# Boeuf Bourguignon. Meh. **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [October 25, 2009, 2:07am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/boeuf-bourguignon-meh/515022 "2009-10-25T02:07:40Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![freckafree](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/freckafree/32/3050_2.png) [@freckafree](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/freckafree)\ **Post date:** [October 25, 2009, 2:07am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/boeuf-bourguignon-meh/515022/1 "2009-10-25T02:07:40Z")
I’ve owned both volumes of _Mastering the Art of French Cooking_ for a coon’s age, but I’d never made boeuf bourguignon. When the\* Julie and Julia\* fever was at its peak, I heard many people raving about boeuf bourguignon as the first thing they’d ever made from _Mastering_. So I made it today. Time-consuming but not difficult. My husband and son found it ambrosial. “The meat just melts in your mouth!” I found it to be…beef cooked until is was falling apart and icky. I don’t like pot roast. I don’t like beef barbecue. I like beef stew, if the meat isn’t cooked to death. This was cooked to death. I would make this again and do everything the same, except, before the final combining of beef, bacon, onions and mushrooms with that yummy sauce, I’d chuck the stewed beef and throw in an equivalent amount of grilled steak, cooked rare and cubed. Now THAT would be awesome. 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![Sage\_Rat](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/sage_rat/32/399_2.png) [@Sage\_Rat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sage_Rat)\ **Post date:** [October 25, 2009, 2:15am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/boeuf-bourguignon-meh/515022/2 "2009-10-25T02:15:48Z")
My family tried it. To me it seemed like a beef pot pie minus the pie. I would have preferred a regular beef pot pie. None of us were impressed. My uncle’s family also tried it. Same result, they weren’t impressed. ---
**Author:** ![HongKongFooey](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/c4cdca/32.png) [@HongKongFooey](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/HongKongFooey)\ **Post date:** [October 25, 2009, 2:21am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/boeuf-bourguignon-meh/515022/3 "2009-10-25T02:21:57Z")
I love it. you guys are just weird. 😛 Naw, I think goes in the different strokes category. My wife doesn’t like it either because she doesn’t like the taste of wine in food. I don’t use a recipe to make it but everything gets browned and then reduce, reduce, reduce. ---
**Author:** ![Zsofia](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/7bcc69/32.png) [@Zsofia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Zsofia)\ **Post date:** [October 25, 2009, 2:48am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/boeuf-bourguignon-meh/515022/4 "2009-10-25T02:48:18Z")
I love it, myself, but I love fall-apart beef and can’t stand beef you need a knife for in my stews. Takes all kinds, I guess. ---
**Author:** ![Omniscient](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/omniscient/32/3290_2.png) [@Omniscient](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Omniscient)\ **Post date:** [October 25, 2009, 2:58am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/boeuf-bourguignon-meh/515022/5 "2009-10-25T02:58:14Z")
> [@freckafree](#): > > I don’t like pot roast. I don’t like beef barbecue. I like beef stew, if the meat isn’t cooked to death. This was cooked to death. 😕 First off beef stew that isn’t cooked to death? The definition of stew is to cook low and slow for a long period of time. If you don’t like any beef dishes that aren’t rare steak why would you be surprised that this dish isn’t for you? Should I start a thread complaining about how gross a tuna maki is and then off-handed mention that “I hate raw fish, seared ahi tuna and sticky rice…but tuna salad is ok”. :rolleyes: ---
**Author:** ![freckafree](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/freckafree/32/3050_2.png) [@freckafree](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/freckafree)\ **Post date:** [October 25, 2009, 3:18am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/boeuf-bourguignon-meh/515022/6 "2009-10-25T03:18:11Z")
> [@Omniscient](#): > > 😕 > > First off beef stew that isn’t cooked to death? The definition of stew is to cook low and slow for a long period of time. > > If you don’t like any beef dishes that aren’t rare steak why would you be surprised that this dish isn’t for you? > > Should I start a thread complaining about how gross a tuna maki is and then off-handed mention that “I hate raw fish, seared ahi tuna and sticky rice…but tuna salad is ok”. > > :rolleyes: You know, I actually did have a clue that a recipe that called for a slow simmering of beef for 3-4 hours was not going to yield the same result as a steak grilled three minutes per side. However, I sometimes cook for the other people in my household that do like long-simmered beef. My mistake, I reckon, for thinking that it would be fun to post a whimsical thread about the disconnect between my cooking boeuf bourguignon when I like my beef cooked rare. ---
**Author:** ![Omniscient](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/omniscient/32/3290_2.png) [@Omniscient](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Omniscient)\ **Post date:** [October 25, 2009, 3:54am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/boeuf-bourguignon-meh/515022/7 "2009-10-25T03:54:13Z")
> [@freckafree](#): > > You know, I actually did have a clue that a recipe that called for a slow simmering of beef for 3-4 hours was not going to yield the same result as a steak grilled three minutes per side. However, I sometimes cook for the other people in my household that do like long-simmered beef. > > My mistake, I reckon, for thinking that it would be fun to post a whimsical thread about the disconnect between my cooking boeuf bourguignon when I like my beef cooked rare. I think you flew past whimsical and smashed right into snarky. I want some beef stew now though, so I suppose it’s not a total loss. ---
**Author:** ![freckafree](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/freckafree/32/3050_2.png) [@freckafree](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/freckafree)\ **Post date:** [October 25, 2009, 4:07am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/boeuf-bourguignon-meh/515022/8 "2009-10-25T04:07:48Z")
> [@Omniscient](#): > > I think you flew past whimsical and smashed right into snarky. > > I want some beef stew now though, so I suppose it’s not a total loss. Can I send you the leftovers??? 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![dropzone](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dropzone/32/7515_2.png) [@dropzone](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dropzone)\ **Post date:** [October 25, 2009, 4:38am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/boeuf-bourguignon-meh/515022/9 "2009-10-25T04:38:30Z")
> [@freckafree](#): > > I found it to be…beef cooked until is was falling apart and icky. I don’t like pot roast. I don’t like beef barbecue. I like beef stew, if the meat isn’t cooked to death. This was cooked to death. Welcome to the Art of British Cooking. ---
**Author:** ![Omniscient](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/omniscient/32/3290_2.png) [@Omniscient](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Omniscient)\ **Post date:** [October 25, 2009, 5:19am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/boeuf-bourguignon-meh/515022/10 "2009-10-25T05:19:41Z")
> [@freckafree](#): > > Can I send you the leftovers??? 🙂 Yes, yes you can… ---
**Author:** ![pulykamell](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pulykamell/32/3166_2.png) [@pulykamell](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pulykamell)\ **Post date:** [October 25, 2009, 6:52am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/boeuf-bourguignon-meh/515022/11 "2009-10-25T06:52:53Z")
> [@Zsofia](#): > > I love it, myself, but I love fall-apart beef and can’t stand beef you need a knife for in my stews. Takes all kinds, I guess. Yeah, stewed beef should be of the fork-tender variety. Steaks should be medium rare (for me.) A stew that’s cooked to a steak level of doneness just doesn’t work. The type of meat involved is just chewy and girstly unless you cook it for hours at a low temp, to the point where the collagen breaks down into gelatin. (So I say, who made Hungarian beef stew, aka porkolt/goulsh, for dinner.) ---
**Author:** ![silenus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/silenus/32/166_2.png) [@silenus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/silenus)\ **Post date:** [October 25, 2009, 2:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/boeuf-bourguignon-meh/515022/12 "2009-10-25T14:58:10Z")
> [@Zsofia](#): > > I love it, myself, but I love fall-apart beef and can’t stand beef you need a knife for in my stews. Takes all kinds, I guess. It doesn’t take all kinds. We just **have** all kinds! 😃 I love the stuff myself. ---
**Author:** ![Chefguy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chefguy/32/138_2.png) [@Chefguy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chefguy)\ **Post date:** [October 26, 2009, 12:43am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/boeuf-bourguignon-meh/515022/13 "2009-10-26T00:43:23Z")
Nothing to do with the OP, but we were inspired to make Hungarian mushroom soup today. Wonderful, creamy stuff with dill and smoked Spanish paprika and four or five types of shrooms and sour cream. Also made a loaf of herb bread to eat with it. Now that’s rainy-day fall food. ---
**Author:** ![chique](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/4491bb/32.png) [@chique](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/chique)\ **Post date:** [October 26, 2009, 2:07am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/boeuf-bourguignon-meh/515022/14 "2009-10-26T02:07:16Z")
> [@Chefguy](#): > > Nothing to do with the OP, but we were inspired to make Hungarian mushroom soup today. Wonderful, creamy stuff with dill and smoked Spanish paprika and four or five types of shrooms and sour cream. Also made a loaf of herb bread to eat with it. Now that’s rainy-day fall food. I think a new rule needs to be instituted in CS which states that one is not allowed to post about “this thing I made the other day” without including the recipe along with it. 😉 ---
**Author:** ![HongKongFooey](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/c4cdca/32.png) [@HongKongFooey](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/HongKongFooey)\ **Post date:** [October 27, 2009, 8:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/boeuf-bourguignon-meh/515022/15 "2009-10-27T20:25:50Z")
> [@freckafree](#): > > I would make this again and do everything the same, except, before the final combining of beef, bacon, onions and mushrooms with that yummy sauce, I’d chuck the stewed beef and throw in an equivalent amount of grilled steak, cooked rare and cubed. Now THAT would be awesome. 🙂 I was searching around today for a good authentic stroganoff recipe and it struck me that [this one is pretty similar to what you describe wanting to make here](http://answers.yahoo.com/question/index?qid=20071129183532AA6ALLb) and thought I’d share it just in case. I don’t know if’s close to being authentic stroganoff or not but it tastes good. ---
**Author:** ![freckafree](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/freckafree/32/3050_2.png) [@freckafree](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/freckafree)\ **Post date:** [October 27, 2009, 8:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/boeuf-bourguignon-meh/515022/16 "2009-10-27T20:32:13Z")
> [@HongKongFooey](#): > > I was searching around today for a good authentic stroganoff recipe and it struck me that [this one is pretty similar to what you describe wanting to make here](http://answers.yahoo.com/question/index?qid=20071129183532AA6ALLb) and thought I’d share it just in case. I don’t know if’s close to being authentic stroganoff or not but it tastes good. That does sound good! And it reminded me that Julia Child’s “Fast Saute of Beef” from _The Way to Cook_ is kinda like what I described, too. ---
**Author:** ![Exapno\_Mapcase](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/exapno_mapcase/32/1051_2.png) [@Exapno\_Mapcase](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Exapno_Mapcase)\ **Post date:** [October 30, 2009, 3:37am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/boeuf-bourguignon-meh/515022/17 "2009-10-30T03:37:13Z")
I’m another one who loves falling apart beef and another one who totally missed any soupçon of whimsicality in your OP. To make up for it why don’t you make another delicious batch and send it along to everybody who didn’t get the joke? 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![StGermain](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/stgermain/32/2868_2.png) [@StGermain](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/StGermain)\ **Post date:** [October 30, 2009, 1:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/boeuf-bourguignon-meh/515022/18 "2009-10-30T13:00:27Z")
I made a easy stroganoff this week by cubing and browning beef and cooking in the pressure cooker in beef stock for 15 minutes with onion, chive and garlic. After the pressure cook, when the beef is tender, add 16 ounces of cream cheese. simmer until the cream cheese is well incorporated, not just melty. Serve over egg noodles. Yum. and less than 30 minutes from start to finish. StG ---
**Author:** ![Tom\_Tildrum](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/e95f7d/32.png) [@Tom\_Tildrum](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tom_Tildrum)\ **Post date:** [October 30, 2009, 3:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/boeuf-bourguignon-meh/515022/19 "2009-10-30T15:08:22Z")
Boeuf Bourguignon was Clark Kent’s favorite dish, IIRC. ---
**Author:** ![E-Sabbath](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/e19adc/32.png) [@E-Sabbath](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/E-Sabbath)\ **Post date:** [October 30, 2009, 8:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/boeuf-bourguignon-meh/515022/20 "2009-10-30T20:19:00Z")
Needs ketchup, Tom. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/boeuf-bourguignon-meh/515022.md?page=2)