| 6 oz | pork belly / bacon |
| 3 lbs | lean stew beef (in bite-sized pieces) |
| 3 cups | red wine (young & full-bodied) |
| 3 cups | beef stock |
| 3½ tbsp | olive oil |
| 3½ tbsp | butter |
| 20 | small white onions |
| 1 | yellow onion (chopped) |
| 1 tbsp | tomato paste |
| 2 cloves | garlic (minced) |
| ½ tsp | thyme |
| 1 | bay leaf (crumbled) |
| 1 | herb bouquet (4 parsley sprigs, ½ bay leaf, ¼ tsp thyme) |
| 1 lb | mushrooms (quartered) |
| 2 tbsp | flour |
| salt & pepper |
| 1 | Preheat oven to 450°F. | |
| 2 | Remove the rind from the pork belly & and cut into lardons (sticks ¼" × 1½"). Simmer in 6 cups of water then drain and dry. | 10 min |
| 3 | Sauté lardons in 1 tbsp of olive oil in a cast-iron skillet over medium heat until lightly browned. Remove to a small bowl with a slotted spoon. | 2-3 min |
| 4 | Raise heat on cast-iron skillet until almost smoking. Brown the beef a few pieces at a time and set aside with the lardons. | 10 min |
| 5 | Brown the small onions and mushrooms in the same cast-iron skillet. Set aside the vegetables and discard the excess fat. | 5 min |
| 6 | Toss the beef and bacon with the flour, ½ tsp salt, and ½ tsp black pepper and add to the cast-iron skillet. Put in the oven to brown, tossing the meat again half-way through. | 8 min |
| 7 | Stir in the wine and enough beef stock to cover (2-3 cups). Add the tomato paste, garlic, herbs, and bacon rind. Bring to a simmer, then cover and place in the oven at 325°F. Adjust temperature to ensure the liquid is just simmering the entire time. | 3-4 hours |
| 8 | Heat 1½ tbsp butter with 1½ tbsp olive oil in a second cast-iron skillet. | 2 min |
| 9 | Add onions and mushrooms and sautée over medium-high heat, taking care to brown the onions as evenly as possible, and taking care not to break their skins. | 10 min |
| 10 | Add ½ cup of beef stock, salt, black pepper, and the herb bouquet. Cover and simmer until the onions are tender and the liquid has evaporated. Discard the herb bouquet and set the onions aside. | 40-50 min |
| 11 | Clean the second skillet and heat remaining olive oil and butter over high heat. Once foaming butter begins to subside, add the mushrooms. Cook until browned lightly and set aside. | 4-5 min |
| 12 | Once the meat in the first skillet is tender (from step 7), pour out the content of the skillet into a sieve, retaining the liquid in a large saucepan. | 1 min |
| 13 | Rinse the first cast-iron skillet and return the meat and lardons to it. Distribute the onions and mushrooms on top. | 1 min |
| 14 | Skim the fat off the retained liquid in the saucepan. Simmer while continuing to skim off the excess fat as it rises until you have a sauce thick enough to cover the back of a spoon. Add stock if the sauce is too thick, continue simmering if too thin. | 15 min |
| 15 | Pour the sauce over the meat, onions, and mushrooms in the first skillet. | 1 min |