The Ideal Cut Of Meat For Beef Bourguignon, According To Anthony Bourdain

Beef bourguignon has been intertwined with French gastronomy for generations. Generally translated to "in the style of Burgundy," the rich stew essentially revolves around slow cooking meat in red wine with bacon, mushrooms, and pearl onions. Many moons ago, the dish was reserved for cheap, tough cuts of meat, making it popular amongst peasant households. Nowadays, it's a treasured, restaurant-worthy meal beloved by chefs around the world, including the late Anthony Bourdain.

Bourdain wasn't too particular about his beef bourguignon. Cheap wine was fine as long as it was from burgundy, the carrots could be tossed in at any time, and there wasn't any fancy knife work needed. But the meat? According to him, beef neck worked best. While preparing a traditional beef bourguignon in an episode of "No Reservations," Bourdain said, "Basic rule of stewing: Filet mignon, sirloin — more expensive is not always better when you're stewing ... In fact, the reverse is often true. You want fatty." 

Beef neck contains a lot of collagen, which breaks down into gelatin when cooked slowly over a long period of time. The gelatin tenderizes the meat and gives sauces a rich flavor and thicker body, resulting in a much better stew. As Bourdain put it, "The ideal piece of meat for beef bourguignon would be neck because there's a lot of fat in there ... That's all going to melt in all sorts of like buttery, tasty, wonderfulness."

Beef neck is quite affordable and, when cooked right, it has an enjoyably intense, beefy flavor and pull-apart texture. If you can't find it, Anthony Bourdain also recommended using what he called "chicken steaks," which come from the same muscle as flat iron steaks — the cow's shoulder. Chuck roast works too. You just want to avoid using lean cuts like filet mignon, as they will dry out when cooked for so long.

When you have your meat, Bourdain advised you cut it into decent sized pieces around the same size. You don't need to be too precise, but as Bourdain said, "The bigger the hunk the longer you have to stew it." He also seasoned the meat with sea salt and pepper before searing it, making sure there was plenty of room in the pan. Like many chefs, Bourdain liked to pour the grease out of his pan when the meat was browned, but he left the scraps on the bottom so that the flavors would infuse again. 

Wine from Burgundy is amongst the most expensive in the world, but you don't need to go crazy — Bourdain said jugged or boxed burgundy would do in a pinch. "You're cooking off most of the alcohol and you're infusing it with a lot of flavors, so s*** doesn't have to be that great," he explained. Bourdain left his beef bourguignon to simmer for hours until the sauce was heavily reduced and the meat was tender. This extra step will keep your beef bourguignon perfectly textured.