Beef Braised in Red Wine with Lardons, Pearl Onions and Mushrooms

Olivia Hart @oliviahart.kitchenAug 19, 2026

18 ingredients

14 steps

Beef Braised in Red Wine with Lardons, Pearl Onions and Mushrooms, illustrated

What you need

1.5 kg (3 1/4 lb) beef chuck, cut into 5 cm (2 in) cubes
200 g (7 oz) smoked bacon or lardons, cut into short strips
2 tbsp olive oil, divided
1 large onion, sliced
3 carrots, peeled and cut into thick chunks
4 cloves garlic, minced
1 tbsp tomato paste
2 tbsp plain flour
750 ml (1 bottle) dry red wine, ideally a red Burgundy or Pinot Noir
250 ml (1 cup) beef stock
2 sprigs thyme
2 bay leaves
300 g (10 oz) pearl onions, peeled, or frozen
350 g (12 oz) button mushrooms, halved or quartered if large
30 g (2 tbsp) butter
salt, to taste
black pepper, freshly ground, to taste
parsley, chopped, for serving

Method

Restated from the original video

1
Heat the oven to 160 °C (325 °F). Pat the beef dry with paper towels and season it with salt and pepper.
2
Warm 1 tbsp of the olive oil in a large flameproof casserole over medium heat. Add the bacon and cook until the fat runs and the strips crisp, 8-10 min. Lift them onto a plate.
3
Raise the heat to medium-high. Sear the beef in 3 batches in the bacon fat, turning the cubes until browned on every side, 6-8 min per batch. Move each batch to the plate.
4
Lower the heat to medium. Add the onion and carrots to the pot and cook, stirring, until the onion softens and colors, 8-10 min.
5
Stir in the garlic and tomato paste and cook for 1 min.
6
Return the beef with its juices to the pot, scatter the flour over it and stir for 2 min so the flour coats the meat and loses its raw taste.
7
Pour in the wine and stock, scraping the bottom of the pot to free the browned bits. Add the thyme, bay leaves and half of the bacon.
8
Bring to a simmer, cover and move the pot to the oven. Braise until a cube of beef falls apart under a fork, 2 1/2-3 hours.
9
About 30 min before the beef is done, melt the butter with the remaining olive oil in a wide frying pan over medium heat.
10
Salt the pearl onions lightly, add them to the pan and cook, shaking it often, until they turn golden in patches, 8-10 min.
11
Add the mushrooms and cook until they release their liquid and brown, 7-8 min. Stir in the rest of the bacon and take the pan off the heat.
12
Take the pot out of the oven and fish out the thyme stems and bay leaves. If the sauce is thin, simmer it uncovered on the stove until it coats a spoon, 10-15 min.
13
Fold the onions, mushrooms and bacon into the stew and taste for salt and pepper.
14
Rest for 10 min, then scatter over the parsley and serve.

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About beef bourguignon

Beef chuck braised slowly in red wine with bacon, mushrooms, carrot, and onion until the meat falls apart and the sauce reduces thick and dark. It's a long-cooked, wine-heavy stew from Burgundy.

What cooks argue about

Wine quality is a running argument, since some cooks insist on a wine good enough to drink while others say a modest bottle works once reduced for hours.

What usually goes in