13 French Beef Dishes You Should Know About

Boeuf bourguignon, arguably one of France's most beloved beef dishes, is France's answer to beef stew. Its name, which translates to Burgundy beef, pays homage to the Burgundy region of France, an area known for its quality beef and red wine. Unsurprisingly, beef is at the heart of this dish, but not just any cut will do. Fatty, collagen-rich cuts like beef chuck or short rib are ideal, as they stay juicy and tender throughout the lengthy cooking process. As important as the beef is, it's the lardons (aka smoked pork belly cut into matchsticks) that kickstart the cooking process. Next, the beef browns in the rendered bacon fat. This process sets off the Maillard reaction, creating deep, roasted flavor notes.

After the meat finishes cooking, a medley of vegetables — carrots, pearl onions, and garlic — join the pan, followed by tomato paste and beef broth. Then comes the second star ingredient: red wine. While purists will insist on using Burgundy wines, any decent bottle of pinot noir, merlot, or cabernet sauvignon will do in a pinch. After spending an hour and a half in the oven, sautéed cremini or button mushrooms are added for the final 30 minutes of cooking, enriching the stew with their earthy, umami richness. The whole process takes upwards of three hours, but this hearty, indulgent stew is worth every minute.

Chateaubriand is both a dish and a preparation method that originated in 19th-century France. This steak dish takes its name from François-René, Vicomte de Chateaubriand, a French writer, politician, and aristocrat whose chef invented the dish in 1822. It didn't take long for the eponymous dish to take off.

What makes Chateaubriand special isn't the super fancy French moniker, but rather the exceptional quality of the cut. It comes from the tenderloin, an oblong muscle that runs parallel to the cow's spine and connects to the rump. Like the neighboring filet mignon, Chateaubriand is low in fat and contains minimal tendons, resulting in a soft, melt-in-your-mouth texture. Whereas filet mignon comes from the end section of the tenderloin, Chateaubriand is a large center cut. It weighs about 2 pounds, making it more than enough for two to three people.

Traditionally, preparing Chateaubriand involves stuffing the tenderloin with a spiced blend of beef marrow, then enrobing it in inexpensive cuts of beef to seal in moisture. Nowadays, a simpler approach prevails — pan-searing followed by oven roasting. This method yields a delectable contrast of a nutty, caramelized exterior and a juicy, slightly sweet interior. Accompanied by Béarnaise sauce, a red wine reduction, or peppercorn sauce, Chateaubriand is typically served sliced on a wooden board, complemented by simple sides such as roasted potatoes or grilled vegetables that allow the meat's flavors to take center stage.

Visitors often conjure up images of lavender fields, hilltop villages, and vibrant markets when picturing Provence. Yet, for the French, the charm of the region lies in its more nuanced pleasures — leisurely savoring a chilled glass of pastis, engaging in a friendly game of pétanque, and indulging in daube de bœuf, a slow-cooked beef stew emblematic of the region.

Daube de bœuf stands out from other beef stews due to its unique preparation. In this recipe, affordable cuts of meat like shanks, chuck, and cheeks are marinated overnight in red wine, preferably a local variety such as Côtes du Rhône or Côtes du Ventoux. Complementing the meat are onions, garlic, thyme, bay leaves, cloves, and an unexpected twist: fresh orange juice and zest. Additional ingredients like carrots, bacon, tomatoes, black olives, and anchovy filets may also find their way into certain versions. Some variations even opt for white wine or substitute beef with lamb or rabbit.

After marinating overnight, the beef is slow-cooked in a daubière, a covered clay pot that lends its name to the dish. The daubière's bulbous shape gently cooks the meat and facilitates a convection process, where heat rises from the bottom, hits the cooler top and cascades back down over the meat. This process transforms the collagen in the meat into gelatin, resulting in a smooth texture.

Along with steak frites, steak tartare is another simple beef-based brasserie meal you'll see all over France. This straightforward yet delicious dish starts with finely minced, top-quality beef (often sirloin or tenderloin) trimmed of fat and sinew. Depending on the recipe, the meat is blended with some combination of diced capers, cornichons, shallots, or parsley. Additional condiments like Worcestershire sauce, Tabasco, cognac, and ketchup might also find their way into the mix. The mixture is then shaped into hamburger-sized patties and topped with a raw egg yolk. Usually, it comes with a side of toast or fried potatoes.

Steak tartare's origin story is as intriguing as its flavors, with more than one version circulating. One particularly whimsical, albeit improbable, version claims that the dish was originally made using horse meat. Allegedly, 13th-century Tatars (formerly spelled Tartars), aka nomadic tribes from Northeastern Mongolia, would place slabs of horse meat beneath their saddles, and then enjoy the pulverized protein at the end of the day. However, a more plausible account suggests that steak tartare emerged in early 20th-century French restaurants in Polynesia. Raw meat consumption was customary in the region, and when paired with Auguste Escoffier's recently perfected tartar sauce recipe, the winning combination was born.

Everything sounds better in French — it's a dictum non-Francophones have repeated for centuries. Hachis parmentier, essentially a French cottage pie, serves as another testament to this truth. The dish takes its name from the French verb "hacher," meaning "to chop," while parmentier pays homage to Antoine-Augustin Parmentier, an 18th-century French nutritionist who advocated for the potato as a dietary staple.

Similar to its British counterpart, hachis parmentier features a savory combination of beef and mashed potatoes baked into a casserole. Originally conceived as a way to repurpose leftover beef Bourguignon or Flemish beef carbonnade, nowadays, it usually features ground beef as the primary ingredient. As with any great comfort food dish, you can make this one as simple or as complex as you want. For those who prefer a minimalist approach, the meat can be cooked with just aromatics, nutmeg, and a touch of beef stock, while the potatoes require only butter and milk. To add a touch of sophistication, consider incorporating tomato paste, carrots, and a splash of white wine into the meat mixture, and don't hesitate to sprinkle some grated Parmesan cheese over the potatoes for an extra layer of flavor.

Some French dishes, like croque monsieurs, quiche Lorraine, and ratatouille embody simplicity, accessibility, and comfort. Then there are sophisticated options like bouillabaisse, escargot, and confit de canard (confit duck), which are typically only found in the most upscale restaurants. Tournedos Rossini, a decadent beef dish featuring Chateaubriand tenderloin, belongs squarely to the second category. Named after Gioachino Rossini, the 19th-century Italian opera composer responsible for "The William Tell Overture," tournedos Rossini was allegedly created to one-up François-René, Vicomte de Chateaubriand's namesake dish. Rossini's friend Chef Casimir Moissons is credited with the extravagant creation.

Tournedos Rossini takes hours, if not days, to get right. Pulling together the Madeira wine sauce is the first major hurdle, as it involves reducing beef or veal stock and enriching it with butter, shallots, and Madeira wine. Once the sauce concentrates, the cooking process is relatively straightforward, although there are several ingredients to keep track of. The tenderloin is cut into a circular shape, seasoned, and seared over high heat until rare, then placed atop grilled bread. Seared foie gras follows, accompanied by shaved black truffles, and finally, the decadent wine sauce.

Just as Americans and Brits enjoy a teasingly adversarial relationship, so do the French and the British have their own playful banter. While the British playfully refer to the French as frogs due to their occasional amphibian dishes, the French return the favor by calling the British roast beefs, a nod to their love for Sunday roast. The irony, however, is that the French also have an appreciation for good roast beef, or as they call it, "rôti de boeuf."

Typically extremely rare, French roast beef is often cooked for just 10 minutes per pound. Preparation is straightforward — simply insert sliced garlic into knife holes around the roast, coat the meat with olive oil, and sprinkle with thyme leaves. For a complete meal, you can add root vegetables and potatoes. As for sauces, the options range from simple pan gravy to more complex choices like Béarnaise or Roquefort sauce, allowing you to tailor the dish to your taste preferences.