Why the legendary Beef Bourguignon is a modern invention, not a medieval classic

Food & Drink · Published 3 October 2026 Swipe more like this →

In short: Beef Bourguignon is often romanticized as an ancient, unchanged French staple. In reality, the dish is a relatively modern creation. Historical records show that 18th and 19th-century French stews relied on white wine, vinegar, or verjus, rather than the red wine that defines the dish we know today.

The mythology surrounding Beef Bourguignon suggests it has been a cornerstone of French home cooking for centuries. However, an examination of French cookbooks dating from the 1700s to the mid-1800s reveals a striking absence of beef recipes featuring red wine. During this era, beef stews were almost exclusively prepared with white wine, vinegar, or verjus. The lack of red wine in these historical texts challenges the popular narrative that the dish is a timeless, widespread tradition reaching back to the Middle Ages.

The earliest written recipe for a dish resembling modern Beef Bourguignon appeared in 1903, penned by Escoffier. This version differed significantly from contemporary standards, calling for a whole beef roast marinated for six hours in bacon and cognac. The evolution of the recipe highlights how culinary traditions are often reconstructed rather than preserved in a static state. Even the celebrated Paul Bocuse, a titan of French gastronomy, offered multiple variations of the dish, emphasizing that there is no single, ancient 'correct' version.

Bocuse’s approach to the dish, which is considered straightforward, defies common modern culinary advice. While contemporary chefs typically warn against overcrowding a pan to avoid steaming the meat, Bocuse’s recipe instructs the cook to brown all the beef at once in a Dutch oven. This process is intended to last at least 30 minutes, effectively deep-frying the meat in the rendered fat of the bacon and butter. Following such a method requires setting aside conventional wisdom in favor of the techniques established by one of history's most respected chefs.

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