Beef, Burgundy Style

"With this recipe, Elliana has come up with a classic and near authentic French beef stew, or "Boeuf a la Bourguignonne" and has the perfect blend and balance of flavors. Doubling the sauce is not nece..." See moressary; there is more than enough. The sherry is not critical if you don't have it, and beef base or a little reduced beef stock could easily be substituted for the demi glace. I added some fresh minced garlic with the onion and used a French Pinot Noir, though any full-bodied red wine would work. I used top round, but I think I would have been more pleased with just regular ol' stew meat or a rump roast, cut into 2-inch chunks. Probably the most useful suggestion I could offer regards the cooking method itself--rather than simmering on the stovetop for 3 hours, I'll at that point in the preparation finish it in a 300-325 degree oven for a few hours. The heat will be more uniform, it will free up the stovetop, and elimate the need for stirring or peeking. I served this with smashed new potatoes and "Shaved Brussels Sprouts with Bacon and Almonds" from this site. Not a fancy dish, just comfort food at its finest."

"This is one of my favorite recipes from this website. Takes some time, but worth it, and doesn't require you to hover around while it simmers for 3 hours. It just looks like beef stew, which I'm not..." See more a big fan of, but it is so much better than that! On the advice of other reviewers, I doubled the sauce including the beef broth mixture, the sherry & wine, and am glad I increased the quantity. The gravy is very good! The recipe says to cut the beef into 3" pieces, but I cut it into 1" pieces. I also tossed the bacon in from the bacon drippings. I did not have a clue what beef demi-glace was, but I happened upon it in the grocery store near the bouillion cubes. Demi-glace is a bit pricey, but it is very worth it; the flavor it brings is wonderful; I froze the part I didn't use for next time. Thank you, Elliana!"

"What a great recipe. So much better than others I've tried that just seemed too much like stew. I have a great tip for the herb bouquet that I learned from Tyler Florence on Food Network. Instead o..." See moref using cheesecloth to wrap the herbs, take a slice of uncooked bacon and wrap it around a bundle of rosemary and another piece to wrap around some sprigs of thyme. Cook these in your pan as the first step until you render out some of the bacon fat and the bacon is nicely browned. Remove the bacon/herb bundles and proceed as directed. You then can add the bundles back when directed in the recipe to simmer in the sauce. Since the recipe calls for using bacon drippings this really works well. I opted to chop my fresh parsley and add it at the end with the mushrooms. I used good quality beef base to make my broth and as a substitute for the demi glace. I doubled the sauce ingredients as recommended by other reviewers which is definitely the way to go. Just make sure you have a good amount of meat so the ratio is correct. Served with mashed potatoes (to soak up all that gravy) and peas and carrots."