Slow Cooked Beef Bourguignon
One of the problems when you are first trying a new slow cooker recipe is the anticipation. You have picked from hundreds of recipes online or in cook books, you have hunted out all the ingredients, entrusted them to the large pot and placed the lid on top. Yet at this point you have to wait, often for 8 hours.
If I am in the unfortunate position to be home while I am slow cooking, I’ll spend too much time peering through the condensation.
An ongoing internal dialogue as to whether I should lift up the lid, only for a moment, just to check.
They say lifting the lid on a slow cooker adds 30 minutes to the cooking time, I say lifting the lid on a slow-cooker is tantamount to opening Christmas presents and resealing before putting them back under the tree.
It ruins the surprise.
When you do eventually lift the lid off it can all to easily be a disappointment after being built up for so long. This recipe, however, will be no disappointment.
When I was 12 my Dad asked me what I wanted for my special birthday night meal. I guess he expected me to say pizza, or some other kind of junk food. What I actually asked for is Beef in Red Wine sauce, a casserole that cooked in the oven for hours emitting wonderful smells into the house. I don’t actually know the recipe my Dad used for that meal – but I’ll be sure to ask him next time I see him.
It’s been years since I’ve had Beef in Red Wine Sauce, but the stars have been slowly aligning to illuminate my path back towards this recipe. Becoming a food blogger I’ve spent so much time reading about American cooking, that I would have had to be blind to have missed the stories of the great American cook Julia Child. Which of course led me to watch Julie and Julia, I mean how often do you get films about blogging?
Then this week I saw Lindaraxa’s recipe as one of the most viewed on CookEatShare for a simplified version of Julia Child’s Boeuf Bourguignon I knew I had to try it. Having never seen Julia Child’s original Beef Bourguignon recipe, I still thought the simplified version was quite complicated. You have to cook it on the stove, put it in the oven, take it back out, leave to rest and then put on for final cook. That’s fine for a long Sunday afternoon, but what about a Thursday night – or a Saturday lunch?
The original Beef Bourguigon recipe was a recipe made by French peasants to tenderise tough cuts of meat, but I know another a great way of tenderising meat. Slow Cooking.
Enjoy, and as if you needed anymore encouragement – get that Slow Cooker or Crock Pot out the back of the cupboard.
Slow Cooked Beef Bourguignon
~ based on Simplified Boeuf Bourguignon. Originally from Julia Child.
Serves 4.
Use your crock pot or slow-cooker to make this slow cooked beef bourguignon – a simplified version of Julia Child’s classic dish.
Preparation Time: 30 min (45 if you need to peel the small onions).
Cooking Time: 8 hours, plus 20 minutes to reheat (or if necessary 10 minutes to thicken the sauce).
Cooking Temperature: Low.
- 4 slices of bacon, in strips. Cut the rind off but use in the cooking process
- 500 grams of cubed beef, suitable for a casserole. I used rump steak.
- 1 sliced carrot
- 1 onion, sliced
- 1 tsp of flour, plus another 2 tablespoons for sauce thickening
- 1 and 1/2 cups of Red Wine, conveniently I had a bottle of French Red Wine for Burgundy
- 1 and 1/2 cups of Beef Stock, I used a bouillon cube
- 1 tablespoon of Tomato Paste / Puree
- 2 cloves of garlic, pureed.
- Few sprigs of fresh Thyme
- 2 Bay Leaves. The recipe I used suggested crumbling them, I would advise against this. I did this the first time and I got left with crumbled bay leaf in my mouth – which was not great.
- 10 – 18 small white onions. These small onions are hard to get hold of in the UK, they are the ones used for pickling onions. I used shallots instead which are much bigger, and I used two per person, after choosing the smallest I could find.
- 4 large quartered mushrooms, although whole button mushrooms may look better presentationally
If your slow cooker needs it pre-heat it, I turn mine on to max heat, while preparing the contents.
Heat a frying pan under a medium heat and add the bacon and the rind fat with around 30 ml of water.
Cook for 5 minutes until the bacon is starting to brown and the water mostly evaporated. Add the bacon, not the rinds, to the slow cooker.
With the bacon fat still left in the frying pan place back on heat and add the cubed beef, start to brown.
Once the beef is browned all over, add the teaspoon of flour and coat the beef in it. Again add the beef to the slow cooker, leaving the bacon rinds in the frying pan.
Removing the worst of the leftover flour from the pan, again put it back on the heat, this time adding the sliced onion, garlic and carrots. Cook them stirring to ensure they don’t burn for around 5 minutes. (You can add more oil if you think it is necessary).
Once the vegetables are beginning to soften, remove the bacon rinds, add the red wine, beef stock, bay leaf, thyme sprigs, small onions, mushrooms and tomato paste.
Heat until the liquid is starting to bubble, making sure all your ingredients are hot when entering the slow cooker is the key to using it correctly – especially if cooking at a low temperature.
Add the mixture to your slow cooker, turn the heat down to low and place on the lid.
Leave for 8 hours. The first time I made this I put it on in the morning before work and left it till I came home, after which I immediately followed with the last section. The second I finally put the lid on at midnight and turned it off at 8 o’clock in the morning. I then left it for several hours before continuing.
Once you are ready to eat this dish add the entire contents of the slow cooker to a pan under a medium heat. In a slow cooker it is hard to create a thick sauce because no water evaporates (this is why the recipe uses less beef stock and wine than the non-slow cooked version). Twenty minutes in a pan if from cold, and 10 if from heated should be enough to evaporate some of the extra water out of the sauce, if you wish to thicken further remove some of the liquid maybe around 4 tablespoons and add to a bowl, then add the 2 tablespoons of flour mix until smooth and then add back in.
Stir the sauce occasionally to keep all the meat and vegetables covered with sauce, so they don’t dry out. Once your sauce is suitably thick and warm, serve, either with new potatoes and veg, or with noodles.
There are many steps to this recipe but each individual step is simple, however the resulting dish is wonderfully complex and by far one of my favourite ever slow cooker recipes – if not just my favourite recipe!
Yes that’s right this is my favourite ever recipe. Enjoy.
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March 6th, 2010 at 9:15 pm
Hiya!
I grew up learning how to cook food fast and in high heat that’s why im inclined to teaching myself a few slow cookers..i love the torture..that growing anticipation, that much-awaited moment of opening the lid to check if it’s already “fork-tender” and witness the “meat-falls-off-from-the-bone action..ahhh..this one looks delish!
March 6th, 2010 at 10:22 pm
I have to admit I love high heat fast food, when I first started cooking for myself a lot of my recipes were stir fries. In fact we usually still have them at least once a week. I love them because of the immediacy and the flavours. However once you realise that as long as you put the slow cooker on before you go out for the day, you can have dinner on the table even faster than the fastest of stirfry!
March 7th, 2010 at 7:47 am
this is the very first thing I ever cooked by myself as a teenager, my parents gave me Julia Childs’ book. what a great recipe!
March 7th, 2010 at 9:35 am
I’m not a big fan of Slow cooking, however, I’m retired so I can spend all day messing around in the kitchen. I really like the take you have on the Beef Bourguignon. I would like to try your version of it… You have a very nice blog, and some very nice photography work. Keep up the great work,
mike long
March 7th, 2010 at 12:03 pm
Lauren, you’ve captured perfectly, the almost clammy anticipation and hand wringing indecision I associate with slowcooking
“Peering through the condensation” sums it up superbly. A beautifully written post that I enjoyed reading very much 
March 10th, 2010 at 3:31 am
This is so tempting and real comfort food. Slow cooking so convenient for me too.
October 5th, 2010 at 6:15 pm
I use my slow cooker ALL the time – even for the Sunday roast, the meat is so much nicer done this way.
Thanks for this recipe…. not too far away from how I do a lamb or beef stew, so I will definitely try it tonight.
Sarah x
October 5th, 2010 at 10:22 pm
Thanks Sarah for your comment, I love slow cooking too! We are in redecorating mode at the moment and taking a few minutes out to pop on the slow cooker pays dividends after a hard days painting. This recipe is still my favourite though!
October 11th, 2010 at 8:36 pm
YUM this sounds awesome! I have a crock pot of Italian Pesto Pork Roast in Red Wine Sauce sitting on my counter tempting me to look this VERY MOMENT! I will have to make this recipe next! Tis the season for Slow Cooked wonders!
October 11th, 2010 at 9:05 pm
Wow that sounds really good. Pesto pork roast sounds yummy. I will need to try that, but if you like Red Wine sauces then you should love this!
January 5th, 2011 at 1:29 pm
working from home today, prepared meal this morning, complete agony having to smell its aroma in every room, no sanctuary apart from sitting in the car, i wish it was dinner time, its just not fair.
January 5th, 2011 at 6:42 pm
Hi Antony, hope you like it when it is finished! Funnily enough I got a very similar text message from my sister yesterday – who was also making this recipe
March 1st, 2011 at 6:27 pm
Having bought 6 bottles of cheap “delicious” wine..haha!!.. ok for cooking!! am looking for slow cook recipes using red wine. This looks just right, so will try it Thursday!! (Mind you, last time I used slow cooker, came home from work and carrots still hard… after 8 hours!!) looking forward to trying!! thanks for recipe!!
March 1st, 2011 at 7:20 pm
Hi Christine, when cooking veg like carrots its best to cut them small and cook them slightly before you put them in the slow cooker. Then they shouldn’t be so hard
June 16th, 2011 at 6:45 am
yummy!
woke up this morning to a waft of beef b. aromas!! even woke small child up ( not good!).
had a quick taste – absolutely delicious – easily good enough to serve at a dinner party with nice veg and mash or little new pots.
just one thing – recipe failed to say where to put the garlic???? Also do NOT be tempted to add salt – bacon is enough to add salty flavour – otherwise it will be too salty.
this is a great recipe – simple and delicious – and can be made the night before so even better!
We had the worst possible BB in Paris last week so i was determined to give my other half a real BB and i think i have achieved it!
Does anyone have a recipe for the mashed potato we ate in France – something was added to it – not sure what but it was a very creamy mash and almost a light brown colour? tasted a bit like nutmeg too?? not sure but it was really good.
June 16th, 2011 at 8:35 am
I have updated the instructions to include where the garlic is added – thanks for letting me know!
Glad you liked the Beef Bourguignon recipe, I love waking up to the smell of the slow-cooker.
I’m not sure about how to make french mashed potato – it could be browned butter, as it gives a slightly nutty tasted, and the french love their butter
June 18th, 2011 at 10:33 am
Thanks! I will try it out!
just finished the last bit of the BB – even better the next day ! thankyou !!!
July 18th, 2011 at 2:20 am
Thanks so much Lauren. I’ve had it in the slow cooker for 1 hour and already the house smells lovely. I can’t wait for dinner tonight. Yummm!
August 15th, 2011 at 11:47 pm
I just made this as the filling of a pie for my flatmates – it went down well and we’re all just drifting around full and happy! Thanks for writing it down and making things clear.
November 3rd, 2011 at 7:43 pm
hi,
My 1st attempt at using a slow cooker and I wanted to say thanks for the recipe! It still has an hour to go but it smells wonderful.
November 6th, 2011 at 1:57 am
Thank you for your recipe. I will use it next time, I use my slow cooker.
I have only just started to cook with my slow cooker. I cooked my beef casserole with braising steak and lots of vegetables. After 7 hours on low heat, the steak was not tender. So I turned the cooker up to high for a further hour. It was still tough. It was too late to continue cooking it. So we didn’t eat it. Can you tell me whether it is safe to continue cooking it tomorrow and if so, how much longer do you recommend. I will try YOUR recipe next week and will cut the meat into cubes. I had just put the pieces in the bottom of the cooker whole. Your advice would be appreciated, as I am knew to this way of cooking. THANK YOU.
Thank you.
November 28th, 2011 at 7:05 pm
Thanx for a lovely adaptation of this recipe for the slow cooker.
I’ve done it in the oven before and tried it in the slow-cooker today. Loaded it up as I left for the office and came home to yummyness.
While I can’t speak to food-safety issuea, I will tell you that I made a 27hr oxtail in my slow-cooker two weeks ago and I’m still around.
And yes, we just about had it thru straws.
November 28th, 2011 at 9:50 pm
Hi Barbara, sorry I must have missed this comment while I was on my honeymoon. If after 6 hours it’s not cooked well enough another hour in the slow cooker probably won’t fix it, in that case I would usually stick it on a pan on the hob for half an hour or so – then you would still be able to eat it for dinner that night. However reheating the next day could be a little dicey, if all the meat was cooked through and you kept it in the fridge it might be ok, but I would finish the cooking on the hob under a higher temperature for food safety reasons. If the meat wasn’t cooked through I would probably give up and throw it away. In my opinion it’s not worth the risk. (I should point out I don’t have any formal training in food, so when it comes to safety I can only tell you what I would do, not what might be best).
However this shouldn’t have happened in the first place. So first a couple of questions:
If you don’t think it is any of those problems, I would fall back to the standard issues with slow cooking:
Lastly don’t be put off! The first thing I made in the slow cooker the vegetables were still hard, I was more worried about vegetables being over cooked after 6 hours – after that long how could they not be? I think my main problem that time was removing the lid too often. It’s so easy to do, especially when it’s your first recipe.
Hope this helps, and if you have any further questions I would be happy to answer them.
Lauren
November 29th, 2011 at 11:58 am
prep work done, ingredients in the crock pot. Fingers crossed i’ll wake up to perfect beef bourginon
thanks for the recipe!
November 29th, 2011 at 12:19 pm
Kathyrn, hope you love it
January 7th, 2012 at 3:10 am
My husband and I made this recipe for my kids and parents one night and they LOVED it!!! It was sooooo savory, flavorful and tender! We are adding this recipe to our favorites. Thanks!
January 10th, 2012 at 5:34 pm
How big of a slow cooker did you use? I’d like to make this for about 12 people. Would you suggest 2 slow cookers?
January 10th, 2012 at 9:19 pm
Candy – I use a 3.5L slow cooker, (which I think could fit enough for 6 at a push) so you could either use two or you may be able to fit it into one 6.5L machine.
January 13th, 2012 at 11:49 am
Hi Lauren,
Made this yesterday and it was lovely. I used some smoked pancetta which gave it an extra dimension. Managed to get hold of the small onions as well from a local grocer. Thanks v much. I’m looking forward to pinching a few more slow cooker recipes!
January 19th, 2012 at 5:14 am
I made this for 8 people on New Year’s eve. It was SENSATIONAL! Thank you. X
February 7th, 2012 at 11:34 pm
This recipe is PERFECT. Tried it today-my first ever slow cooker recipe so I was a bit nervous but had no need to be! Thank you so much
Will definitely be making again, have you any other good slow cooked recipes/or know of a good site to get them? This was so clear and the pictures really helped too, thanks again!!