French recipe. It's a stew made with meat cooked slowly in red wine. It was originated in the Burgundy region in France and is as popular as coq-au-vin (chicken cooked in wine). 
This is a very simplified recipe and it does not taste like the real beef bourguignon. It's an OK recipe but very easy to make.
 
When you cook meat slowly in a liquid it's called braising, so Beef Bourguignon is actually braising beef in wine. Cooking with wine gives meat a rich, delicious, and unique flavor and braising allows you to use cuts of meat that are not very tender and consequently less expensive.

This Beef Bourguignon recipe is a very simplified version of the original recipe. It's an OK recipe but it is not as good as the 'real deal' recipe.

As Beef Bourguignon is from the Bourgogne region in France the traditional wine to use is a Bourgundy wine, however you can use any dry red wine, specially the Pinot Noir because this is the grape used to make Burgundy red wines.

What You Need

• 2 lbs 'beef for stew' or sirloin (pot roast) cut into cubes.
• 2 tbsp butter
• 1 1/2 cup dry red wine
• 1 cup water
• 1 cube meat bouillon
• 1 packet onion soup
• 1 can mushroom soup
• 1 tbsp dry parsley
• 1 cup baby carrots chopped (cut each baby carrot into 4 pieces - if you are really lazy busy just cut them in half)
• Salt  and Pepper to taste (about 1/4 teaspoon salt and 1/8 teaspoon pepper)

What To Do

- Melt the butter in a large pan over high heat. Careful not to burn the butter, which is easy because you are using high heat.

- As soon as the butter gets golden add the unseasoned meat. 

Distribute the meat evenly in the pan.

- Fry until the meat is mostly cooked outside. You have to stir so you all sides of the meat get browned.

- After most of the meat is browned (you can still have a few red patches) add the wine, water, beef bouillon, onion soup, mushroom soup, and parsley. Add salt and pepper.

- Stir well to make sure all is well dissolved and blended. The mushroom soup needs to be completely dissolved. Let it boil.

- Reduce heat to low, cover the pan and let it cook for one hour, stirring after 30 minutes.

- After the meat has cooked for 1 hour it's time to add the carrots. Stir well, and let it cook for 30 more minutes.

- Before you eat check if it needs more salt and pepper. 

Serve with rice, noodles or potatoes

Bon Appétit!