Beef Bourguignon with flank steaks
- Preparation 1 h
- Cooking 2 h 40 min
- Servings 4 to 6
- Freezing Absolutely
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🥩 This is not a traditional beef bourguignon
Might as well say it right away. I have always loved beef bourguignon, the real one, the chuck roast version that takes its sweet time. One day I figured it would taste even better with flank steak. Flank is an absolutely incredible cut. Taste was the whole reason, and taste is exactly what I got. This is not a mistake. If you landed here after reading three traditional beef bourguignon recipes that all name the same cut, you are still in the right place. Same sauce, same patience, meat with more to say.
🍺 The red ale deglaze, the one thing nobody else does
The bottom of the pot gets deglazed with red ale. Not wine, not broth. I have always loved what beer brings to food, so putting it in a braise just makes sense to me. Half a cup is all it takes to lift everything that stuck to the bottom during the oven step.
The wine stays. A full bottle, 750 ml of light red Burgundy. If you want a beef bourguignon without wine, the swap is simple: replace the bottle with the same amount of red ale, 750 ml, and leave the broth alone. That is an option, not the recipe.
🔥 Oven-toasted flour, and the slow cooker route
Before the braise, the floured beef spends ten minutes in a 450°F oven, uncovered. It adds real depth, a nutty flavour, and the sauce coats better at the end. Nobody else does this, and it is probably the step that changes the result the most. Then the oven drops to 325°F for 1 hour 40. And if you would rather make it a slow cooker beef bourguignon, it adapts easily: low for 8 hours.
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🥩 Cut the flank steak big
Generous cubes. Small ones shred before the two hours are up and you lose the texture.
🔥 Toasting the flour in the oven, the step nobody takes
Ten minutes at 450°F, uncovered, on beef that is already floured. It is not only about thickening. The flour actually toasts, and that brings a nutty depth a beurre manié stirred in at the end will never give you.
The detail that matters: stir halfway through. Five minutes, stir, five more. Otherwise the top toasts and the bottom stays raw.
That is also the moment the pot comes out screaming hot to meet the red ale. The bottom is covered in browned bits, the beer lifts them in three seconds, and that is where the sauce really starts.
🍺 The wine stays, and so does the beer
Half a cup of red ale to deglaze, a full bottle of light red to braise. Both, not one or the other. If you want the wine out, swap the bottle for 750 ml of red ale and leave the broth as is. You lose the acidity of the wine, you gain malt. It is good, it is different.
🍲 Slow cooker version
Brown the pancetta and the meat in a skillet, toast the flour in the oven, deglaze with the beer, then move everything to the slow cooker with the wine, the broth and the aromatics. Low for 8 hours is the setting that always works. The sautéed mushrooms and pearl onions go in for the last 30 minutes.
🧅 Peeling 350 g of pearl onions without losing your afternoon
Cut the root end off. Bring a small pot of water to a boil and blanch them for 1 minute. Drain in a strainer, rinse under cold water, drain again. Then squeeze the top and the onion slides right out.
❄️ It is better the next day
Let it cool, refrigerate overnight, reheat gently the following day. The flavours settle and the sauce rounds out. It will not dry out: there is a lot of liquid in this dish, and reheating it in its own liquid is exactly the point. Never dry, never at a hard boil.
✅ What to serve with my beef bourguignon with flank steak?
Anything that mops up sauce. Rice is the everyday version, and it is what the recipe says. When I have people over I go for aligot, French cheesy mashed potatoes or Boursin garlic and herb mashed potatoes. A no knead focaccia bread torn into big pieces does the job too, so does a cheesy garlic bread, and perfectly crispy baby potatoes hold their own against the sauce. The chopped parsley at the end is not decoration either, it is the shot of freshness this dish needs. And if you want the traditional version, the one with chuck roast braised three and a half hours in the oven, it’s right here: my beef bourguignon recipe.
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Ingredients for the beef Bourguignon with flank steaks
- 250 g pancetta (about 3 slices 1 cm thick), cut into cubes
- Olive oil
- 1 kg beef flank steak, cut into large cubes
- 1 Spanish onion, finely chopped
- 5 large Nantes carrots, cut in half lengthwise then into thick slices
- 3 garlic cloves, finely chopped
- 2 tablespoons (30 ml) flour
- 1/2 cup (125 ml) red ale
- 1 bottle (750 ml) light red Burgundy wine
- 2 large bay leaves
- 1 tablespoon (15 ml) fresh thyme
- 1 tablespoon (15 ml) tomato paste with herbs
- About 2 cups (500 ml) beef broth
- 2 tablespoons (30 ml) butter
- 1 tablespoon (15 ml) olive oil
- 350 g pearl onions, peeled
- 227 g whole mini white mushrooms
- A good handful of fresh parsley, finely chopped + a little more to serve
- Salt and freshly ground pepper
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Preparation
- In an enamelled cast iron pot (ovenproof) over medium heat, add the pancetta and a drizzle of olive oil. Cook for 3 to 4 minutes to brown it and render the fat. Remove the pancetta with a slotted spoon (keep the fat in the pot) and set aside in a bowl.
- Crank the heat to medium-high. Cook the meat a small amount at a time, 5 to 6 minutes total, until golden brown on all sides. Season generously with salt and pepper and add oil as needed. Set aside on a plate.
- Add the onion, the carrots and a drizzle of olive oil, then cook for 2 to 3 minutes while stirring.
- Add the garlic and keep cooking for 2 minutes.
- Preheat the oven to 450°F (230°C).
- Return the beef to the pot and sprinkle with the flour. Stir to coat, then place in the oven, uncovered, and cook for 5 minutes. Stir and cook for another 5 minutes.
- Preheat the oven to 325°F (160°C).
- Remove from the oven and deglaze with the red ale. Scrape the bottom thoroughly to get all the flavour! Add the wine, bay leaves, thyme, tomato paste, pancetta, then enough beef broth to cover the meat. Season with salt and pepper and mix well.
- Cover and place in the oven. Cook for 1 hour 40, stirring from time to time.
- When there is about 15 minutes left, heat a large skillet over high heat. Add the butter and the olive oil and melt while stirring. When the butter starts to bubble, add the mushrooms and pearl onions, then season generously with salt and pepper. Sauté for 4 to 5 minutes, stirring, to brown everything.
- Remove from the heat, add the fresh parsley and stir. Pour into the baking dish, mix and keep cooking in the oven for 20 minutes. Serve over rice and garnish with fresh parsley!
Mine comes down to two things, and neither of them is the wine. First, toasting the flour in a 450°F oven for 10 minutes before braising. The flour does more than thicken, it turns nutty and the sauce gets deeper. Second, the red ale deglaze, half a cup poured onto a screaming hot pot. The rest is patience: 1 hour 40 at 325°F, covered, never boiling.
Beef stew is the whole family of dishes: beef, broth, vegetables, low and slow. Beef bourguignon is one specific member of that family, from Burgundy, built on red wine, lardons or pancetta, pearl onions and mushrooms. Take the wine out and you are back to a beef stew. That is the real dividing line. My version keeps the wine and the garnish, and adds a red ale deglaze plus flank steak instead of chuck, so it sits firmly on the bourguignon side of the fence even if it is not the textbook one.
Say it “boof boor-gee-nyon”. The g is soft, the ui sounds like “gee”, and the final gnon is the same sound as the middle of “onion”. Nobody says the last n hard. Fancy name, completely approachable dish, and honestly nobody at your table is going to grade you on it.
Almost every recipe will tell you chuck roast, blade roast or shank, and they are not wrong: those cuts carry collagen that melts over a long braise. I use flank steak, and I do it on purpose. It has more flavour than chuck and it turns tender after two hours in the oven. Cut it into large cubes, not small ones, or it shreds. Brown it in small batches so it takes on colour instead of steaming in the pot.
Anything that soaks up sauce. Rice is what the recipe calls for and what I make on a weeknight. For company, aligot or Boursin garlic and herb mashed potatoes. Bread works just as well, whether it is a no knead focaccia or a cheesy garlic bread. And if long beer braises are your thing, my beef short ribs with Raftman beer play in the same league.
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