Ina Garten’s Streamlined Beef Bourguignon Is Dinner—and a Show

Ina Garten's Beef Bourguignon

Time after time, Ina Garten delivers consistent and classic recipes, all tied up with a pretty little bow. And from the simple to the more complex, the Barefoot Contessa never steers you wrong. When I was nosing around for a special dish for the holidays, I ran across her beef bourguignon. With more than 1,000 reviews and a solid five-star rating, it caught my eye.

I noticed that the recipe takes a little time (though less time than the traditional French recipe), but I'm happy to sink a few hours into cooking something special for a nice dinner party with friends or a holiday meal. As I scrolled through the comments, I ran across tons of rave reviews. "This dish is amazing!! I’ve made it multiple times, and it never disappoints," said one person. "I've made this countless times when friends are coming over. Follow the recipe and you're guaranteed success. Everyone will love it," added another.

That encouragement was all I needed to sit down and write up my shopping list so I could make this dish ASAP. Here's what happened when I tried Ina Garten's beef bourguignon in my kitchen.

Get the recipe: Ina Garten's Beef Bourguignon

Ingredients for Ina Garten’s Beef Bourguignon

You're definitely going to need to go the store for this one. Here's what you need to make this on: good olive oil, applewood smoked bacon, chuck beef, carrots, yellow onions, garlic, Cognac, a bottle of good dry red wine, beef broth, tomato paste, fresh thyme, unsalted butter, flour, frozen whole pearl onions, mushrooms and sourdough bread and parsley for serving.

Related: The Magical Ina Garten Baked Pasta Recipe You'll Want to Make on Repeat

How to make Ina Garten’s Beef Bourguignon

Preheat the oven to 250°. Heat the olive oil in a large Dutch oven. Cook the bacon until lightly browned. Remove from pot. Dry the beef with paper towels and sprinkle with salt and pepper. Working in batches, sear the beef in the hot oil for 3 to 5 minutes, making sure it browns evenly.

Without draining the fat from the pan, add the carrots, onions, salt and pepper and cook until the onions are lightly browned, about 10 minutes. Add the garlic and cook for 1 more minute. This is the part that gets fun. Add the Cognac, make sure nothing flammable is nearby, then ignitinite the pot with a match and watch the alcohol burn off in a fiery orange plume.

When the show is over, put the meat and bacon back into the pot and add the bottle of wine plus enough beef broth to almost cover the meat. Add the tomato paste and thyme. Bring to a simmer, then cover with a lid and stick in oven for 1 1/4 hours or until the meat and vegetables are very tender when pierced with a fork.

Once the meat and veggies are cooked, combine 2 tablespoons of butter and the flour with a fork and stir it into the stew. Add the pearl onions.

Sauté the mushrooms in butter until lightly browned and then add to the stew. Bring to a boil, then lower the heat and simmer for 15 minutes. Season to taste.

Serve with toasted garlic bread and sprinkle with parsley.

Related: True Fact: Ina Garten’s Mac and Cheese is the Greatest of All Time

What I thought of Ina Garten’s Beef Bourguignon

This is definitely one that will stay in my favorite recipe file for years to come. The flavors are rich and complex and absolutely perfect served with mashed potatoes and a side salad (as the commenters suggested and I duly followed).

The red wine, mushrooms, thyme and carrots were the perfect complement to the tender chunks of beef that were slow-cooked in my Dutch oven for almost two hours. I went for a walk while it was in the oven and when I came home, let me tell you, if a meal could give you a warm hug, this would be it.

It was time-consuming to make, so don’t think it’s an easy weeknight dinner. This is one of the meals that’s a labor of love, but it’s well worth the time and (many) dirty dishes it takes to make it. The best part is that it keeps beautifully and as it sits for a day or two, the flavors marry together and it gets even more delicious.

Tips for making Ina Garten’s Beef Bourguignon

1. Don't skip the pearl onions. Commenters complained that adding in the pearl onions waters down the dish, and while I noticed the stew did get a bit thinner afterward, I love pearl onions, so I kept them in.
2. Keep an eye on the cooking time (and temp). People online who made the recipe also say that they felt it needed a higher cooking temperature and a longer cooking time. I stuck to Ina‘s initial recipe and didn’t have any problems at all with the temperature or the cooking time. My veggies and meat were tender in exactly an hour and a quarter.
3. Use what you have. I know next to nothing about wine and Ina said to use a good dry red wine so I went with a mid-priced Pinot Noir with an attractive label. I also used beef bacon since that’s what I had on hand and I thought it would enhance the stew's flavor better (I wasn’t wrong).

Up next: 24 Crazy-Good Ground Beef Casserole Recipes for Every Night of the Week