Wok Beef Burgundy

This beef Burgundy trades the traditional Dutch oven for a wok, and the results are surprisingly great. The wok’s wide surface area gives you better browning on the beef cubes, and the sloped sides make it easy to push finished pieces aside while you sear the next batch.

Blanching the pearl onions first in the wok softens them just enough that they hold their shape through the long braise instead of dissolving into the sauce. Then the wok gets dried, the beef gets dusted in flour and browned in batches, and everything comes together with red wine, beef stock, mushrooms, and herbs.

The flour dusting on the beef serves double duty: it creates a seared crust on each cube and thickens the wine sauce as it simmers. After 90 minutes of low, covered simmering, you get fork-tender meat in a rich, glossy burgundy sauce.

Pro Tips

• Brown the beef in small batches of 6 to 8 cubes. Overcrowding the wok drops the temperature and you steam the meat instead of searing it.
• Use a full-bodied red wine you’d actually drink. Cooking concentrates the flavors, so cheap wine tastes worse, not better.
• Serve over egg noodles, mashed potatoes, or thick slices of toasted buttered bread to soak up the sauce.

Variations

• Add diced carrots and celery with the onions and garlic for a heartier stew.
• Stir in a tablespoon of tomato paste with the wine for a deeper, richer sauce.
• Use a Pinot Noir from Burgundy for the most authentic flavor, though any dry red works.