Beef Burgundy

Preheat oven to 325F.

Heat a large Dutch oven on medium-high heat and chop bacon into small pieces. Brown bacon in the Dutch oven until all fat is rendered and bacon is almost crisp. Remove bacon with a slotted spoon and pour off most fat into a small heatproof bowl.

While bacon is browning, cut chuck roast into large 3-inch cubes. Salt and pepper the beef to your taste. In the Dutch oven, brown cubes, a few at a time, on all sides. Remove them to a separate large dish.

Add onion and carrots to the Dutch oven and saute for 4 minutes, stirring occasionally. Add salt and pepper to taste. Be gentle with the salt here, the bacon adds salt to the dish, too.

While these are sautéing, mince 2 cloves of garlic and add to the pot along with whole garlic cloves. If you love garlic, go for it. The garlic simmers in the pot and kind of melts into the stew. If you’re not big on garlic or you’re not sure, then take it easy and go with less.

Now is the time to add the mushrooms.

Mix the flour and the poured-off bacon fat together and add to the pot; stir around for a minute, then add wine.

Pour in the chicken broth. It can be either store-bought or homemade. When I make this, I can’t stand the flavor of store-bought beef stock. Chicken stock works great, too.

Add the bacon.

Take the bunch of thyme and rosemary and throw that in the pot. I try to keep it on top so that it’s easy to find. You can wrap it in cheesecloth and tie it up, too. Make sure you are using a cotton kitchen string, and it should be food-safe.

Put a tight-fitting lid on the pot and pop it into the oven for 4 to 5 hours. After 4 hours, begin testing the beef for tenderness. It should come apart with a fork.

I serve this over Gorgonzola Polenta, but mashed potatoes would be wonderful, too.

Note: The last time I made this, I used a stock pot and simmered it on the stove top on low (it took a long time to come to a simmer) all day and it was great. So try this if your pot doesn’t fit easily into your oven.