Mary Berry Beef Bourguignon Recipe

Beef bourguignon is the French braise that I think of as the benchmark dish — the recipe by which I would judge any cook’s understanding of the principles of slow cooking. It is not complicated.

It is demanding of patience and of good ingredients, but the technique itself is entirely accessible. The reward for this patience is the most deeply flavoured, most satisfying beef casserole that British or French home cooking produces.

The principles are straightforward: beef browned until deeply golden, lardons rendered until golden and slightly crispy, pearl onions cooked separately until caramelised, mushrooms cooked separately until golden and dry.

And the whole thing braised in a full bottle of good Burgundy or other good Pinot Noir for two to three hours until the beef is completely tender and the sauce has reduced to something glossy, deeply wine-dark, and intensely flavoured.

The components cooked separately — each given the full attention they need — is what distinguishes a great bourguignon from a merely good one. Mushrooms and onions added raw to the braise become soft, slightly grey, and indistinct.

Mushrooms that have been caramelised and onions that have been glazed retain their character, their colour, and their flavour, and give the finished dish its complete, specifically wonderful identity.

Ingredients for Mary Berry Beef Bourguignon

For the Beef Braise

• 1.5kg braising beef — chuck or shin, cut into 4–5cm chunks
• 200g smoked lardons or smoked streaky bacon, cut into 1cm pieces
• 1 bottle (750ml) good Burgundy or Pinot Noir — do not use wine you would not drink
• 2 tbsp olive oil
• 30g unsalted butter
• 2 large carrots, peeled and roughly chopped
• 1 large onion, roughly chopped
• 4 garlic cloves, crushed
• 2 tbsp tomato purée
• 2 tbsp plain flour
• 400ml good quality beef stock
• 1 large bouquet garni — thyme, bay leaves, and parsley stalks tied together
• Salt and freshly ground black pepper

For the Garnish (Cooked Separately)

• 250g chestnut mushrooms, quartered
• 200g pearl onions or small shallots, peeled — blanched in boiling water for 1 minute to loosen the skins
• 30g unsalted butter
• 1 tbsp olive oil
• 1 tsp golden caster sugar — for glazing the onions
• Salt and pepper

To Finish

• 2 tbsp fresh flat-leaf parsley, finely chopped
• A small knob of cold butter — stirred through the sauce at the very end for gloss

How to Make Mary Berry Beef Bourguignon

Step 1 — Marinate the Beef (Optional but Worthwhile)

The evening before, place the beef chunks in a bowl with the wine, a few sprigs of thyme, a bay leaf, and the roughly chopped carrots and onion. Cover and refrigerate overnight. The wine begins to penetrate the beef and gives a more deeply flavoured, more integrated result.

If time does not allow, proceed directly without marinating — the result is still very good.

Drain the beef — reserving the wine and discarding the vegetables. Pat the beef completely dry with kitchen paper. Moisture on the beef prevents browning.

Step 2 — Brown the Lardons and Beef

Heat one tablespoon of oil in a large, heavy-based casserole over a medium-high heat. Add the lardons. Cook for five to six minutes until golden and slightly crispy. Remove with a slotted spoon and set aside.

In the same casserole, working in batches of four to five pieces, brown the beef on all sides in the lardon fat — three to four minutes per side. Do not crowd the pan. Each piece must be deeply, properly browned on all sides. Remove each batch as it is done. This step takes time and patience and gives the dish its depth.

Step 3 — Build the Braise

Pour off excess fat, leaving approximately two tablespoons. Add the butter. Cook the fresh chopped onion and carrots over medium heat for eight minutes until softened. Add the garlic and tomato purée — cook two minutes. Sprinkle over the flour — stir for two minutes.

Add the reserved wine. Bring to a vigorous boil and reduce by one-third — approximately ten minutes — scraping up all the golden bits from the base of the pan.

Add the beef stock, bouquet garni, browned beef, and lardons. Season generously. Bring to a gentle simmer. Cover tightly.

Cook on the lowest possible heat — or in a preheated 150°C / 130°C fan / Gas 2 oven — for 2 hours 30 minutes to 3 hours until the beef is completely tender and yielding when pressed.

Step 4 — Cook the Garnish

While the beef braises — cook the garnish components separately.

Pearl onions: Heat a tablespoon of butter and oil in a wide pan. Add the blanched, peeled pearl onions. Add the sugar. Cook over a medium heat for fifteen to eighteen minutes, turning occasionally, until golden and lightly caramelised all over.

Mushrooms: In a separate pan, heat the remaining butter and oil over high heat. Add the quartered mushrooms in a single layer. Cook without stirring for three minutes. Stir and cook for three more minutes until golden and dry.

Step 5 — Combine and Finish

When the beef is completely tender, remove the casserole from the oven. Remove and discard the bouquet garni. Using a slotted spoon, transfer the beef pieces to a warm bowl.

Pass the sauce through a fine sieve into a wide saucepan — pressing the vegetables firmly to extract all their liquid. Discard the vegetables. Bring the strained sauce to a boil over a medium-high heat and reduce for ten to fifteen minutes until glossy, slightly thickened, and intensely flavoured. Taste and season assertively.

Return the beef, pearl onions, and mushrooms to the casserole or a serving dish. Pour the reduced sauce over everything. Stir in the cold butter knob — it gives the sauce a glossy, restaurant-quality finish. Scatter the fresh parsley.

My Top Tips For Perfect Mary Berry Beef Bourguignon

Use wine you would drink. The wine is the primary flavour of this dish. Cheap cooking wine gives a sauce that tastes of cheap cooking wine. A good Burgundy or Pinot Noir gives a sauce that is deeply complex, slightly fruity, and specifically wonderful. It does not need to be expensive — a decent mid-range bottle is completely right.

Brown the beef in batches — every surface deeply golden. This instruction applies to every braise on this site and is most important here because of the quantity of beef and the importance of the browning residue to the final sauce. Four to five pieces per batch, three to four minutes per side, deeply browned on all surfaces. This takes twenty to twenty-five minutes and is worth every minute.

Cook the garnish separately. The pearl onions and mushrooms cooked separately and added at the end give a dish where every component retains its individual character. Both cook far better separately than together — the onions need caramelisation, the mushrooms need a dry heat. Together in the braise they give indistinct, grey softness.

Strain and reduce the sauce. The braising liquid after three hours is thin and slightly cloudy from the vegetables. Straining and reducing concentrates the flavour and gives the glossy, dark, intensely flavoured sauce that makes this dish magnificent. Do not skip this step.

Make this the day before. Beef bourguignon is one of the dishes that improves most dramatically overnight. The beef becomes more tender, the sauce deepens, and the components integrate completely. I always make it the day before a dinner party — it requires only reheating when the guests arrive.

Serving Suggestions

With buttered mashed potato — the most natural pairing for the rich, wine-dark sauce. With crusty bread for mopping the sauce completely. With egg noodles for a slightly lighter result. As a dinner party main course made entirely ahead — it looks and tastes genuinely spectacular.

How to Store Mary Berry Beef Bourguignon

In the fridge: Store covered for up to 4 days. Reheat gently over a low heat — it improves significantly overnight.

In the freezer: Freeze for up to 3 months. Defrost overnight and reheat gently. The beef becomes even more tender on reheating.

Mary Berry Beef Bourguignon Recipe

Mary Berry’s beef bourguignon is a slow-braised beef casserole with red wine, lardons, mushrooms, and pearl onions — the finest French dinner party dish.

Print Recipe Pin Recipe

Prep Time 30 minutes mins

Cook Time 3 hours hrs 30 minutes mins

Total Time 4 hours hrs

Servings: 6 Portions

Course: Main Course

Cuisine: British

Calories: 560

Ingredients Method Notes

Ingredients

  

• Beef Braise:
• 1.5 kg braising beef chuck or shin, in 4–5cm chunks
• 200 g smoked lardons
• 1 bottle 750ml good Burgundy or Pinot Noir
• 2 tbsp olive oil 30g unsalted butter
• 2 carrots and 1 onion roughly chopped
• 4 garlic cloves crushed
• 2 tbsp tomato purée 2 tbsp plain flour
• 400 ml beef stock
• 1 bouquet garni
• Salt and pepper
• Garnish:
• 250 g chestnut mushrooms quartered
• 200 g pearl onions blanched and peeled
• 30 g unsalted butter 1 tbsp olive oil
• 1 tsp golden caster sugar
• To Finish:
• 2 tbsp fresh parsley chopped
• Small knob cold butter

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Method

 

1. (Optional) Marinate beef in wine overnight. Drain — reserve wine. Pat beef completely dry.
2. Brown lardons in hot oil 5–6 minutes until golden. Remove. Brown beef in batches in same fat — deeply golden all over. Remove each batch.
3. Cook fresh onion and carrot 8 minutes. Add garlic and tomato purée — 2 minutes. Add flour — 2 minutes. Add reserved wine — reduce by one-third. Add stock, bouquet garni, beef, and lardons. Season. Bring to gentle simmer. Cover — cook on lowest heat or in 150°C oven 2½–3 hours until completely tender.
4. Meanwhile cook pearl onions in butter and oil with sugar 15–18 minutes until golden. Cook mushrooms separately in hot butter until golden and dry.
5. Transfer beef to warm bowl. Strain sauce through fine sieve — press vegetables. Reduce strained sauce 10–15 minutes until glossy and intensely flavoured.
6. Return beef, onions, and mushrooms to casserole. Pour sauce over. Stir in cold butter. Scatter parsley. Serve.

Notes

Use wine you would drink — the wine is the primary flavour of the dish.

Brown beef in batches until deeply golden — the most important step for depth.

Cook garnish separately — pearl onions and mushrooms retain their individual character.

Strain and reduce the sauce — gives the glossy, concentrated, restaurant-quality finish.

Make the day before — improves dramatically overnight. Reheats beautifully.

Freeze for up to 3 months — the beef becomes even more tender on reheating.

Frequently Asked Questions

Can I use a cheaper cut than chuck?

Shin gives an even richer, more gelatinous sauce than chuck — it is an excellent choice. Cheek gives the most tender result of all. Both are good. Avoid anything lean — fat and connective tissue give the richness of a great bourguignon.

Can I leave out the marinating step?

Yes — it is optional and the dish is still excellent without it. The marinating step gives a more deeply integrated wine flavour throughout the beef. Without it the wine flavour is more present in the sauce than in the beef itself.

Can I make this in a slow cooker?

Yes — complete steps 2 and 3 on the hob. Transfer to the slow cooker. Cook on LOW for 8 to 10 hours. Strain and reduce the sauce on the hob before serving as directed.

Can I use a different wine?

A good Côtes du Rhône or Merlot works very well. Avoid very tannic wines — they give a slightly bitter sauce. Pinot Noir is the traditional and most appropriate choice.

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