homemade beef bourguignon in the slow cooker -- company worthy deliciousness!

Published: Wed, 06/24/15

Hi Slow-Cookerers!


I hope your summer is going well so far. We just got back from an 8-night camping trip, and yup, I brought along a crockpot!

:-)

I kept our food relatively simple -- we ate baked sweet potatoes, hot dogs, corn, and beans.

Nothing fancy, which means I'm ready to have some "real food" again.

This is one of my favorite ways to cook a chuck or beef rump roast. It is an easy dump-in recipe, but if you'd like to brown the meat beforehand, go right ahead!

  ----> side note: I'm often asked about browning meat before slow cooking. My rule of thumb is, if you are trying to impress company or if you have enough time, go ahead and do so.
But, if you are simply feeding the family on a busy Wednesday night, just dump it all in and walk away. <---


​
Slow Cooker Beef  Bourguignon


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The Ingredients
serves 6

3 pounds beef roast, or beef stew meat (I used a chuck roast I had in the freezer)
6 slices bacon--no need to cook (I used turkey)
2 tablespoons olive oil
1 onion, sliced in rings
1 cup carrots (chopped or baby, your choice)
4 garlic cloves, smashed and chopped
1 tablespoon herbs de provence 
1 teaspoon kosher salt
1/2 teaspoon black pepper
1 tablespoon tomato paste 
2 cups red wine (you can use non-alcoholic if you wish)

The Directions.

Use a 6 quart slow cooker. In the bottom of your stoneware, smear around the olive oil.
Then lay down 3 slices of bacon. Add sliced onion and garlic. Put the meat into the pot on top of the onion and garlic, and sprinkle on dried spices and herbs.
Toss the meat to distribute the spices to all sides. Add tomato paste. Lay the other 3 slices of bacon on top of the meat, and throw in the carrots. Pour wine over the whole thing.

Cover and let cook on low for 8-9 hours, high for 4-5, or until meat has reached desired tenderness. If you are using a roast, you may want to flip the meat about an hour before serving so more liquid is absorbed into the meat. You can also cut the meat into chunks and return to the pot, if you would like more moisture to absorb.

I like my meat so tender that I can cut it with a spoon.

Serve with whipped mashed potatoes, and a ladle full of crock juices.

mmm.

The Verdict.

We all really liked this a lot. The kids weren't crazy about the carrots, because they took on the wine flavor and were a bit tart, but Adam and I loved them like that. The meat had lots of flavor, and I was quite pleased with the amount of juice left in the slow cooker---it made an excellent gravy.
I didn't try to thicken it up on the stove top with cornstarch or flour, but if you enjoy making gravy, I'd imagine it would be wonderful.

If you have a Ninja, you can remove the lid and put it on the stovetop setting for a minute or two to reduce the cooking liquid. (you can also use the Ninja to brown the meat and bacon beforehand, if you'd like).



This is a company-worthy meal. 




PS: I've done a couple podcast interviews the past few weeks. If you'd like to take a listen, here's one from Entrepreneur on Fire, and here's another on the Food as Medicine show.



Enjoy your day, and happy slow cooking!!