The holidays were wonderful here, but I now find that I want a break from poultry and ham. Beef, I’m looking at you.
If you’ve ever made Julia Child’s Beef Bourguignon, you know how incredibly, luxuriously, good it really is. You also know how long it takes and how many dishes it dirties up. I’ll go all out and make Julia’s version at least once every fall or winter, and can even be persuaded to make it for a party, but realistically that’s about it. Still, I want that winey, savory, meaty, saucy, goodness on a more regular basis and so, evidently, do my people.
So I make Meatballs in Burgundy Mushroom Sauce instead. You can get so much of that rich bourguignon flavor without the time commitment. We love them and I can have this on the table inside an hour. Mostly I serve these meatballs over mashed potatoes, but if I’m too lazy to peel potatoes, we may have them over egg noodles. Or I might even ladle up a bowlful of meatballs with a big toasty hunk of commercial sourdough bread to sop up the sauce. I also really like them served over creamy mashed cauliflower. (Remember back when we all went on the Atkins Diet? Cauliflower Fauxtatoes? With the cream cheese? I still make that!) Any which way, while this recipe isn’t quite Julia’s bourguignon–it’s its own tasty thing–it also doesn’t taste as easy to make as it really is.
I am a big advocate of poached rather than fried or baked meatballs, but in this recipe, I broil the meatballs briefly first so they render most of their fat. It’s fast, and we can add them to the sauce and not worry about defatting that later. And the meatballs benefit from finishing their cooking in the beautiful burgundy sauce. This recipe is really pretty quick and very easy. As usual, it probably takes me longer to explain than it does for you to do it.
Meatballs in Burgundy Mushroom Sauce
Ingredients
- 1 1/2 lbs. ground chuck
- Salt, pepper, onion powder, and garlic powder, all to taste
- 3 T. butter
- 8 oz. oz. sliced fresh mushrooms--any kind
- 3 T. flour
- 2 T. tomato paste
- 3/4 cup dry red wine--use any dry red you like to drink
- 2 cups beef stock or 2 cans consommé (beef base or bouillon and water is also fine)
- 1 t. Herbes de Provence*
- Salt and black pepper to taste
- 2 T. cornstarch mixed with 2 T. water, optional
Instructions
- Move an oven rack to the highest position in your oven, and preheat the broiler. Cover a sheet pan with foil and grease lightly. Take the wrapper off the package of ground chuck and season the top side of the ground meat generously with salt, pepper, onion powder, and garlic powder. Flip the meat over and season that side, too. With wet hands and a light touch, form the beef into golf ball-sized meatballs, handling them only enough to form nice spheres. Put the meatballs on the sheet pan not touching each other. Run the meatballs under the hot broiler for 7 or 8 minutes. Remove from the oven and set aside.
- Meanwhile, melt the butter in a Dutch oven and add the mushrooms and a pinch of salt. Sauté the mushrooms until they’re limp and then add the flour. Stir for a minute or two. Add the tomato paste. Cook, stirring, for another minute or two as the raw taste cooks off. Add the wine and cook, stirring and scraping the bottom of the pan clean, for 2 or 3 minutes. Stir in the beef stock, the Herbes de Provence, ½ t. each salt and ground pepper. Bring the sauce to a simmer, turn the heat to low and add the meatballs.
- Cook uncovered for about 15 minutes. If you want a thicker sauce--and I always do--stir together 2 T. of cornstarch and 2 T. cold tap water in a small bowl. Stir this slurry into the meatballs and sauce and turn the heat to medium. Taste for salt and pepper and adjust if needed. When the sauce begins to bubble it will thicken quickly. As soon as it’s thick, turn the heat off and serve.
Made the Meatballs with Mushroom Burgundy sauce. Was superb! Especially this time of year warm and comforting. 😍
I’m so glad you enjoyed them!
Made this for a romantic dinner and my guy loved it. So much he ask for it again for Sunday night dinner. The herbs made the entire house smell wonderful. It was a nice and cozy dish for a winter night. Served mine over egg noodles.
Yay! I’m so glad y’all liked it!
I will definitely try this! Word of caution: Walmart sells cheap herbs de Provence but it does not contain lavender. Without lavender, what’s the point? Try TJ Maxx or Tuesday Morning instead.
Warning noted! Thanks, MM!
I made the meatballs for my two pandemic teens, who have been low energy and hard to please the past month after being online for all semester and away from friends. But they both loved this recipe, especially over egg noodles. Are meatballs the answer to the pandemic? I don’t think so. But it helped this mom for at least one night!
LOL! Thanks, Mallory!