This hearty classic French dish requires little effort and makes the most of flavourful (but not tender) cuts of beef. It works equally well with an organic chicken cut into eight pieces.
3 large ox cheeks (or alternatively shin of beef or blade of beef), cut into even 7cm/2¾in pieces (prepped weight = 1.5kg/3lb 5oz)
500ml/18fl oz water or brown chicken stock
2 medium carrots, cut into slices 2cm/¾in thick
1 stalk celery, peeled, cut into slices 1cm/½in thick
1 medium onion, peeled, cut into 8 through the root
9 garlic cloves, peeled, left whole
¼ tsp crushed black peppercorns
1 bouquet garni (a few parsley stalks, 4 bay leaves and 6 sprigs thyme, tied together with kitchen string)
750ml/1¼ pint full-bodied red wine such as Shiraz or Cabernet Sauvignon cooked in a pan until the volume of liquid has reduced by one-third to 500ml/18fl oz, cooled
3 tbsp plain flour
4 pinches sea salt
2 tbsp vegetable oil
2 pinches freshly ground black pepper
200ml/7fl oz red wine, simmered in a pan until the volume of liquid is reduced to 50ml/2fl oz
In a large container, mix the beef pieces, water (or stock), carrots, celery, onion, garlic, peppercorns and bouquet garni together and pour the cooled red wine over them. Cover with cling film, refrigerate and leave to marinate for 24 hours.
Place a colander over a large bowl and tip the beef mixture into it to drain off the marinade. Leave for at least an hour to remove excess liquid. Separate the beef, vegetables and herbs and pat dry with kitchen paper. Reserve the liquid.
Preheat the oven to 200C/400F/Gas 6. Sprinkle the flour on a baking tray and cook in the oven for 8-10 minutes, or until it has turned a wonderful pale brown colour. Set aside.
Reduce the oven temperature to 120C/250F/Gas ½.
Season the beef with the salt. On a high heat, in a large, heavy-based casserole, heat the vegetable oil and colour the beef pieces for four minutes on each side. With a slotted spoon, transfer the beef pieces to a tray and set aside.
Reduce the heat to medium. Add the drained vegetables and herbs to the casserole and cook for five minutes, or until lightly coloured.
Spoon out the fat from the casserole, add the toasted flour, black pepper and reserved liquid and bring to a simmer. The sauce should be smooth and thick enough to coat the back of a spoon.
Add the beef pieces back to the dish, bring the sauce to the boil and skim to remove any impurities. Cover with a lid and cook in the preheated oven for 4½ hours. The stock must not boil as it will become cloudy, the meat would shrink, become tough and the vegetables would disintegrate.
To finish the sauce, add the reduced red wine essence to the sauce to give it freshness and a strong red wine flavour.
For the garnish, over a high heat in a medium non-stick frying pan, heat the butter and cook the diced bacon for one minute. Add the button mushrooms and cook for a further two minutes. Season to taste with salt and pepper.
Mix the diced bacon and button mushrooms into the boeuf bourguignon. Sprinkle with the parsley and croûtons (if using) and serve piping-hot.
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Coq au vin
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