Adapted from "Mastering the Art of French Cooking" by Julia Child, Louisette Bertholle and Simone Beck (Alfred A. Knopf, 1961)
Time: About 5 hours
One 6-ounce piece of chunk bacon cut into (or 6 oz. of thick-cut bacon)
1 1/2 tablespoons olive oil
3 pounds lean stewing beef, cut into 4-inch cubes
1 carrot
1 onion, quartered
Salt and pepper
2 tablespoons flour
3 cups full-bodied, young red wine (like Beaujolais, Cotes du Rhone or Burgundy)
2 1/2 cups brown beef stock, divided
1 tablespoon tomato paste
2 cloves minced garlic
1 teaspoon dried thyme
bay leaf
18 to 24 small white onions (I use frozen pearl onions)
3 1/2 tablespoons butter
1/2 tsp. dried thyme
1 pound quartered fresh mushrooms
optional:
6 medium russet potatoes, peeled and quartered
6 carrots, peeled and quartered
1. Preheat oven to 300 degrees.
2. Remove bacon rind (reserve) and cut bacon into lardons (sticks 1/4-inch thick and 1 1/2 inches long). Sauté lardons in a flameproof casserole over moderate heat for 2 to 3 minutes to brown lightly. Remove to a side dish with a slotted spoon.
3. Dry beef in paper towels; it will not brown if it is damp. Sprinkle beef lightly with salt. Heat bacon fat in casserole until almost smoking. Add beef, a few pieces at a time, and sauté until nicely browned on all sides. Add it to the lardons.
4. In the same fat, brown the carrot and onion. Add to the lardons and beef. Pour out all but 2 Tbsp. fat and return pan to heat. Sprinkle flour into pan and stir until lightly browned, 1-2 minutes.
5. Whisk in wine and 2 cups stock. Add the tomato paste, garlic, herbs (and bacon rind if you have it). Add beef, lardons, and carrot/onion to the pan. Bring to a simmer on top of the stove. Cover casserole and set in lower third of oven. Regulate heat so that liquid simmers very slowly for 3 hours (for me, somewhere around 275-300 degrees). Add optional potatoes and carrots to the pan for the last 1/2 hour of cooking. Remove the lid from the pan for the final 15 minutes of cooking (whether or not you add the optional potatoes and carrots) to thicken the sauce (make sure it continues to simmer). The meat and vegetables are done when a fork pierces them easily.
6. While the beef is cooking, prepare the onions and mushrooms. Heat 1 1/2 tablespoons butter with one and one-half tablespoons of the oil until bubbling in a skillet. Add onions and sauté over moderate heat for about 10 minutes, rolling them so they will brown as evenly as possible. Be careful not to break their skins. You cannot expect them to brown uniformly. Add 1/2 cup of the stock, salt and pepper to taste and 1/2 tsp. of thyme. Cover and simmer slowly for 40 to 50 minutes until the onions are perfectly tender but hold their shape, and the liquid has evaporated. Set onions aside.
7. Wipe out skillet and heat remaining oil and butter over high heat. As soon as you see butter has begun to subside, indicating it is hot enough, add mushrooms. Toss and shake pan for 4 to 5 minutes. As soon as they are browned lightly, remove from heat.
8. When the meat is tender, remove from the pan and carve/pull into bite-size pieces. Remove and discard the bay leaf. Skim fat off sauce, then taste sauce for seasoning. Add the meat back to the pan and distribute the cooked onions and mushrooms on top. Serve ladled into bowls. (If you did not add potatoes and carrots, serve alongside buttered egg noodles or mashed potatoes.)
Yield: 6 servings.