I read about Boeuf Bourguignon in Julia Child’s cooking bible & started thinking how to do it – a modest version of course.
Instead of a dutch oven I decided to do it in my slow cooker meaning that I prepare the ingredients, put everything in my slow cooker & start the high temp program. Afterwards the slow cooker will sit in a corner on my kitchen counter daydreaming … no need for any stirring every 30 min, adding this or that after an hour or 2 or so: you are free to do whatever is fine during the day.
Gradually a yummy flavour spreads all over the place … Finally you get a pot filled w/ tender meat, soft vegetables & lots of delicious liquid!
Basically with my approach it’s beef, onions, bacon, carrots & mushrooms. For the flavour it’s thyme, bay leaves, ground sweet paprika, tomato purée & fresh garlic. Finally we need of course beef stock & red wine.
We start w/ chopping the vegetables & the bacon. Also the beef ends up in nice pieces. We now fry both – one after the other – in the same pan – each for about 5 min until nicely brown. Then we load the slow cooker …
It’s a slow cooker session at high temperature for about 4 – 5 h. The beef will get very, very tender. The wine is all over the dish & cannot be ignored. (Don’t forget to discard the bay leaves!)
Just fill the stew in a deep plate or bowl … grab some fresh baguette!
Last time I fished the beef out of the slow cooker – and then I used a hand blender to purée all the rest: the liquid, the vegetables (only onions & carrots), the bacon … At the end I had a very smooth and thick sauce. After some tasting and adding some final seasoning the beef went back into the sauce. If you are thinking of mashed potatoes and vegetables to go with the beef it’ s absolute delicious with this easy mess.
Enjoy!
- about 750 g lean beef for roasting/stewing
- 1-2 onions
- 150 g Italian bacon (finely sliced)
- 1-2 cloves of garlic (optional)
- some olive oil for frying
- 2-3 carrots
- 100 g mushrooms (optional – replaced by carrots)
- 2 cans tomato purée (140 g)
- 1 tsp sugar
- 400 ml beef stock
- 400 ml red wine
- 3-4 bay leaves
- 1 tsp dried thyme
- 1 tsp ground sweet paprika
- salt & pepper
- frying pan
- a slow cooker
- hand blender (optional)
- Chop the onions & the thin slices of Italian bacon. Start frying for about 5 min in some olive oil. Add pressed garlic (optional). Add salt & pepper to taste. Transfer everything into the slow cooker.
- Chop the carrots & the mushrooms (optional) & put into the slow cooker.
- Cut the beef into pieces of about 3-4 cm & fry until slightly brown allover (in the same frying pan w/o cleaning). Transfer the fried beef into the slow cooker.
- Mix tomato purée w/ thyme, sweet paprika & sugar & pour into the slow cooker.
- Pour the beef stock & the red wine in the slow cooker.
- Add bay leaves.
- Start the slow cooker on high temperature for 4 – 5 hours.
- Discard bay leaves.
- Add salt & pepper to taste.
- If you like a smooth sauce just fish the beef out of the slow cooker. With a hand blender purée all the rest (liquids, vegetables …) until smooth. (For this version I used no mushrooms, but more carrots.) Don't forget the final seasoning!
- Serve w/ roast potatoes, mashed potatoes, pasta, rice or just fresh baguette.
- You may store the dish in your fridge for a week or so. You may also freeze it. Best approach: reheat in the microwave.
