The Beef Bourguignon Ultimate Recipe

A day built on a simple charter

On 20 August, we celebrate World Beef Bourguignon Day,a brand new day of observance, with its first edition taking place in 2026. The idea is simple: cook this classic dish properly, slowly, with good wine, exactly as it's always been done.

To mark the occasion, we're sharing one of the great, unimpeachable versions of the recipe.

French uses the verb "mijoter" to describe the slow, gentle simmering that this dish depends on:

  • laisser mijoter (to let simmer)
  • un plat qui mijote (a dish that's simmering away)


Did you know? The word "singer" (to sprinkle meat with flour before browning) has nothing to do with singing, it comes from the old French verb meaning to "sign" or "mark" the meat, an old kitchen term that's still used by French home cooks today.

Beef bourguignon recipe

Photography | Délidoor

Ingredients

  • 800 g beef chuck (paleron), cut into 5 cm chunks
  • 1 bouquet garni
  • 125 g piece of salted (streaky) bacon, rind removed
  • 30 g plain flour
  • 120 g butter
  • 1 bottle red Burgundy wine
  • 750 ml chicken stock
  • 2 squares of dark chocolate
  • 20 baby (pearl) onions
  • 150 g button mushrooms
  • 2 carrots
  • 1 onion
  • 2 pink garlic cloves
  • 1 tsp cracked black pepper
  • 100 ml groundnut (peanut) oil
  • Salt and freshly ground black pepper

Method

  1. Peel the carrots and onion, then chop roughly. Cut the beef into 5 cm chunks.
  2. Heat 3 tbsp oil in a casserole. Add the beef with a knob of butter and brown well on all sides.
  3. Remove the meat. Sweat the carrots, onion and crushed garlic. Once coloured, return the beef, season, add a knob of butter, then sprinkle over the flour and stir continuously.
  4. Lower the heat for 5 minutes. Add the wine, reduce by half, skim, then add stock to just cover the meat. Add the bouquet garni, cover and simmer for 2 hours.
  5. Peel the baby onions and cook gently in butter, covered, for 20 minutes until tender and golden. Drain and set aside.
  6. Fry the lardons until coloured, then set aside. In the same pan, sauté the mushrooms briskly, season, and set aside.
  7. Once the beef is tender, remove the bouquet garni and garlic. Reduce the sauce until glossy and coating.
  8. Return the onions, mushrooms, lardons and chocolate to the pot. Simmer gently for 5 minutes.
  9. Scatter over chopped parsley and serve with steamed potatoes.


French vocabulary:

  • mijoter – to simmer
  • singer – to sprinkle with flour
  • écumer – to skim
  • bouquet garni – herb bundle
  • lardons – bacon strips
  • cocotte – casserole pot
  • oignon grelot – pearl onion
  • paleron – beef chuck
  • nappante – coating (of a sauce)

Take part in World Beef Bourguignon Day

Cooking this on 20 August? You're in good company. Enter your kitchen or restaurant into the permanent register at worldbeefbourguignonday.com/join, read the full charter on the about page, or browse the growing list of participants on the restaurant register.


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