Bourbon-Braised Beef
Published March 12, 2024
- Total Time
- 7 hours
- Prep Time
- 30 minutes
- Cook Time
- 2½ hours, plus at least 4 hours’ marinating
- Rating
- Notes
- Read community notes
Advertisement
Ingredients
Yield:6 to 8 servings
- ½cup olive oil
- ¼cup lemon juice
- 2tablespoons soy sauce
- 2tablespoons Worcestershire sauce
- Salt and pepper
- 3pounds boneless chuck roast, cut into 8 pieces
- Salt and pepper
- 1teaspoon garlic powder
- 1teaspoon onion powder
- 2tablespoons grapeseed oil (or other vegetable oil that can withstand high heat)
- ⅔cup bourbon
- 1large onion, sliced
- 2celery stalks, sliced
- 2medium carrots, sliced
- 5garlic cloves, peeled and smashed
- 3tablespoons tomato paste
- ¼cup maple syrup
- 3 to 4cups beef stock (amount dependent on the size of your cooking vessel)
- 4thyme sprigs
- 2bay leaves
- Mashed potatoes or steamed rice
For the Marinade
For the Braised Beef
For Serving
Ingredient Substitution Guide
Nutritional analysis per serving (8 servings)
619 calories; 41 grams fat; 12 grams saturated fat; 1 gram trans fat; 22 grams monounsaturated fat; 5 grams polyunsaturated fat; 17 grams carbohydrates; 2 grams dietary fiber; 10 grams sugars; 36 grams protein; 914 milligrams sodium
Note: The information shown is Edamam’s estimate based on available ingredients and preparation. It should not be considered a substitute for a professional nutritionist’s advice.
Powered byPreparation
- Step 1
Make the marinade: In a small bowl, whisk together the olive oil, lemon juice, soy sauce, Worcestershire sauce, ½ teaspoon salt and ½ teaspoon pepper. Prick the beef all over with a fork, add it to a resealable bag (or a bowl in which the beef fits snugly) and pour the marinade on top. Refrigerate for at least 4 hours and up to 12 hours.
- Step 2
When ready to cook, heat the oven to 300 degrees, and ensure the rack is low enough to accommodate a Dutch oven along with its lid. Remove the beef from the marinade. Use paper towels to thoroughly dry the beef. Combine 1 tablespoon salt and 1 teaspoon pepper with the garlic powder and onion powder; pat the seasonings all over the beef.
- Step 3
Heat 2 tablespoons of grapeseed oil in a Dutch oven (or large, heavy skillet with a lid) over medium-high. Swirl the oil to ensure it’s evenly dispersed. Once the oil is hot and shimmering, add the beef in an even layer, working in batches if needed, and cook it until it forms a crust, 1 to 2 minutes. Repeat the process on all sides of the beef. Remove the beef and set aside.
- Step 4
Deglaze the pan by adding ⅓ cup of the bourbon; use a wooden spoon to scrape any browned bits from the bottom of the pan. Add the onion, celery and carrots and cook until softened, 7 to 10 minutes. Stir in the garlic and cook until the garlic is fragrant, 1 to 2 minutes.
- Step 5
Use the wooden spoon to clear some space at the bottom of the pot. Add the tomato paste and cook, stirring frequently to prevent burning, until it caramelizes and emits a very sweet scent, about 2 minutes.
- Step 6
Stir in the maple syrup, then the remaining ⅓ cup bourbon and 2 cups of the beef stock. Arrange the beef in an even layer, then add more beef stock until the beef is about 80 percent covered. Add thyme sprigs and bay leaves and bring to a simmer. Once the liquid is simmering, cover the pot and transfer to the oven.
- Step 7
Cook until the meat is fork tender, 2 to 2 ½ hours. (Be sure to check on the meat while cooking, adding additional stock if needed to maintain the correct level of cooking liquid.) Discard the thyme sprigs and bay leaves, and use a spoon to skim and discard any fat that has risen to the top. (If you’d like the braising liquid to be thicker, transfer the beef to a bowl and cover to keep warm. Bring the liquid to a boil then reduce the heat and simmer briskly until slightly reduced.) Taste to adjust seasoning, adding more salt or pepper if needed. Serve warm, with mashed potatoes or rice.
Private Notes
Leave a Private Note on this recipe and see it here.
Cooking Notes
Ronko
Pour a choice Bourbon in a glass. Rocks or neat, your choice. Forget all that beef, open a good book, take a sip and call out for a nice veggie pizza.
bvg
Am wondering how this would translate to a slow cooker. Thoughts?
Nancy
The carrots won’t survive 2 1/2 hours in the oven. I’d remove them after the sauté step and return them to the pot the last 15 minutes of cooking time.
RoRider
The first 1/3 cup goes into the chef.
mustardlofgren
I think you should provide some sort of warning. 1/3 of a cup of bourbon into a pan that is hot enough to have seared beef produces quite an impressive flame, and if the cook is not prepared for it a serious injury might occur or your upper cabinets might catch on fire.
Richard X
Or use an immersion blender to puree the vegetable into the sauce.
Ariel
The veg is meant for braising, not really for eating like you would a traditional pot roast. If you intend to thicken the braising liquid and serve the meat in its sauce (which you do), any large chunks of vegetables left in there would normally be strained out before thickening.
Sara
"Inexpensive cut." Meanwhile, Publix is charging $10 a pound for chuck
Val
I made this recipe for dinner last night as written and it was one of the most flavorful braised beef dishes I have ever made. Seems like a lot of steps, but actually very easy. I was planning on marinating the chuck for a much longer time but I forgot and wound up marinating for 3.5 hours. I cooked for the full 2.5 hours because of that slip up and the meat was fall apart tender. I skipped putting the carrots in the pot because they would be too mushy and made separately as a side veg.
Frank L. (Boston)
My carrots survived. I did two hours with lid on. Then fifteen minutes with it off. And then 3 minutes of broil. I didn't have to add liquid. The two cups of broth was sufficent to cover 80%, but I added a splash. I did up the carrots to four and halved them and cut in two inch chunks.
Golem
Absolutely wrong. Browning the meat, resulting in a Maillard effect, causes sugars to form adding a complexity to the meat. Definitely brown the meat and well browned.
Richard X
Meat that has been browned does indeed add flavor. Very few good recipes omit the browning step.
Marianna
Do you think I could do the whole thing on the stovetop? I have a Dutch oven.
diane
Substitute for alcohol?
Joie Raw
I think a brisket would be stringy - chuck is probably more tender!
Will Fletcher
Made this last night for a small dinner party and it was a big hit. Next time I'll cut the carrots in larger chunks and also add button mushrooms.
Richard
Very rich and very tasty; I was surprised at how good it was: I followed the recipe as written; Thank you Vallery Lomas!!!
Molly
I made this with venison (wild) in the slow cooker. It was delicious. I didn't reduce the liquid because it was so flavorful already. Of course, some of that would be because the venison is more flavorful than beef. For those in the comments speculating or complaining that the vegetables are cooked to death - yes, they are. There are times when this is okay. They are simply part of the sauce. Puree them if that bothers you so that you can pretend you aren't eating soft vegetables.
Me
Exceptional. I forgot to add the bay leaf or the thyme and it was still wonderful. And the veggies were delicious in it. Other than that, I made it exactly as directed. I’d say the onions dissolved, but the carrots remain as carrots, though mush which I like.
T L Green
Better than most steak.
Jerry
As always when trying a new recipe, I followed instructions, portions to a "T." The result was one of the tastiest chuck roasts I've ever made -- dark, slightly sweet, spicy --perhaps my "go to" recipe for a chuck beef. Check cooking time. My roast was tender in about an hour and a half. Further cooking might have dried out the beef. A lot of fat skimming was necessary before serving. And as someone here suggests, I pureed some of the veggies with an immersion blender.
Dee Ann
I made this is a crock pot and was unimpressed. Maybe it was the cooking method, but the beef seemed dry and and the bourbon had an overly assertive presence.
Dee Ann
Made this in a slow cooker and didn't love the result. As with the oven version, the vegetable sevred only as a seasoning and were too "mushy" after hours in the slow cooker. Beef was tender but seemed to lack flavor despite browning before cooking and following the recipe as written.
S
Cooked 2 1/2lbs meat for three hours in the oven, the last hour with the lid a little bit askew. Delicious!
Dan
Absolutely delicious! I grew up in the South and love the sweet-savory combination. Made the day before. Removed thyme and bay leaves, then refrigerated overnight. The next day, I skimmed fat off and reheated in 300 oven for 1.5 hours. Removed meat and used immersion blender to make incredibly delicious gravy / sauce. Raves all around. With leftovers, cut meat into bite size pieces and added roasted potato and carrot chunks to meat and sauce for fantastic stew. Two great dinners!
jay
Too sweet, so I added some heat.next time I cook it, I will include the heat in the braise.
Sally
A bit on the sweet side, but delicious nonetheless. Would use less maple syrup next time.
Corrie
Cooked this yesterday. The sauce is enticingly delicious, sophisticatedly sweet with deep meaty overtones. The sliced carrots held up well and added color to the dish when served. I did upgrade the meat because the chuck roast looked so full of fat at our local store. Because of the upgrade, I chose to keep the meat roast whole, so much easier for the initial braising! The recipe is a winner!
JudyB
I did the recipe just as written, but added chunks of potatoes and carrots for the last hour. Delicious.
Beth Van den Berg
Wow, this was good! Made as written. Next time, I'll double the meat so there are more leftovers. I pureed the braising liquid and it thickened up beautifully. Served with mashed potatoes and roasted rainbow carrots. I can't wait to make this again.
Private notes are only visible to you.
Advertisement
