Preheat oven to 450 F.

In a large lidded pan or dutch oven (mine is 5 quarts) put the bacon into the cold pan and cook on medium low heat. You want to cook low and slow so the bacon has time to render out all it’s fat. Remove with a slotted spoon once it’s gone crispy.

Bring out the chuck meat 30 minutes before you start cooking and season it with 1 tablespoon of Maldon salt. Let sit on paper towels. Pat it dry before cooking so that it can properly brown. Turn the heat on the pan up to medium high and brown off the meat in batches. It took me 3 batches for this amount of meat. Set the meat aside in a bowl.

Keeping the heat on medium high cook the onions and carrots. They will soften and take on some color and will also deglaze the pan. My pan had a thick layer of fond on the bottom and the onions and carrots got it all off. If yours doesn’t come off with the vegetables, then deglaze it when the wine goes in. Now add in the chopped garlic. Cook for 2 minutes or until the garlic is fragrant.

Time to add the bacon and meat back in. Add any juices that have accumulated with the meat. Now add in the flour and give it all a big mix. Put into a 450 degree F oven uncovered for 10 minutes. This will crisp up the flour.

After 10 minutes the dish will have this golden crust along the top of all the meat and vegetables. Remove and sprinkle on the porcini mushroom powder. Add in the tomato paste (diluted with ¼ cup of water), the red wine, beef stock, bay leaves and thyme bundle. Bring it to a boil on the stove top (deglaze your pan if needed) and then transfer it to a 325 degree F oven for 2-2.5 hours. The cooking time depends on the cut of beef you use and how large or small you made the pieces. I like to check after 2 hours so I don’t overcook it. Taste the meat and decide how much longer it needs.

While the meat cooks, I make the pearl onions and mushrooms.

Wine Braised Pearl onions: In a sauté pan, melt 2 tablespoons of butter and when it stops sizzling add in your peeled pearl onions. Cook on a high heat and add in 2 thyme stalks. Move them around so they get color but don’t burn. After 3 minutes add in the ¼ cup of red wine. Reduce the wine to almost nothing and add in the ½ cup of beef broth. Cook that on medium high until the liquid is gone. Remove the thyme stalks and set the onions aside for when you need them.

Mushrooms: Cut the mushrooms in half if they are large, so that all the pieces are around the same size. In a large sauté pan melt 2 tablespoons of butter over high heat. When it stops sizzling, add in the mushrooms. Continue cooking on high heat. You will see the mushrooms immediately soak up all the butter. Then after 2 minutes, they start releasing that butter and liquid and then after 2 more minutes they start going golden brown. Again maintain that high heat and keep moving them around. Once they are golden brown, add in a ¼ teaspoon of salt and give it a final mix. Set them aside for when you need them.

Now this is where Julia and I differ. She strains the meat and vegetables and thickens the stew on the stove top. After many hours cooking, that was too much for me. So rather I added the mushrooms and onions directly to the stew and then reduced it on the stove top. Cook on medium high for about 10 minutes or until it reaches the consistency you like. Stir often so the bottom doesn’t burn. Finish it with quite a bit of finely chopped parsley.

This is a show stopper. Serve it over creamy mash or egg noodles or rice. It’s rich and you can taste the hours of effort put in. Make this for people you love and for whom also love food. As it would be wasted on anyone else.