Boeuf à la Gordienne (Beef Stewed in Red Wine)
I found the joy of cooking when I joined the French Club my freshman year in high school. That was more than 30 years ago! I pulled out my yearbook this Christmas and found my old recipes. This one is my favorite! The house smells so good while it's cooking!
I found the joy of cooking when I joined the French Club my freshman year in high school. That was more than 30 years ago! I pulled out my yearbook this Christmas and found my old recipes. This one is my favorite! The house smells so good while it's cooking!
- salt to taste
- 1 bay leaf
- 2 cloves garlic
- freshly ground black pepper to taste
- 2 shallots chopped
- parmesan cheese to taste
- fresh thyme
- marinade
- 6 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
- 2 ribs celery
- bouquet garni
- 3 pounds stewing beef
- 1/3 pound bacon lean, streaky, unsmoked and cut into lardons
- 1 calf's hoof split and blanched (optional)
- 4 cups red wine
- 2 onions sliced
- 3/4 cup vinegar
- 3 carrots cut into fine rounds
- 4 - 6 pinches dried herbs use your favorite herbs
- 1 strip orange zest
- 5 - 7 sprigs fresh parsley
- leek greens
- savory
- fresh oregano
- fresh marjoram
- macaronade
- 1 pound macaronade can use macaroni
- gruyã¨re cheese to taste
- Carbohydrate 87.974987 g
- Cholesterol 339.467533333333 mg
- Fat 85.9838225 g
- Fiber 11.9680799700697 g
- Protein 98.189146 g
- Saturated Fat 31.42389175 g
- Serving Size 1 1 Serving (956g)
- Sodium 869.655016666667 mg
- Sugar 76.0069070299303 g
- Trans Fat 9.37338126666666 g
- Calories 1644 calories
Step-by-step
- Combine the marinade ingredients in large glass bowl. Cut the stewing beef into cubes and add to the marinade.
- Make the Bouquet Garni by combining all ingredients and wrapping them in cheesecloth. secure tightly.
- Remove the meat from the marinade. In a large casserole, heat the olive oil and sauté the bacon and shallots. When the fat starts to run from the bacon, add the beef and brown all over. Strain the marinade and add the vegetables to the casserole.
- Stir them around and let them brown a little; add the bouquet garni and the liquid from the marinade.
- The beef should be just covered with the liquid; if necessary, add more wine. Season with salt and pepper.
- Cover the pot, using a sheet of oiled parchment paper, then lid the pot to seal hermetically. Heat, and bring the mixture to a boil, reduce the heat and simmer for 3 hours or longer. Discard the garni.
- The traditional accompaniment to Boeuf à la Gordienne is hot macaronade, a long macaroni. Bring salted water to a boil and cook the macaronade until just tender, about 15 minutes. Drain. Transfer to a buttered oven dish and sprinkle the layers of the pasta with Parmesan and Gruyère cheese.
- Moisten with a ladleful of the gravy from the beef and heat through in a hot (400 F) oven for about 10 minutes.
- TO SERVE HOT - skim off any fat from the top of the stew.
- TO SERVE COLD - Add a calf's foot to the other ingredients.
Most cooks treat beef bourguignon as a casual weeknight undertaking, but boeuf à la gordienne demands strict adherence to traditional French staging. Anyone expecting a quick toss of ingredients into a slow cooker will face immediate failure here. Success requires respecting a lengthy overnight marinade phase and utilizing specific heavy-bottomed cookware to withstand hours of simmering.
The Marinade and Vessel Reality
Submerging three pounds of stewing beef in four cups of red wine and three-quarters of a cup of vinegar for twelve hours breaks down tough muscle fibers effectively. Do not skip straining those aromatics before they hit the pot, or bitter scorched solids will ruin the sauce. When sealing the casserole, placing an oiled sheet of parchment paper directly beneath the lid creates a hermetic seal that traps internal moisture during the three-hour simmer at a gentle bubble.Macaronade Assembly
Serving this dish with traditional macaronade requires a specific layering technique. Boil the pasta for fifteen minutes until it reaches an al dente bite, then transfer it into a buttered baking dish. Alternating layers of grated Parmesan and Gruyère with ladles of liquid skimmed from the beef prevents the long macaroni from drying out while baking at 400 degrees Fahrenheit for ten minutes.Dietary Adjustments
Adapting this heavy preparation for modern dietary needs requires careful substitutions. Removing the optional calf's foot alters the gelatin content needed for the cold serving variation, but does not impact the hot stew. Wine substitutions can alter the foundational acidity, so balance any non-alcoholic liquid swaps with a minor adjustment to the vinegar volume.
