This is from a special issue of Cuisine at Home called "Cuisine for Two." You could certainly use boneless chuck...in fact, I usually do for beef bourguignon. However, with chuck you'd need to use more liquid since the braising time would be much longer. The ribeye was delicious and the cooking time fast. I used a pound of meat and increased the other ingredients accordingly. I served it over mashed potatoes but the buttered noodles would be good, too.

Beef Bourguignon For Two

Serve the stew over buttered noodles or mashed potatoes.

For the Meat:
2 strips bacon, diced
1 boneless beef rib-eye steak (about 12 ounces), trimmed, cubed and seasoned with salt and pepper
1/4 cup flour

For the Stew:
1/2 cup sliced carrot
1/2 cup frozen pearl onions
1/2 cup petite button mushrooms (if larger, quarter them)
1/4 cup diced celery
1 tsp. minced garlic
1 tsp. minced fresh thyme
2 tsp. tomato paste
1 T. flour
2 T. brandy
3/4 cup dry red wine
1/4 cup beef broth
Salt and pepper, to taste
1 T. red wine vinegar
Chopped fresh parsley
Lemon zest (I didn't use it)

Preheat oven to 350.

Saute bacon in ovenproof saucepan over medium heat until crisp, 8-10 minutes. Drain bacon on paper towel-lined plate. Dredge steak in 1/4 cup flour, then brown in bacon drippings. Remove steak and set aside.

Sweat carrot, onions, mushrooms, celery and garlic in same pan over medium-low heat until vegetables start to soften, about 5 minutes. Stir in thyme and tomato paste; cook for 2 minutes, then stir in 1 T. of flour. Add brandy; cook until liquid is almost evaporated.

Deglaze pan with wine and broth, stirring until sauce becomes smooth. Season with salt and pepper. Cover pan, transfer to oven, and braise 20 minutes. Add cooked bacon aned steak to pan and return to oven. Braise 15 minutes.

Stir vinegar into stew. To serve, spoon stew over buttered noodles or mashed potatoes and garnish with parsley and lemon zest.

Usually the little onions and mushrooms are sold in larger units than 1/2 cup. You might consider just browning the entire package of each in the bacon drippings. Have you ever sampled those onions and mushrooms after being browned in the bacon drippings? One is not enough. Chris

simply, it will be fine if you make it ahead...even better. The meat shouldn't get tough. Bring the stew to room temp before reheating. You might want to add a little more liquid and don't let the stew cook too long to reheat...just until warm enough. Ribeye is obviously not a braising cut but worked so well with this quick-cook version. I've even used beef tenderloin for another fast-cook beef bourguignon recipe...awfully good and nice for company. However, as I said before, boneless chuck is what I use most of the time.

Chris, that's a good idea for the onions and mushrooms in the bacon drippings. I used the mushrooms up ASAP and put the rest of the onions back in the freezer. I used crimini mushrooms for the stew and just quartered them.

Champagne, I was inspired. Just returned from Stater Bros. with my ribeyes and am starting the quick bourguignon. This will go on top of mashed potatoes for lunch. By the way, I've made the longer cooking bourguignon with "Chuck Eye" and I found it was very good with less stringiness and almost the texture of the center of a good ribeye once it had time to tenderize. Stater Bos. has that on sale too; they call it “Beef Chuck Eye Steak Bonelessâ€

Chris, sounds like a good lunch. I've bought those boneless chuck steaks from Staters many times. Those and their boneless chuck roasts are nice to have in the freezer, and the sale prices are great. I agree with you about the the tenderness of chuck in a long-cooking bourguignon. I just thought the ribeye worked so nicely for a quick version, but let me know what you think.

Champagne,

Really good flavor, the main difference being the beef tasted, well, like ribeye steak. So, it was great. And much quicker than the normal 3 1/2 hours cooking. I don't always have the time for the longer cooked version, but this I can do in like 45 minutes. Excellent idea.

Thanks, Chris

Chris, I'm glad you liked it...thanks for letting me know.