Burgundy Beef Bourguignon.
This is a regional and iconic specialty dish.
It tells the story of Burgundy, France, which has been a renowned wine region since ancient Roman times.
In this dish, the two main ingredients are:
Burgundy's famous wine and the local Charolais cattle!
Hmm!
It's no exaggeration to say.
Burgundy is definitely the most dazzling pearl in the crown of French wine.
The unique calcareous clay and rocks, refined by history, have brewed a rich and robust red wine, which is obviously a perfect match for stewing with beef!
The Charolais cattle is one of the best cattle breeds in France, originating from the Charolais and Nièvre regions in the central-west to southeast.
This type of cattle usually has white fur.
Its body is tall and strong, with a wide forehead, short face, and short, fleshy neck, capable of producing a large amount of high-quality meat with low fat content!
…
Although there are countless recipes for Burgundy Beef Bourguignon now, each with its own variations.
However, most food experts still prefer to use beef shoulder, as only this part of the meat is well-muscled, rich in collagen, and has a good balance of fat and lean meat.
Moreover, the meat quality will slowly decompose during long stewing, releasing collagen and making the soup richer.
At this moment, Tadokoro Megumi was preparing various ingredients according to the cooking method provided by Shaper Instructor.
Da da da!
Da da da!
Then, she used skilled knife work.
She cut onions, carrots, and celery into chunks, and beef into sections for later use.
Next, she put the cut beef, salt, bay leaves, star anise, cinnamon, black peppercorns, and other ingredients into a container, then poured in red wine to soak and marinate.
After marinating, she removed the beef, drained it, and wrapped it in kitchen paper to press and absorb the excess liquid from the surface of the beef.
Finally, she placed the prepared beef into a pan and seared it until both sides were browned.
Then, she poured the cut vegetables and seasonings into a clay pot, stir-fried them briefly with olive oil, then evenly spread the seared beef, poured in red wine, Chivas, and a small amount…
No!
It was a large amount!
Tadokoro Megumi: (⊙o⊙)
…
"Oh no."
"I accidentally poured the entire bottle of salt…"
Seeing the crystal-clear beef chunks covered in salt, she could only hold her head in frustration, almost having a nervous breakdown from the sight.
Originally, this dish only needed to be completed meticulously according to the cooking method on the whiteboard.
Coupled with Sosuke's previous guidance, theoretically, Tadokoro Megumi should have been at ease with this French dish!
And indeed, that was the case.
She had completed all the previous tasks excellently.
The problem, however, arose at the most crucial moment when she accidentally made a fatal mistake again!
"What should I do?"
"What should I do?"
"If I start over, I'm afraid there really won't be enough time."
"But… with so much salt added, if I follow the recipe provided by Shaper Instructor, it will definitely fail!"
Thinking of this, she hurriedly tried to remove the excessive salt grains from the beef, but the more flustered she became, the more chaotic things got.
She was very afraid that she would really be expelled from Totsuki for getting an E-grade evaluation this time, and also afraid of disappointing Sosuke and the expectations of her hometown folks.
However, she was ultimately desperate!
How could such a mistake possibly be salvaged?
"Hmm? It seems someone has encountered a problem?"
On the podium, Shaper, who was observing the students' every move, inadvertently saw the bewildered Tadokoro Megumi and couldn't help but be stunned.
…
"Sosuke's Restaurant."
"You… you said… in this situation, if it were you, what would you do?"
Extremely desperate, Tadokoro Megumi finally closed her eyes, she suppressed the tears that were about to fall, and muttered tremblingly.
"Tadokoro Megumi, do you remember what I told you at the Izakaya?"
"If, in a tense situation, you accidentally sprinkle an entire bottle of salt on the beef, there's actually a way to modify it, for example…"
At this moment, a magnetic voice appeared in her mind.
Then, various scenes of her time with Sosuke played out like movie scenes in her mind.
"Huh? Could it be…"
Opening her hazy bright eyes, Tadokoro Megumi came back to her senses.
She seemed to grasp a lifeline, rekindling hope and regaining confidence.
Slap!
A loud sound.
It was her hitting her cheeks hard with both hands.
"Good! Then I'll use this method."
Finally, completely sober and calm, Tadokoro Megumi continued to make the Burgundy Beef Bourguignon!
And her entire process from panic, to despair, and then to regaining confidence, was all seen by Shaper.
"How interesting. To be able to quickly change one's mindset and calmly make adjustments when facing difficulties. This is a quality an excellent chef should possess…"
"I suppose this assessment won't disappoint me that much!"
…
In traditional recipes.
The time for soaking beef in red wine is 12 hours or more.
The reason for such a long time is that only when the beef is thoroughly infused with the flavors of spices and red wine can it be more effective during stewing.
Of course, under the wave of the fast-food era, if a dish takes too long, it will have no competitiveness in the market at all.
Therefore, Burgundy Beef Bourguignon has also been improved by countless chefs in the long river of history.
Now, from preparing ingredients to the final product, it generally only takes about 2 hours.
Add the bouquet garni, two cloves of garlic, to the red wine beef High Soup placed aside, then add tomatoes.
Then, place the pot in a preheated oven and bake for 1 hour, as only slow stewing can completely lock in the internal moisture.
And the red wine will slowly evaporate during the stewing process, completely integrating into the soup base.
Then, cook the freshly prepared vegetables, plate them, pour the red wine sauce over them, and sprinkle a little parsley for added flavor.
Thus, the sauce is completely finished!
"This method, I remember it seems to be from Julia Child?"
After watching Tadokoro Megumi's entire process of making the sauce, Shaper fell into deep thought.
In Tadokoro Megumi, he saw another big shot in the French culinary world.
She is a famous American culinary writer who once studied French cooking in Paris.
Due to her love for Burgundy Beef Bourguignon, in 1963, she demonstrated in detail how to cook "Burgundy Beef Bourguignon" in the WGBH public television series "The French Chef."
Thereafter, once the program aired, this dish caused a sensation and was regarded by countless people as one of the classic representatives of French cuisine.
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