Stay up to date with notifications from The Independent

Notifications can be managed in browser preferences.

FOOD & DRINK: TO COOK WITH REAL BOTTLE

MASTERCLASS 3: BOEUF BOURGUIGNON; Michael Caines, a chef who refuses to give in to adversity, teaches Michael Bateman how to make true Burgundian wine stew

Michael Bateman
Saturday 13 May 1995 23:02 BST
Comments

BOEUF bourguignon, now that's a name to conjure with. Does it bring back memories? It should. This delicate stew of beef in red wine was in its day almost the most popular dinner-party favourite.

But where is it now? Where indeed. Returned whither it came, to Burgundy, no less. It's as uncommon to find it today on a restaurant menu as it is in a private home.

Well, what's so special about beef in red wine? Not much, unless you've been lucky enough to have had the real Burgundian thing. There is something extraordinarily sensual about beef slow-simmered in a perfumed wine made from the unique Pinot Noir grape of Burgundy.

Though this dish has a long history in Burgundy, it was not really introduced to Britain until 1960, by Elizabeth David in her seminal work, French Provincial Cooking. It was promptly given wider currency by Robert Carrier, who included it his Great Dishes of the World (1963), which went on to sell millions around the globe. Then it became part of our national repertoire.

Was there a middle-class family of the day which didn't attempt one version or another? But eventually it died the death of being too fashionable, as every resemblance to the original dish faded. Transplanted so far from its home ground, it sickened and died.

So, to our maestro this week; he is the youthful Michael Caines, chef at Gidleigh Park, in Chagford, Devon. He is not only a very fine cook, he is heroic. The story of his determination and character after he lost his right arm in a car crash was told last month on BBC televison's QED programme. Two weeks after the accident he was back at the stove; and now, six months on, with the help of an artificial arm, he is cooking and managing his kitchen almost as if nothing had happened.

Michael Caines, who's 26, is a local boy (he comes from Exeter) making good. He has packed in a wealth of experience into a short career, first as a graduate of Raymond Blanc, and then chef for a year in Paris with Joel Robuchon, the most highly rated chef in France (a tough guy too, not so much your course of higher education as the school of hard knocks, says Caines). But it was during a spell working with the Michelin three- star chef, Bernard Loiseau, in Burgundy that he encountered the apotheosis of their regional cooking, the true boeuf la bourguignonne.

We are in his kitchen in deepest Devon, the river Teign tumbling past the back door like an express train. Michael Caines is ready to start. There are only two things to watch for, he says: the careful selection of ingredients; and attention to the technique of slow-cooking.

So, the ingredients first. The choice of wine is more important than the cut of beef, he says. It's more than false economy to use a cheap wine; you will completely miss the point of the dish. "And it must be a Burgundy. You can't even use a Bordeaux wine, a good claret, for this dish," he says. "It is too dry, too harsh. It has too much tannin, so it will not harmonise with the meat.

"Burgundy has the right degree of acidity: it clarifies the flavour of the meat. The property of the Pinot Noir grape is that it doesn't overpower the meat. As wines go, it is neutral." While it doesn't have to be a grand cru Burgundy costing £20 or more, it does need to be better than plonk. Caines suggests something around the £6 to £7 mark; he often uses an Australian Pinot Noir (Nanya Greenacre) which has the right perfume of this particular grape.

The meat? "You could use the best rump steak or fine sirloin beef," he says, though this is perhaps because his clients in the restaurant might expect this of him. "Frankly, you get a better flavour with a cheap cut, beef from the shin."

Technique. "Essentially this is country cooking, the slow, sympathetic cooking which encourages the gentle blending of flavours." The French have a word, mijoter, to describe this gentle simmering, the soft pop- pop-pop of tiny bubbles.

Michael Caines chops the meat. Don't season it first, he warns. Salt draws out the juices, makes the beef wet. Using a chef's aluminium roasting tray he now fries the meat in batches in hot groundnut oil - the most odourless of oils. "We call this sealing, but in fact it only partly seals the meat. The main object is to colour and flavour the outside of the meat. The surface caramelises and sweetens, but if you cook the meat too long it turns bitter."

He is careful not to toss the meat around. "If you do that you lose the heat of the pan, and instead of frying the meat you stew it. Cook one side steadily for five minutes, then turn the pieces over with a fork or tongs, and cook the other side a few minutes." Taking the pan off the heat (to avoid the fat catching fire) he puts the bronzed pieces into a colander to drain into a bowl.

When he has finished cooking the meat he deglazes the pan with water (and not wine), scraping up the gooey bits sticking to the surface. It tastes like a beef concentrate. He adds this to the juices draining from the meat.

Now, adding more oil, he cooks quartered shallots for three minutes. He returns the meat to the pan, tosses in the mushrooms, and cooks them for another three minutes - the point at which they go slippery and leach their moisture (which is why chefs call the process "sweating"). "The shallots and mushrooms will extract the harshness from the wines," he explains. Now the wine goes in, a whole bottle and a squirt of port (for sweetness).

He cooks it over a medium heat steadily. "Fast reduction doesn't remove the acidity of the wine. It will take from 10 to 20 minutes to reduce the wine to one third. From this point you can't fail," he promises.

He transfers everything to a tall-sided saucepan to reduce evaporation. Now we're cooking! In goes the meat, the chicken and veal stock, the juices from the bowl, the cream. The golden rule is to have enough liquid to just cover the meat, he says. Then add the herbs, tarragon and thyme, and peppercorns.

For a moment the whole pot is brought vigorously to the boil, and he skims the surface froth. "I don't believe in continuous skimming, you're removing flavour." At once he turns down the heat, and he'll now leave the beef to simmer gently till it's tender. He tastes it. "If it's not good now, it never will be." He adjusts the balance, adding a little salt.

All that is required now is patience. The pot will simmer for 312 hours. At intervals Michael Caines checks it to see it doesn't boil dry; a little water may be added if necessary. After three hours the meat seems to be well done, but an extra half hour ensures complete tenderness.

He removes the stew and drains the juices into a bowl. When the meat is cool enough to handle he separates the pieces, discarding cooked mushroom and shallots. He warms the sauce, checking seasoning, and stirring in a few dice of butter to give it a sheen. He returns the meat to the pan to warm through while he prepares the final ingredients.

He fries some button mushrooms in butter; cooks onions in water and sugar with butter; and lightly fries cubes of blanched smoked bacon. He then adds them to the stew to heat through together.

"In a country dish they'd be cooked together from the beginning," he admits. "But then the bacon gives a crude flavour, and the mushrooms and the onions lose their character."

You mean this is not the true Boeuf la Bourguignonne? "Oh, yes, it is. It is the truest of them all."

BOEUF A LA BOURGUIGNONNE

Serves 6

1kg/2lb shin beef (off the bone) cut into 34in cubes, or trimmings from fillet steak or rump or sirloin

1 bottle passably good Burgundy (or Pinot Noir)

125g/4oz shallots, sliced

500g/1lb mushrooms, sliced

2 tablespoons groundnut oil

2 tablespoons port

2 tablespoons double cream

12litre/1 scant pint chicken stock

1 tablespoon thick veal stock (if available)

3 sprigs tarragon

5 black peppercorns

4 sprigs of thyme

15g/12oz butter

To finish:

250g/12lb baby onions, plunged into boiling water then peeled

250g/12lb small button mushrooms

250g/12lb smoked bacon in small cubes, blanched in boiling water

Heat groundnut oil in a wide pan, and fry the meat over a medium heat in batches (not over-filling the pan) till it is lightly browned on each side. Remove and stand in a colander over a bowl to collect juices.

In same pan, adding a little more oil if necessary, fry the shallots to soften (but not change colour). Return the meat to the pan. Add the mushrooms and fry them (sweat them) for three minutes, stirring.

Add the Burgundy and port, and cook over a steady heat, not too fast, till reduced in volume to one third.

Now pour in the chicken and veal stocks, the juices from straining the meat, the cream, tarragon, thyme and peppercorns, and bring to the boil. Skim immediately.

Turn down the heat to simmering point and cook steadily until the meat is tender (up to 312 hours for shin, 2 hours for fillet). Strain in a colander. When cool, separate the meat, discarding mushrooms and shallots.

Pour the cooking liquid into a pan and cook to reduce to the required texture, adjusting seasonings. Add a few tiny dice of butter to give the sauce a shine.

In a covered pan lightly cook button mushrooms in butter. In another pan cook onions in butter with a little sugar and water till soft; as the water evaporates, the butter and sugar will produce a browning glaze. Plunge bacon in boiling water for a couple of minutes, drain and mop dry. Then lightly fry in a little oil.

To serve: Reheat the meat in the sauce. Arrange on plates and add the garnish of onions, mushrooms and bacon. Serve with a few new potatoes and tender carrots. Serve it, of course, with a good Burgundy. !

Join our commenting forum

Join thought-provoking conversations, follow other Independent readers and see their replies

Comments

Thank you for registering

Please refresh the page or navigate to another page on the site to be automatically logged inPlease refresh your browser to be logged in