Haha! I like "blurred Maine," that is a new one to me! For anyone unfamiliar with the technique they should search for beurre manie. Great tips, all! I am very distrustful of recipes from the Food Network and their chefs, excepting Alton Brown. And besides, this is such a great community of serious cooks who love the world of food.
June, to that end, another option for AvecYou is to remove about 1/2 of the liquid and simmering it down in a separate saucepan until there is only about 1/3 left, then adding that back into the main pot.
One problem I saw at once with this recipe is that there is too much liquid called for. That's more than half a gallon! My Boeuf B recipe has 3 cups wine (one bottle) and 1/4 cup Cognac. Big difference. Considering you already have all that liquid in, I would follow Le Bec Fin's suggestion for thickening. In the future, I wouldn't use the beef stock.
avecyou, yes this stew, as most beef stews, is better the day after. Regardless of that, I always make a roux and add that to thicken the stew to my liking.(My BB comes from Julia Child.)
Not knowing the quantity of liquid you are wanting to thicken, I would advise melting one stick of unsalted butter and whisking in 1/2 cup of flour. whisk/stir this for 4-5 minutes to cook out the raw flour taste. Now you have a base, a thickening agent. you may not need it all but it's cheap to make and you can keep it to use later. Now, just to be conservative (safe) put aside half of the roux. Leave half of the roux in its pan, on low heat, and add to it 1 cup of liquid from your stew pot, whisking continually to incorporate it well and not have 'lumps in your gravy'! Repeat whisking in more liquid til it is like gravy. Now, whisk all this into your big pot of stew. Stir well, bring to boil and turn down to simmer. Is it thick enough? If not, keep repeating the process til you have the thickness you want. I am a 'quantity cook', always making big batches of anything stewlike, to portion and freeze for the future. Sometimes defrosted stews are thinner than they started and this roux technique is what i use when i defrost and reheat them.
AvecYou, I hope you got some kind of help here. You haven't responded about when you plan on serving, but I'd be happy to help walk you through a few different options, but it depends on the day. In any case, you are making one of the best dishes ever. Cheers.
Benny, I'm perplexed about your comment:
"this is one of those recipes which people can be given the same set of ingredients and the same recipe, and still come out with different versions."
There is nothing similar about what I responded, to what TF's recipe prescribed.
Please let me know what is similar about 45 minutes on stove-top vs. 2 hours in the oven.
this is one of those recipes which people can be given the same set of ingredients and the same recipe, and still come out with different versions. I personally don't think the dish needs any "sugar to balance out the acidity of the wine." also, I marinate the meat in the wine, mirepoix and bouguet garni for a few hours first. Be sure to dry it before seasoning and browning of course :) As stated above, best to let the braise sit in the refrigerator over night. looking forward to seeing your grandmother's version!
b, agree w/ you about the sugar. i can see a pinch in a big pot of marinara but i feel strongly that americans use way too much sugar, in everything, and the chefs in the media need to set a better example for the public that they influence. (Every time i say something like this i can't help but flash back to Mrs. Owens making the same statement in 1965 about the Beatles and Norwegian Wood and later about Lucy in the Sky with Diamonds...
ah, what goes around comes around, eh?!))
Anyway, the concept of putting the beef in wine before you assemble the BfBourg- that's quite a neat touch (both imbuing the beef w/ more flavor AND making the beef more tender because the acid in the wine will break down the muscle fibers.) That technique never occurred to me before, so thx for that,B!
b, agree w/ you about the sugar. i can see a pinch in a big pot of marinara but i feel strongly that americans use way too much sugar, in everything, and the chefs in the media need to set a better example for the public that they influence. (Every time i say something like this i can't help but flash back to Mrs. Owens making the same statement in 1965 about the Beatles and Norwegian Wood and later about Lucy in the Sky with Diamonds...
ah, what goes around comes around, eh?!))
Anyway, the concept of putting the beef in wine before you assemble the BfBourg- that's quite a neat touch (both imbuing the beef w/ more flavor AND making the beef more tender because the acid in the wine will break down the muscle fibers.) That technique never occurred to me before, so thx for that,B!
Just a small personal tantrum, but I find this so annoying. If you are gifted with TV shows and cookbooks and fame, the least you could do is publish a reliable recipe.
I will write down my grandmother's recipe for Boeuf Bourguignon which she learned first-hand from Dione Lucas when Dione had a cooking school in New York City. It will take me about a week because it takes time to write a decent recipe.
This is the Tyler Florence recipe I found on www.foodtv.com:
http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/tyler-florence/beef-bourguignon-recipe/index.html
If it's the one you're following, the problem I can see (and it's mentioned in a few of the reader comments I glanced through), is that it doesn't call for long-enough cooking time. Simmering stove-stop at 45 minutes is not enough. It needs about two hours in the oven at medium heat, say 325 or 350. That will give the beef enough time to release its collagen (jelly-like stuff which causes thickening of the sauce), as Benny explains - plus sugars from the vegetables, etc.
I could offer some ideas for thickening it up but it would help to know if you planned on serving this tonight.
The FoodTV web site doesn't make it easy, but if you read through the comments, there are quite a few that explain "I had to cook this much longer than expected..." etc.
How much time do you have before serving? Boeuf bourguignon tastes better when refrigerated for 24 hours or more before re-heating and serving so if you're not serving it tonight, no problem. Going to look for Tyler Florence's recipe...
As a general rule of thumb for myself... any time I am doing a good braising recipe (such as beef bourguignon), I plan to do the actual braising the day before. Let all the ingredients sit in the refrigerator before straining and finishing the sauce.
did you use store bought stock?? you won't find the collagen that you get in a fresh made stock. I would consider two options:
1) take a couple pats of room tempurature butter and roll them around in flour until you get a play-dough like consistency and whisk that it very well
2) do a corn starch slurry and very slowly drizzle that in while whisking. only bits at a time until it thickens to the right consistency
24 Comments
Not knowing the quantity of liquid you are wanting to thicken, I would advise melting one stick of unsalted butter and whisking in 1/2 cup of flour. whisk/stir this for 4-5 minutes to cook out the raw flour taste. Now you have a base, a thickening agent. you may not need it all but it's cheap to make and you can keep it to use later. Now, just to be conservative (safe) put aside half of the roux. Leave half of the roux in its pan, on low heat, and add to it 1 cup of liquid from your stew pot, whisking continually to incorporate it well and not have 'lumps in your gravy'! Repeat whisking in more liquid til it is like gravy. Now, whisk all this into your big pot of stew. Stir well, bring to boil and turn down to simmer. Is it thick enough? If not, keep repeating the process til you have the thickness you want. I am a 'quantity cook', always making big batches of anything stewlike, to portion and freeze for the future. Sometimes defrosted stews are thinner than they started and this roux technique is what i use when i defrost and reheat them.
"this is one of those recipes which people can be given the same set of ingredients and the same recipe, and still come out with different versions."
There is nothing similar about what I responded, to what TF's recipe prescribed.
Please let me know what is similar about 45 minutes on stove-top vs. 2 hours in the oven.
ah, what goes around comes around, eh?!))
Anyway, the concept of putting the beef in wine before you assemble the BfBourg- that's quite a neat touch (both imbuing the beef w/ more flavor AND making the beef more tender because the acid in the wine will break down the muscle fibers.) That technique never occurred to me before, so thx for that,B!
ah, what goes around comes around, eh?!))
Anyway, the concept of putting the beef in wine before you assemble the BfBourg- that's quite a neat touch (both imbuing the beef w/ more flavor AND making the beef more tender because the acid in the wine will break down the muscle fibers.) That technique never occurred to me before, so thx for that,B!
I will write down my grandmother's recipe for Boeuf Bourguignon which she learned first-hand from Dione Lucas when Dione had a cooking school in New York City. It will take me about a week because it takes time to write a decent recipe.
http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/tyler-florence/beef-bourguignon-recipe/index.html
If it's the one you're following, the problem I can see (and it's mentioned in a few of the reader comments I glanced through), is that it doesn't call for long-enough cooking time. Simmering stove-stop at 45 minutes is not enough. It needs about two hours in the oven at medium heat, say 325 or 350. That will give the beef enough time to release its collagen (jelly-like stuff which causes thickening of the sauce), as Benny explains - plus sugars from the vegetables, etc.
I could offer some ideas for thickening it up but it would help to know if you planned on serving this tonight.
The FoodTV web site doesn't make it easy, but if you read through the comments, there are quite a few that explain "I had to cook this much longer than expected..." etc.
Are you trying to serve this tonight?
Voted the Best Reply!
1) take a couple pats of room tempurature butter and roll them around in flour until you get a play-dough like consistency and whisk that it very well
2) do a corn starch slurry and very slowly drizzle that in while whisking. only bits at a time until it thickens to the right consistency