Beef Bourguignon
Updated January 26, 2026
Christopher Testani for The New York Times
- Total Time
- 2½ hours, plus marinating
- Rating
- Comments
- Read comments
Advertisement
Ingredients
3 pounds beef chuck or other boneless stewing beef, cut into 2-inch cubes and patted dry
2 ¼ teaspoons kosher salt, more to taste
½ teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
5 ounces lardons, pancetta or bacon, diced (about 1 ¼ cups)
1 onion, finely chopped
1 large carrot, sliced
2 garlic cloves, minced
1 teaspoon tomato paste
2 tablespoons all-purpose flour
1 750-milliliter bottle of red wine
1 large bay leaf
1 large sprig of thyme
8 ounces pearl onions, peeled (about 12 to 15 onions)
8 ounces cremini mushrooms, halved if large (about 4 cups)
1 tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil
Pinch sugar
Chopped flat-leaf parsley, for garnish
Nutritional analysis per serving (4 to 6 servings)
15 grams carbs; 158 milligrams cholesterol; 563 calories; 11 grams monosaturated fat; 2 grams polyunsaturated fat; 8 grams saturated fat; 22 grams fat; 1 gram trans fat; 2 grams fiber; 1088 milligrams sodium; 54 grams protein; 5 grams sugar
Note: The information shown is Edamam’s estimate based on available ingredients and preparation. It should not be considered a substitute for a professional nutritionist’s advice.
Powered by
Preparation
- Step 1
Season beef with 2 teaspoons salt and ½ teaspoon pepper. Set aside for at least 30 minutes at room temperature, or chill in the refrigerator for up to 24 hours.
- Step 2
In a large Dutch oven or heavy-bottomed pot with a tightfitting lid, cook lardons over medium-low heat until fat is rendered and lardons are browned and crisp, about 10 to 15 minutes. Transfer with a slotted spoon to a paper towel-lined plate. Reserve fat in pot.
- Step 3
Heat oven to 350 degrees. Raise heat under pot to medium-high and cook until fat is starting to smoke. Lay half the beef cubes in a single layer in the pot, leaving space between pieces. Cook until well browned on all sides, 10 to 15 minutes; transfer pieces to a plate as they brown. Repeat with remaining beef.
- Step 4
Reduce heat, if necessary, to prevent burning. Stir in onion, carrot and remaining ¼ teaspoon salt and cook until soft, about 10 minutes, stirring occasionally.
- Step 5
Stir in garlic and tomato paste, and cook for 1 minute. Stir in flour, cook for 1 minute, then add wine, bay leaf and thyme, scraping up brown bits at bottom of pot. Add browned beef and half the cooked lardons back to pot, cover, and transfer to oven. Let cook until beef is very tender, about 1 ½ hours, turning meat halfway through.
- Step 6
Meanwhile, in a large skillet set over high heat, combine pearl onions, mushrooms, ¼ cup water, the olive oil and a pinch each of salt, pepper and sugar. Bring to a simmer, then cover and reduce heat to medium, cooking for 15 minutes. Uncover, raise heat to high, and cook, tossing frequently, until vegetables are well browned, 5 to 7 minutes.
- Step 7
To serve, scatter onions and mushrooms and remaining cooked lardons over stew, then top with parsley.
Private Notes
Comments
As a Professional Italian Chef I've cooked lots of Beef Stews and Italian Style Pot Roasts. The steps in the recipe are simple and easy to understand. Unfortunately, the most important step in the recipe is the temperature of the oven and the cook time. Doing everything according to Melissa Clark's directions your meat will be tough as shoe leather! You have to seriously turn your oven down to 260°F for the entire time. And cook the meat for at least 3-4 hours. Good Luck.
Just a thought on wine: I'm a certified sommelier, so of course the wine is really important to me! I want to steal a glass to drink while the bourguignon is cooking. Realistically any red will do, but if I'm allowed to be picky, I'd probably go with basic red Bordeaux Supérieur. It's great value but is also an excellent quality table wine; I don't feel bad about using it to cook with and I also don't feel bad about drinking it. Pinot is expensive and less extracted, so I'd avoid cooking with it
Wonderful recipe! I used 4lbs of beef chuck & pinot noir wine. After Step 5 I put the Dutch oven into the oven at 300 for 3hrs...meat was very tender with lots of liquid. Transferred everything into a large ceramic casserole dish, covered it with foil and refrigerated overnight. Next day scraped off some of the fat on the top. Made the onions and mushrooms. Pulled the casserole dish out of the fridge one hour before reheating it (covered) at 325 degrees in the oven for about 45 minutes.
Pearl onions mentioned 2 times
Literally wine soup…..no need to have a glass on the side
In the accompanying video, Melissa says the recipe is “very forgiving,” and boy! Is she right! This was my third time making it — a hurry-up job because I needed to use the roast or else freeze it. Seasoned it the night before and then used what I had on hand, including: — less than half a bottle of wine. — frozen pearl onions. — canned mushrooms. Supplemented the wine with beef broth. Used a Dutch oven through step 5, then transferred it to a slow cooker and cooked it on low for eight hours. It was melt-in-your-mouth!