Slow Cooker Beef Burgundy (Boeuf Bourguignon)
Beef chunks are simmered in red wine in the slow cooker and results in a melt-in-your-mouth delicious stew. Make this crockpot version of the classic French stew – Beef Burgundy (Boeuf Bourguignon) in the morning and enjoy it for dinner!
Ingredients
- 1 kilo or 2.2 lbs stewing Beef, pref. chuck roast or chuck steak, cubed
- 2 tbsp Olive Oil, or as needed
- 4 Bacon strips, sliced
- 2 medium Onions or 1 pack pearl onions, peeled (sliced if you are using regular onions)
- 3 loves Garlic, peeled and crushed
- 1 1/3 cup dry Red Wine, use a good quality wine not the cooking wine but one you would actually drink
- 1 1/2 cups Carrots, sliced (same size as cubed beef)
- 1 1/2 cups red Potatoes, sliced (same size as cubed beef)
- 1 Bouquet Garni, use fresh or dried (in sachet or packet) made of thyme, bay leaf and parsley
- 8 oz brown Mushrooms, chopped (like mini-Bella)
- Salt and Pepper, to taste
Instructions
- Liberally season the beef cubes with salt and pepper. Heat the oil in a deep pan or large skillet. Brown the cubed beef to sear. Do this in batches to avoid overcrowding the meat and for even heating. Place the beef cubes in a large platter as you cook. Searing is worth the extra work to add more depth of flavor.
- Add the bacon strips to the same pan you cooked the beef in. Allow to brown and render its fat. Add the onions and garlic and sauté briefly with the bacon. Scrape all that yummy brown bits in there as you saute. Pour in the red wine and quickly deglaze the pan.
- Place the sauteed onions and garlic plus bacon and everything else left on the pan on the slow cooker. Add the seared beef cubes, sliced carrots, and potatoes together with the bouquet garni (if using dried herbs in a sachet or packet). Give it a quick stir. Cover and cook on high for 4 hours or on low for about 8 hours or until tender to your liking.
- When the beef is already tender, add the sliced mushrooms and fresh herbs (if using fresh Bouquet garni, add at this point). Cook for another 30 minutes to one hour or until the mushrooms are tender.
- Transfer to a platter, removing the bouquet garni before serving. Enjoy with some rice or mashed potatoes.
Notes
TIPS & TRICKS
Use marbled beef or one with some fat for a more delicious and robust-flavored stew.
Use a good quality red wine not the cooking wine but one you would actually drink. For any leftover wine, simply have it for your dinner.
The initial steps may take some effort but, trust me, it's worth doing all that because the flavor comes out tastier. The initial searing of beef adds depth of flavor to the stew so do it, if possible.
If time is an issue, simply season the beef before using it. At least fry the bacon and add it with the rest of the ingredients including its (some or all) of its drippings. This would add extra flavor too.
Use regular onions for convenience but use pearl onions for that extra tang they add to this yummy stew.
Pearl onions, if using, need to be peeled first. Place in freshly boiled water for 3 minutes and then scoop out with colander and transfer to a bowl with cold water to cool down. Simply slice off the root ends of the onion and then push from the top to pop out the portion of the onion you are using. This is the easy way of peeling pearl onions.
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