For New Year’s eve dinner, Tom and I decided to have beef bourguignon. The last time my husband cooked the dish using Julia Child’s recipe he got stressed out. I think he was aiming for perfection. Anyway, he refused to cook it again.
I offered to cook it but I didn’t want to slave in the kitchen. I wanted my holiday to be stress-free so I Googled some generic beef bourguignon recipe using the slow cooker and I tweaked it a bit.
Slow cookers can free up your time
Did you know? Slow cookers are energy-efficient. Slow cookers will cook food on very low heat for as long as eight hours. Most people hear this and worry about the cost of electricity or gas. However, slow cookers are actually quite energy efficient, and cost as much to run as a light bulb. In fact, it costs less to cook on a slow cooker than in a traditional oven. Source
Sorry Julia Child but the result was amazing! Haha! My beef bourguignon, slow cooker style was delicious!
Here’s the slow cooker version of my dish:
Beef Bourguignon
Ingredients:
6 strips bacon, cut into 1- to 2-inch pieces (don’t use maple flavored, smoked bacon is the best)
2 1/2 pounds beef rump, cut into 1 1/2-inch cubes (don’t cut it too small as the beef will shrink 50% in size)
2 large carrots, peeled and sliced to 1 inch cubes
10-15 pcs. of pearl onions, peeled or 2 medium sized onions, sliced
1 tablespoon salt
1/2 teaspoon pepper
1 tablespoon flour
1/4 cup water
3/4 cup beef broth
2 cups red or Burgundy wine (tip: use red wine that you would drink, not cooking wine. I used Pinot Noir.)
1 tablespoon tomato paste
2 cloves garlic, minced
1/2 teaspoon whole thyme
2 whole bay leaf
1 tablespoon soy sauce
1 pound fresh mushrooms, sliced
1 tablespoon olive oil
Easy peasy:
Step 1: Sauté sliced bacon in a skillet on stovetop set to medium heat until crisp. Remove bacon and set aside.
Step 2: Season the beef well with salt and pepper.
Step 3: Add beef cubes to skillet and brown well (DO NOT cook it all the way through). Remove meat and set aside.
Step 4: Brown carrot and onions in skillet. Season with salt and pepper. Add beef broth and mix well.
Step 5: Add the olive oil, beef and bacon in the slow cooker, mix, and place in heating base of the slow cooker.
Step 6: Add wine, soy sauce, tomato paste, garlic, bay leaf, onions, and mushrooms. Cover; cook on Low for 8-10 hours or on High for 5-6 hours.
Step 7: Once it’s cooked, mix water and flour in a separate container. Add to the slow cooker to thicken the sauce. Mix well. Cover and let it set for 5-10 minutes on Low heat.
Tip: At this point, taste the dish. You may add extra seasoning to your desired taste.
Step 8: Serve on top of pasta, with bread or rice.
Tip: If you’re cooking it on Low or High, I suggest that you check the beef two hours prior to cooking time as overcooking can dry the meat. If you feel that the beef is already tender to your liking, turn off the heat.
Easy and yummy
We prefer our beef bourguignon with fetuccini. You can also use egg noodles if you wish.
To make brown butter pasta:
All you need is 2 tablespoons of butter and 1 tablespoon of fresh flat leaf parsley.
Step 1: Melt butter in a pan on low to medium heat till butter turns brown.
Remember: When cooking the pasta, salt the water and cook it al dente.
Step 2: Cook pasta till al dente. When cooked, add the noodles and some of the pasta water (around 1/4 cup) to the brown butter
Step 3: Add the chopped fresh flat leaf parsley. Toss.
Step 4: Top the pasta with beef bourguignon.
Melt in your mouth goodness!
This dish is savory and so easy to cook! You must try it!
Shopingero/shopingera, would you like me to post more slow cooker recipes? What dish would you like?