Beef bourguignon in advance

[knitterbetty]

So I'm thinking beef bourguignon for tuesday, Christmas day. Think I could cook it Sunday? I'm asking the wine board for burgundy recommendations, so far no specific labels. Apparently it's crucial to have a good burgundy~ Comments, anyone?

[chelleyd01]

Search for JFoods post on side items for beef b...the man, the myth, the legend!

[jeanmarieok]

Yes, definitely would be ok to make on Sunday. If you have an awesome recipe, I'd love to hear it - I spent almost 2 years trying different recipes, and adding my own touches, but never came up with the 'perfect' recipe.

[Gail]

Spoke to a French lady about this recipe. She said if you don't marinate the beef chunks for at least 8 hours in burgundy, you're not making beef bourguignon. I tried it and it was wonderful, but not that much. It's easy to do, so why not?
I would check with my wine merchant. I would not cook with an expensive bottle of burgundy as we are looking at big bucks. He could help you with a moderate priced one that I'm sure would be just fine.

[violabratsche]

It'll be even better for having sat. Why are stews always better the next day?
The very best one I ever made, I marinated the beef cubes in the wine that I was using for the stew. Oh, it may have had a little brandy in the marinade as well. It wasn't an overnight soak, but it wasn't a half hour marinate, either.

AnnieG

[carswell]

Like many stews, it's even better made beforehand and reheated -- the flavours meld. If your recipe calls for ingredients like mushrooms, bacon or pearl onions to be added in a separate step toward the end of the braising, prepare it up to that point on Sunday and refrigerate. Then, on Tuesday, reheat and pick up where you left off.

Provided you find a decent-tasting wine with the qualities of a red Burgundy (medium-weight, supple tannins, red fruity, good acid, little oak), you're home free. See www.chowhound.com/topics/372601 for some specific reccos of affordable Pinot Noirs (that's the grape variety red Burgundy is usually made from). I often use an inexpensive Pinot (usually from New Zealand or Tasmania) in my boeuf bourguinon, especially if I'm going to be pouring a red Burgundy at dinner, but other similar wines (Côtes du Rhône, Spanish Grenache/Tempranillo blends, Austrian Blaufrankisch or St-Laurent, Hungarian Kekfrankos) work just as well and often cost less. For more on this subject, see the New York Times article referred to in www.chowhound.com/topics/468784