Beef Bourguignon with Smoked Bacon and a Whisper of Chocolate
A French classic with extra depth
Beef bourguignon is already a study in depth, but two small additions push it further. Smoked bacon lardons lend a savoury, woody undertone the classic only hints at, while a whisper of dark chocolate, stirred in right at the end, smooths the wine and lends the sauce a glossy richness. Slow-braised until the beef yields to a spoon, it is a stew worth the long, unhurried afternoon.
Beef Bourguignon with Smoked Bacon and a Whisper of Chocolate
Ingredients
- 1.3kg beef shin or chuck, cut into large chunks
- 3 tbsp plain flour
- 3 tbsp olive oil
- 200g smoked bacon lardons
- 2 onions, chopped
- 3 carrots, cut into chunks
- 3 garlic cloves, crushed
- 2 tbsp tomato purée
- 750ml red wine (a Burgundy or other pinot noir)
- 400ml beef stock
- 2 bay leaves
- 3 sprigs fresh thyme
- 15g dark chocolate (70% cocoa)
- 300g button mushrooms
- 250g shallots, peeled and left whole
- Salt and black pepper, to taste
- Chopped parsley, to serve
Method
- Toss the beef with the flour and a good pinch of salt and pepper. Heat the oven to 150C (130C fan).
- Heat 1 tbsp oil in a large casserole and fry the smoked bacon lardons until crisp and golden, then set aside.
- Add more oil and brown the floured beef in batches until well coloured all over, then set aside with the bacon.
- Add the onions and carrots to the pot and cook for 8 minutes, then stir in the garlic and tomato purée for 1 minute.
- Pour in the red wine, scraping up the sticky bits from the base, and let it bubble for 3 minutes.
- Return the beef and bacon to the pot with the stock, bay leaves and thyme. Bring to a simmer.
- Cover and transfer to the oven for 2 hours and 30 minutes, until the beef is very tender.
- Meanwhile, fry the mushrooms and whole shallots in a little oil until golden, then stir them into the stew for the final 30 minutes.
- Stir in the dark chocolate until melted, then taste and season. Discard the bay and thyme stalks.
- Rest for 10 minutes, scatter with parsley, and serve with mash or crusty bread.
3 The Story
Beef bourguignon, or boeuf à la bourguignonne, takes its name from Burgundy, the eastern French region as famous for its cattle as for its wine. The dish is the very definition of a regional speciality made from local ingredients: beef from the Charolais herds that graze the area, braised slowly in the red wine the region is celebrated for. Like so many great stews, it began as humble, rustic cooking, a way to render tough, cheap cuts tender through long, gentle braising.
Over time it rose from country kitchens to the heights of French cuisine, codified as one of the cornerstone dishes of the classical repertoire. It became known to English-speaking home cooks above all through the mid-twentieth-century cookery writers who set out to demystify French food, presenting bourguignon as the dish that proved patient technique mattered more than fuss. The classic garnish is a trio of bacon, button mushrooms and small glazed onions, added towards the end so they keep their character.
That traditional garnish is exactly why the smoked bacon here feels like an enhancement rather than a departure. Bourguignon has always carried pork in the form of lardons; choosing a smoked variety simply deepens the savoury, faintly woody note already present. The chocolate is the more playful touch, but it follows a logic cooks across the Mediterranean know well, where a little dark chocolate finishes rich meat stews. A tiny amount rounds the sharpness of the wine and adds body without ever reading as sweet.
A few principles separate a good bourguignon from a great one. Use a cut with plenty of connective tissue, such as shin or chuck, since lean cuts dry out over long cooking while these turn silky and tender. Brown the meat properly, in batches, for the caramelised flavour that underpins the whole dish, and use a wine you would be happy to drink, since the sauce is essentially reduced wine and a poor bottle shows. Above all, give it time. This is a stew that rewards a slow oven and even improves reheated the next day, the flavours settling and deepening overnight.
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