Julia Child Considered This Classic French Stew One Of The World's Best Beef Dishes

There's nothing like a good beef stew. Every country's got one — Hungarian goulash, Spain's rabo de toro — and they're all worth making at least once. But Julia Child kept coming back to boeuf bourguignon. In "Mastering the Art of French Cooking," she called it "one of the most delicious beef dishes concocted by man." Hard to argue with that. Big chunks of beef, plenty of red wine, smoky bacon, mushrooms, onions — and somehow, it's even better the next day.

Julia liked boeuf bourguignon because it showed off everything she wanted people to learn about French cooking. She taught how to brown beef, braise onions until tender, and bring it all together in a rich sauce. All you needed was patience and doing each step right. It was her way of showing that French food could be both elegant and completely doable at home.

Her version called for high-quality cuts of meat, like sirloin tip or top round. She also preferred the oven over the stovetop due to its more even heating. The simmering time takes between two to three hours, depending on the type of cut. That slow braise turned the beef fork-tender and the sauce rich and glossy. The smell alone could pull people into the kitchen. It was worth every minute it spent in the oven.

Julia Child wanted boeuf bourguignon to be something any home cook could make. She served it over boiled potatoes most often. She also recommended swapping in buttered noodles or even a mound of steamed rice. A handful of buttered peas on the side adds some color and a bit of sweetness. When it came to wine, she preferred full-bodied and young reds — think a Burgundy, a Bordeaux-St. Émilion, a fruity Beaujolais, or a Côtes du Rhône. These can keep their flavor even after hours in the oven.

If you want the spirit of Child's dish without the full commitment, Ina Garten's beef bourguignon recipe streamlines the process. She skips blanching the bacon and flambés cognac into the pot, adding a caramelized sweetness that plays well with the wine.

For a more classical route, Auguste Escoffier's beef bourguignon version cooks the beef as a whole cut rather than chunks — a slower, more formal presentation that rewards patience with juicy slices. And in the years since, the dish has taken countless forms, from instant pot weeknight bourguignon to pot pie interpretations. Bacon can be swapped for pancetta, and you can mix up the sides depending on the season. That's the charm. You can change it up as much as you like, and it still tastes like the French classic it's meant to be.