Want to know the secret to the best beef bourguignon? This classic dish is a real favourite both at the La Prairie Étoilée Dining Barn Table D’Hôtes and for our guests to cook on the campfire. Give it a go, you’ll not be disappointed. So the secret? Just use red wine for the stock, nothing else!
How To Cook The Best Beef Bourguignon On The Campfire
Campfire cooking is never a chore it’s part of a great glamping experience. Buying the ingredients at the local market, setting the fire and keeping it stoked while cooking a delicious meal together, our guests say, is a really relaxing and enjoyable day’s activity. It’s a total change from the norm and then sitting, eating it together as the sun sets and makes way for the dark starry night, is something rather satisfying!
Top tip – If you are staying at La Prairie Étoilée and you don’t want to shop, we can deliver all the ingredients you need, to make the best beef bourguignon, right to your tent!
Ingredients – For 2 People
500g beef (braising or stewing) – we recommend the local Charolaise or Limousine beef when en France!
1 bottle of good red wine (traditionally burgundy but it works well with a Cabernet Sauvignon – anything robust)
4 carrots cut into large chunks
1 onion roughly chopped
2 tablespoons of oil
freshly ground black pepper
salt
2 Bay Leaves (grab from the herb garden! ;-))
A bunch of Thyme (grab from the herb garden! ;-))
To serve:-
200-250g mushrooms halved
Bacon lardons
250g Small shalotts (if large dice)
Chopped parsley
Equipment For Cooking On The Campfire
If using the campfire, use the Dutch oven suspended above the fire. Control the heat by raising and lowering the pan via the chain.
OK – Lets Cook The Best Beef Bourguignon!
Step 1
Firstly, marinade the beef in the wine over night in the coolbox/fridge or for as long as you can on the same day! This helps to tenderise the beef and intensifies the flavour!
Step 2
Hang the Dutch oven over the heat so that it starts to heat up
Step 3
Meanwhile, stand a colander over a bowl and drain the beef but reserving the wine! Season the beed with black pepper.
Step 4
Add some of the oil to the dutch oven and in small quantities brown the meat, setting aside each batch when browned. Once all the beef is removed from the pan, deglaze with some of the wine & then pour it over the meat.
Step 5
Add more oil to the now deglazed pot and gently fry the onions and carrot until they start to colour. Add the flour and stir for 1 minute and then add the tomato puree. Stir.
Step 6
Re-add the beef, any juicces, the herbs, wine to the pot and give it a good stir before putting the lid on. Tend the fire and stir the pot periodically, raising or lowering the oven on the chain to adjust the heat. Continue for the next 2 hours or until the meat is nice and tender.
Step 7
When the beef is tender, add the butter to the skillet and add the lardons and shallots and fry until the lardons start to crisp. Add the mushrooms and fry for another 5 minutes. Lift the contents out with a slotted spoon and add to the Dutch Oven & cook for a further 15 minutes.
To Serve The Best Beef Bourguignon
Remove the bayleaves and and herb twigs and sprinkle with parsley. Serve with French green beans, and crusty baguette or a delicious garlicky, potato and celeriac dauphinoise or good old mashed potato.
A Veggie Variation
For a hearty vegetarian alternative, replace the beef with a mix of chestnut mushrooms and chestnuts, skip the topping (although would be delicious with a spoonful of redcurrant jelly on instead!) and at least halve the cooking time!
A Tick Off The Ultimate 101 Bucket List For Couples Glamping In France !
Cooking on a campfire in the fresh air in the heart of beautiful French countryside is on the Ultimate 101 Bucket List For Couples Glamping In France and it’s something that most couples tick off when they are here! Find out what the other 100 things to experience do or see are by downloading a copy for free here
We are total foodies at La Prairie Étoilée if you’d like to know more find out here
