FOOD NEWS
Give Beef Bourguignon More Flavor With An Easy Meat Swap
BY Autumn Swiers
Beef bourguignon typically uses tender beef chunks and crispy bacon, but swapping the bacon for other cured pork like pancetta or guanciale can yield a richer, more complex flavor.
Pancetta is salt-cured pork belly, meaning it comes from the same part of the pig as bacon but isn't smoked. It features a strong pork-forward flavor enhanced by a hefty saltiness.
Guanciale is cured, spiced, dried pork jowl processed the same way as pancetta, but from a fattier cut of meat, which can help you render the beef and veggies in your bourguignon.
To start, sauté cubes of pancetta or guanciale in the bottom of a Dutch oven or large pot, gently rendering off the fat. Then, remove the cubes from the pot using a slotted spoon.
Brown the beef chunks in all that flavorful rendered fat. Lastly, add the veggies, broth, and cooked pancetta or guanciale on top to assemble the slow-cooking stew.