Boeuf Bourguignon á la Chef Paul Bocuse

Paul Bocuse died this year in January and with him the founder of the new French cuisine. My parents and I watched several of his cooking shows on TV. That time cooking shows were a very rare occations on TV.

He made one of his signature dishes: Boeuf Bourguignon. The Chef inspired us and we made his dish very often when we had friends over for dinner. The show was so great, Chef Bocuse told the viewers not to fuss with the meat or vegetables. Just cut them into very big chunks and get going. He had 3 bottles of red wine sitting on his counter, he poured 2 bottles into the huge pot. After a while he checked the pot, opened the third bottle and poured himself a tall glass and drank it down. This became a tradition in our household.

I was out in France yesterday to do my grocery shopping and saw a tray with beef for braising. It was called "boeuf bourguignon mijote". Mijote means simmern.

Recipe:
1 kg beef
200 g smoked pork belly
1 leek
2 carrots
1 white navette
1 onion
2 cloves of garlic
1 bay leave
2 tbsp flour
Salt and pepper
Fresh thyme
50 ml Cognac
1.5 l red wine

Cut the beef in big chunks and the pork in slices. In some oil start the pork and a part of the seasoned beef. Brown it in 2 or 3 batches. Back into the pot and sprinkle with flour.
Add the veggies and the cognac to deglaze the pot. Then pour in the red wine and add bay leaf and thyme.
Bring to a boil and reduce the heat to simmer and cook fot 2 1/2 hours.