My date with Julia (finally)

Julia's promise....

“Carefully done, and perfectly flavored, it is certainly one of the most delicious beef dishes concocted by man, and can well be the main course for a buffet dinner.”

From my earlier post, have been dragging my feet. Intentionally. Since D hates stews and M doesn’t eat beef. So basically shelved this recipe away for later.

The movie was entertaining - more light & fun, not mind-blowing though related to Powell at some level probably more as a fellow food blogger but with MUCH less drama. Was wondering with a deep frown until more than half way down the film why Merryl Streep kept talking in such a stiff, 'funny & odd' manner ~ especially verbalizing the heaven on earth ‘butter’ in an emphatic, breathy way…..only to realize, that probably the real Julia speaks like that D-U-H!!

Anyone watching the show will know that a lot of film time was devoted to Julia's Boeuf Bourguignon. Which left part of me intrigue and the other part wondering what's the big deal???

Looking at the recipe, I'm sure you'd agree with me that it’s a very ‘elaborate & involved’ recipe with lots of steps and to-dos. Usually skip and avoid specific recipes like that. Preferring more Jamie Oliver or Ina Garten kind of cooking – quick, simplified and easy methods are indeed popular but without compromising on the flavour and/or taste.

As the recipe was written a while back, could it be that it is well passed its due date for a timely review and *coughs* be updated & simplified??? Perhaps not. But it’s a French cuisine and well we all know how much they pride in their perfect & traditional culinary cooking skills, etc.

So tradition overrules. Besides it wouldn’t be Julia’s famed Boeuf Bourguignon (translated for upscale plain ole Braised Beef Stew that’s been slowly cooked in red wine, bacon, onions and mushrooms) if I tried it otherwise, would it?

With A&A’s impending visit, got myself all excited again, especially since they both love stews. But it hit me right before serving that perhaps I made a grave mistake, that it'd probably would have been wiser selecting a dish which they were NOT familiar. *omg what happens if they hate it??? by then it too late for any regrets*

****cooking encounter revisted****

Reflecting back, cooking the stew is not that bad; quite easy actually. Don't know what was with my earlier false trepidation - perhaps just overwhelmed with the long-winded recipe?!

Before you start, you really need an oven proof casserole dish with a lid. Used my wonderful trusty Le Creuset cast iron pot (if anyone is considering buying one, don’t think anymore, just get it, very good pot - yeah its heavy and expansive but worth every penny) but I’m sure you can also use your corningware or vision ware (just make sure it can cook over the stove and also in the oven for long hours).

The most time-consuming part of preparing this dish would be browning the meat. Be patient. As Rome wasn’t built overnight, neither is Julia Child’s Boeuf Bourguignon!! Followed Julia’s recommendation to only brown a few pieces at a time as 'crowding' the pan will not allow the meat to brown properly! Also be prepared for plenty of oil flying/splurting everywhere (lots of it) even though the meat had been pat dry as per sifu Julia's instruction. Note to use quality paper towel otherwise you’ll be fuming at the tedious process of removing bits of tissue stuck on the meat, especially having to pat dry 1.5kg worth of meat!!! Make sure that you have a large roll of paper towel too as you’ll be using lots of it!!!

Best also to line the floor with quality newspaper (like the Edge) or white paper as normal newspaper will not only blacken your feet but also mess up the floor!! The whole idea is to cook with minimal fuss and cleaning but unfortunately for this first stage, it’s unavoidable, a little messy and time consuming! bleh.

BUT once you cross this hurdle, it does gets smoother and easier.

Btw, next time I make this again, I’ll make sure to add more beef tendons as stewed tendons would also be tasty!! And if you like, consider adding beef brisket too.

After browning the meat, time to slowly ‘sweat’ some chopped onions on low heat. In meantime, pre-heat your oven to about 180C degrees. Then add the carrots and cook for a few more minutes and remove onto separate dish.

Add the meat back without the drippings and scatter 2 tbsp of plain flour, mixing careful to ensure that the flour is evenly distributed on the meat. Transfer your pot of meat into the oven without the lid for 4 min. This will allow the coating of the flour on your meat to crisp up a bit so explains Julia.

Bring your pot back to the cooking fire and add the cooked vegetables, drippings, herb bouquet, tomato paste, seasoning, some good red wine and stock. Make sure that most of the ingredients are submerged in a red sea of watery goodness. Bring to boil, cover with the lid and transfer the entire pot into the oven. Let it cook slowly for 2.5 hours at about 130C degrees.

In the meantime, caramelise your pearl onions in a separate pot with some olive oil. Cook on low heat for 15-20 mins, set aside in separate dish for use later. In the same pot, add some butter and sauté your mushrooms for a few min until soft, set aside for use later.

Okay with your major prep work all done….now for the arduous task of cleaning up.

Clean, mop, scrub, wipe, dry and put all your utensils back, etc. Take your time as you will have lots of it!!!

In fact, after cleaning up everything, fix yourself a cup of coffee/tea. After all the ‘hard work’ you deserve one!!! Well done, time to relax and unwind as the meat slowly stews in the oven.

Actually you now have time to freshen up with a shower, have a short nap (but make sure the alarm is working) and perhaps watch a movie too or two. Maybe even a quick exercise around the park to work up the appetite (and feel less guilty of the impending heavy meal ahead!).

By now your house will be filled with a lovely, warm, rich & complex beefy aroma. Too heavenly to begin to describe; enough to get your nosey neighbour to drop by with a flimsy excuse that your mail got mixed up with theirs by mistake!! lolz

Julia says it’ll take about 2.5 – 3 hours too cook the meat to tender. But don’t believe her because after 3 hours my meat was tough (ngan kiau kiau). Don’t panic or wring your hair (like I did), just give the precious contents a quick stir & checking there is sufficient liquid to continue stewing it before putting the pot back into the oven. It may actually take longer, maybe another 2-3 hours (depending how stubborn your meat is).

Once the meat is finally tender, it is ready. If there’s too much water in your sauce, you may have to reduce and thicken it. Mine was fine after the many many long hours of stewing (so probably not a good idea to start cooking this at night ya!). Proceed to stir in your caramelised pearl onions and buttered mushrooms which you have prepared earlier. Serve warm.

*****END*****

I'm sure you are probably screaming with curiosity:

Tell us how did it taste???

Having read many others before me who have jumped on the recipe after the J&J movie was out, have declared that it was nothing short of ‘superb’, ‘heavenly’ ‘fantastico’ ‘amazing’. Internally I’m thinking – yeah it better be especially having to slave so many hours and rather tediously over the stove; otherwise J meet fist! Haha...

lame jokes aside.

Ate this with serve of mash potatoes, some herb & cheese dumplings (to soak up the divine gravy) and fresh garden salad.

Before I give you my answer, just know that stews are not in my everyday food repertoire.

BUT it was REALLY GOOD, much better than I imagined & expected and believe me that I had lots of time up my sleeve whilst cooking and washing up doing just that – was overwhelmed by the incredibly melt-in-mouth meat (though would have been better with more tendon) and the depth, complex and richness in flavour of the sauce. Oooh, that sauce was really super rich in flavour - pure heaven, could have probably drank and slurp the entire pot of gravy and barely stop myself *very restraint* as otherwise there would be nothing left for the guests!!!

This is a delicious recipe. Even my stew lover friend said it was lovely and gave it a nod of appreciative approval!

Even though this dish did take some time and effort to prepare but it's definitely worth every minute, trust me.

So who’s having the next date with Julia? Elaine maybe????? hehehe

Pdf copy of the original recipe can be found here or a re-written one here.

It wouldn’t be very Julia of me if I didn’t say….

Bon Appetit!!!

Bench notes:
1. Definitely must remember to add some beef tendon the next time around. *optional.
2. Cook at least one day ahead as it would be much tastier and more flavourful.
3. Consider using the pressure cooker to cut down the cooking time of the meat.

4. Don’t crowd the pan while browning the meat (despite the strong urge just to dump the whole lot in!!!).

5. Do not cut the carrot too small otherwise will just disintegrate over the long cooking hours!

6. Add a whole garlic (with skin) to the stew for the extra flavour. *optional.

7. Make more so that you can freeze the leftovers.