Beef Bourguignon

Prep: 20 mins
Cook: 3 hrs, 15 mins
Serves: 4

Ingredients

3 teaspoons goose fat
600 grams shin beef, cut into large chunks
100 grams smoked streaky bacon, sliced
350 grams shallots or pearl onions, peeled
250 grams chestnut mushrooms (about 20)
2 garlic cloves, sliced
1 bouquet garni
1 tablespoon tomato purée
750 ml bottle red wine (Burgundy recommended)

Directions

In a large casserole pan on medium heat, fry the beef in the goose fat until nicely browned. You may need to cook the meat in batches so as to now overcrowd the pan. When all meat is cooked, remove from the pan, cover, and set aside.
In the now-empty pan, add a bit more goose fat if needed and fry the bacon, shallots or onions, mushrooms, and garlic until browned. Add tomato purée, stir well, and cook for a few more minutes.
Return the beef and any juices to the pan. Add wine and about 100 ml or water until the meat is almost but not quite covered. Bring to the boil, ensuring to scrape the caramelised liquid off the bottom of the pan.
Transfer to an oven-safe casserole dish of needed and cook in an oven preheated to 150 C (Fan-Assisted 130C, Gas Level 2) for about 3 hours. (Or you can transfer to a slow-cooker and cook for 3 hours on High.)

My Notes

I don’t buy goose fat, so I either use ‘I can’t believe this is not actual butter but it’s really margarine’ or a bit of vegetable oil. I use stewing beef instead of shin beef. Last time I used La Maison Elyse Cabernet Sauvignon Shiraz — I don’t know a thing about wine but it was on sale for under £2 and turned out to be quite drinkable too.
I use my slowcooker for this and the most difficult part of the recipe is trying to distract myself from how great the house smells while it’s cooking. 😍