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Beef Bourguignon

A braised beef stew with wine, bacon, vegetables, and tomatoes.

From the Recipes Wiki (Fandom) · 11 ingredients
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Why it works: Carrot and celery match in chemistry and in kitchens. They rank in the top 1% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 10,173 recipes. Both carry myristicin, which smells spice, warm. The science ↓

Beef Bourguignon

Time20 minutes

Ingredients

Directions

Prepare

  1. Pour wine over steak and refrigerate 30 minutes.

  2. Cook bacon in a large Dutch oven coated with cooking spray 3 minutes on each side or until browned.

  3. Remove bacon, cool and crumble; set aside.

Make the stew

  1. Deglaze the pan with 3 tablespoons of red wine from the marinade and cook on high heat for 1 minute, scraping the bottom of the pan.

  2. Add the beef and cook 5 minutes or until browned.

  3. Remove beef from pot and set aside.

  4. Add onion, garlic and next 4 ingredients.

  5. Cover and simmer 20 minutes, stirring occasionally.

  6. Add mushrooms, beef, crumbled bacon and diced tomatoes and increase to medium heat.

  7. Cook 10 more minutes.

Serve

  1. Serve with rice or potatoes, or try this: toast thick-sliced French bread.

  2. Cut a raw garlic clove in half and rub the toasted bread with the garlic.

  3. Serve the Beef Bourguignon over the bread.

Nutrition, whole recipe (rough)

603Calories
66 gProtein
23 gFat
27 gCarbs
What these numbers assume: 11 portions
IngredientPortion assumedkcal
Beef100g cooked250
Chicken100g cooked165
Onion1 medium (110g)44
Bacon1 slice cooked (8g)43
Wine2 tbsp cooking wine (30ml)25
Carrot1 medium (61g)25
Tomato1 medium (123g)22
Mushrooms1/2 cup sliced (35g)15
Celery1 stalk (40g)6
Garlic1 clove (3g)4
Thyme1 tsp dried (1.4g)4

One typical portion per ingredient; the recipe's quantities are not counted. A rough guide only, not for medical or dietary planning.

Recipe from the Recipes Wiki (Fandom).

Steps grouped into stages for easier reading; the method is the source's own.

Explore the science

The flavor team

The pairs that carry this dish. Each one is judged two ways: how much their aromas overlap, and how often cooks already put them together.

  1. Carrot + celerytop 1% of all pairs
    Smell alikestrong
    Cooked together10,173 recipes

    Shared aroma: myristicin (spice, warm).

  2. Onion + garlictop 1% of all pairs
    Smell alikestrong
    Cooked together29,058 recipes

    Shared aroma: furaneol (caramel, strawberry).

  3. Clove + thymetop 2% of all pairs
    Smell alikestrong
    Cooked together4,108 recipes

    Shared aroma: cuminaldehyde (Spicy, cumin).

  4. Carrot + thymetop 3% of all pairs
    Smell alikestrong
    Cooked together4,563 recipes

    Shared aroma: cuminaldehyde (Spicy, cumin).

  5. Celery + thymetop 3% of all pairs
    Smell alikestrong
    Cooked together3,193 recipes

    Shared aroma: beta-phellandrene (minty, terpene).

Ranks compare each pair with 20,000 random ingredient pairs on CompKitchen. How we score pairs

What each ingredient does

Sirloin steak
Lean beef becomes tender during simmering, giving the stew its main body and substance.
Pinot noir or dry red wine
Acidity and flavour in the marinade and pan deglaze help build the stew's savoury depth.
Mushrooms
Release moisture and savoury flavour as they cook into the stew.
Carrots
Add natural sweetness and body to the simmered stew.
Tomato
Adds acidity and moisture that help shape the sauce.

The step that matters

Browning the beef. Searing the beef until browned creates deep flavour through the Maillard reaction. Crowding the pot or stopping early leaves the meat grey and the sauce flat.

Swap the garlic

How well each one fits the dish's main ingredients (red wine, turkey, onion, clove, carrot, celery, thyme):

  1. Marjoramfits better
  2. Rosemaryfits better
  3. Parsleyfits better
  4. Garlicthe original

Fit is the average pairing score against red wine, turkey, onion, clove, carrot, celery, thyme. Candidates are from the same food group and used in at least 100 recipes.

“What each ingredient does” and “The step that matters” were written by Claude from this recipe’s own method and reviewed in samples by CompKitchen.

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