Day Seventy - Beef Bourguignon (4.13.14)

Ingredients:

• 1 (2 1/2 pound) boneless beef chuck 
  roast, cut into 2-inch cubes 
• salt and freshly ground black pepper to 
  taste 
• 2 tablespoons vegetable oil 
• 1 onion, chopped 
• 1 tablespoon butter 
• 2 tablespoons flour 
• 2 cups Merlot wine 
• 2 cups beef broth 
• 2 carrots, cut into 1-inch pieces 
• 2 stalks celery, cut into 1/2-inch pieces 
• 4 sprigs fresh thyme 
• 1 bay leaf

Instructions:

1. Generously season beef with salt and pepper.
2. Heat oil in a large Dutch oven over high heat. Cook and stir beef cubes in hot oil until browned on all sides, 10 to 15 minutes. Transfer meat to a plate. 
3. Cook and stir onion, butter, and a pinch of salt in the Dutch oven until onion begins to sweat. Stir flour into onion mixture; cook and stir until onion starts to soften, 3 to 4 minutes. 
4. Pour wine into onion mixture; bring to a simmer and cook until wine is reduced by half, about 10 minutes. Return beef and any accumulated juices to the Dutch oven. Add beef broth, carrots, celery, thyme sprigs, bay leaf, and salt. Bring to a simmer, cover the pot with a lid, and simmer for 1 1/2 hours on low until meat is almost tender.
5. Remove cover from the Dutch oven and simmer uncovered until meat is tender and stew is thick, about 30 minutes more. Season with salt and pepper.

Opinions:

Potter: We don't own a dutch oven so this was another of our kitchen experiments. Instead of a dutch oven we did the first few steps on the stove then added everything to the crock pot. It turned out tasting great but needed a lot longer in the crock pot to thicken up then I gave it time for (about 2-3 hours on high). Even with those shenanigans this turned out tasting pretty awesome. 

Katie: I thought the dish tonight was great. I agree with Potter that it could have used more time in the crock pot to thicken up, but it still tasted delicious.