This rich and flavorful roast originated in the Burgundy region of France southeast of Paris. Elevated to its current status as the standard-bearer of all roasts by the likes of Julia Child and Ludo Lefebvre, the famous dish hails from humble beginnings as mere peasant fare. Only in France could a peasant dish have a full-bodied, classic Burgundy wine as a base braising ingredient.
You can find the episode of Julia Child preparing it on YouTube (note she does it all in 1 take) or you can check out Ludo’s Crave cookbook on Amazon; they say a picture is worth a thousand words. There’s a 10th Anniversary Edition of Crave for $148.
Beef Bourguignon uses a braising process, a common technique to turn cheaper cuts of meat into amazing meals. Braising basically involves searing meat to a golden brown in in a special type of pot (dutch oven), creating a flavor-packed liquid, then combining for a long and low-temperature cook.
Experiment with vegetables and herbs that suite your palate, but I recommend sticking to ingredients typical of Burgundy region cuisine: a full-bodied red wine, organic grass and corn fed beef, and in-season herbs and root vegetables. Many recipes will tell you to make 1 to 3 days in advance but I always manage to finish half the first night. Refrigerate leftovers in the same pot, reheat in the oven at a low temperature for amazing leftovers.
Assemble your ingredients 
Chop up Pot Roast in 2” pieces and dry brine overnight 
Cook pancetta then brown beef in the fat, set aside to rest 
Cook onions for 8 to 10 minutes 
Measure the red wine and beef stock 
Pull herbs and prepare seasonal, organic vegetables 
Bring liquid to a boil on the stovetop, turn off heat, add beef evenly spaced apart 
Add herbs and vegetables, working down with a wooden spoon 
Braise in oven at 250° for 3.5 hours 
Remove beef, separate fat, bring jus to a boil on the stove 
Return beef to jus and simmer for 5 to 10 minutes 
Enjoy with nutmeg and cream cheese mashed potatoes
Ingredients
2.5 pounds of Top Round Roast, look for a piece with the least amount of fat cap but some marbling throughout
Salt and Pepper
Pancetta
4 medium yellow onions
4 cloves of garlic
4 to 6 medium carrots, thickly cut, 1/2 inch
1 large portobello mushroom cap or a dozen whole button mushrooms
1 cup pearl onions, fresh and peeled or frozen
Fresh flat leaf Italian parsley (cook and garnish)
Fresh rosemary
Fresh thyme
4 dried bay leaves
2 cups full-bodied red wine from Burgundy
1 cup beef stock
4 tablespoons of tomato paste
2 tablespoons of Worcestershire sauce
Special Equipment
Le Creuset dutch oven.
Large fat separator (4+ cups). It helps to have one with a filter / grate on the top to catch and save the vegetables.
Steps
Step 1 – The Night Before
Pat dry with a paper towel and chop the roast up into 2” pieces.
Liberally apply salt and pepper then dry brine uncovered in a refrigerator overnight.
Step 2 – Brown the meat
Pre heat oven to 325° and assemble the ingredients. (Or to use a Crock Pot, see Substitutions.)
Cook pancetta a dutch oven on the stovetop then remove from the pan and set aside on a plate.
Brown the meat in batches to avoid crowding.
When all sides reach a dark golden brown, remove, set aside with the pancetta and allow them to rest.
Step 3 – While the meat is browning
Peel and chop the yellow onions and mince the garlic, setting them aside into a prep bowl.
Chop the carrots about 1/2“ pieces, slice the portobello mushroom cap into large pieces, peel pearl onions. Set all of these aside in a prep bowl
Prep the herbs, set some of the parsley aside to garnish.
Combine the wine, beef stock, tomato paste, and Worcestershire sauce.
Step 4
Cook the onions and garlic for 8 to 10 minutes until nice and tender.
Add the wine, beef stock, tomato paste and Worcestershire sauce and bring to a boil. Use a wooden spatula to break meat pieces off the bottom of the pot.
If you picked a very lean beef roast, you can skip the fat separation in step 5. Instead, add 2 to 4 tablespoons of all-purpose flour or roux to the yellow onions while they are cooking. That should enable you to remove from the oven and serve directly.
Return the beef to the pot, evenly spacing out the pieces.
Add the carrots, muchrooms, and pearl onions
Working the parsley, thyme, rosemary, and bay leaves down into and around the beef pieces. Consider leaving the herbs on their stems during cooking, just remove them before serving.
Step 5 (Optional to Remove Fat)
When cooking completes, if a thick layer of oil sits on top, use a fat separator to remove. Work very gently to remove the beef as intact as possible.
Carefully pour the hot liquid into a fat separator, saving the vegetables. Discard the fat and return the meat juices with the vegetables.
If desired, thicken with all-purpose flour or roux.
Carefully return the beef pieces and bring to a simmer on the stove top for another 5 to 10 minutes.
Enjoy!
Serve with nutmeg and cream cheese mashed potatoes and green beans sautéed in butter, garlic, and lemon juice.
Pairs nicely with a Côte de Nuits Pinot Noir from Burgundy, France.
Substitutions
On a hot day you can brown the meat and sauté the onions in a large frying pan then combine all ingredients into a crock pot, cook on low for 8 hours.
