The day before: In a large bowl, add the beef cubes and peppercorns; pour
in the bottle of wine to cover. Cover the bowl with plastic wrap and refrigerate
for 24 hours.
After 24 hours, remove the beef from the refrigerator and pour off the wine
marinade; reserving the marinade. Pat the beef dry with paper towels.
Make sure that you dry the meat thoroughly on paper towels
before browning, as damp meat will not brown.
In a large soup pot or
cast-iron Dutch oven
over medium-high heat, cook bacon until browned; remove bacon to a dish and set aside.
Add olive or vegetable oil to bacon fat and heat until hot; add marinated beef
cubes and sauté until brown; remove beef pieces to a plate.
NOTE: Don't try to rush when you're browning meat for a
stew. It's a very important step that will take at least 10 to 15 minutes. Don't
crowd the pan with meat (sauté a small amount of the beef at a time and leave
space around each piece of beef to ensure that it will brown and does not
steam).
Add garlic and onion; sauté until soft. Stir in the reserved red wine marinade,
lemon juice, Worcestershire sauce, tomato paste, bay leaves, salt, pepper,
sugar, allspice or cloves, and paprika. Add bacon and browned beef cubes (and
any accumulated juices). Add enough hot beef broth/stock to just cover the meat.
Reduce heat to low, cover, and simmer 2 to 3 hours, stirring occasionally, until
the beef is tender (the beef is done when a fork can pierce it easily).
NOTE: Always cook stews at low temperatures; the
surface of the liquid should barely move. When you simmer very gently, the fat
melts out of rich meats and mingles with the liquid. The dish can then be
chilled, and the fat easily skimmed off. You can also place your pot with the
stew in the oven to cook. Cook at 325 degrees F.
After 2 hours cooking time, remove bay leaves and discard; add carrots, onions,
potatoes, and mushrooms. Simmer another 30 minutes or until meat and vegetables
are tender.
When the vegetables are cooked, remove from heat and transfer into individual
serving bowls.
For immediate serving: Serve in
a large casserole or individual serving bowls with potatoes or egg noodles
and garnished with parsley.
For later serving: Boeuf
Bourguignon benefits from being made ahead of time as the flavors mellow
together. When the beef stew is cool, cover and refrigerate within 2 hours.
Approximately 30 minutes before ready to serve, bring to a simmer over low
heat, cover and simmer very slowly for approximately 15 minutes, stirring
occasionally.
Serve with lots of crusty bread. Another way to serve the stew, rub slices of
thick bread on one side with garlic. For each serving, spoon the stew over a
slice of bread and sprinkle with parsley.
Makes 8 to 10 servings.
