Slow Cooker Boeuf Bourguignon

Hi everyone!  Happy Friday!  If you follow me on Instagram, then you might have seen that on Tuesday, I posted a little paragraph about the 1 year anniversary of my Make-a-Wish trip to Paris on my feed.  (You can see more details about my trip in this post.)  To commemorate my trip, for the next two blog posts, I will be sharing a couple of recipes for some of my favorite French dishes!  Today, I will be sharing with you how you can make a French classic, boeuf bourguignon, at home!

Before I dive into the recipe, I should explain what boeuf bourguignon is!  In its essence, boeuf bourguignon is a French beef stew.  And although today's recipe for this stew involves a slow cooker, I will warn you by saying that using a slow cooker does not make preparing this dish fast and easy; it takes time to prepare the elements of this dish, but you will be rewarded with a hearty, flavorful stew!

I think it would be useful to compare the traditional method of preparing boeuf bourguignon with the slow cooker method.

1.  Traditional Method

This might be a bit subjective, but I would call Julia Child's preparation of boeuf bourguignon the classic way it is prepared.  ( I nerd out a little bit in my love for Julia Child's work in this post 🤓.)  Since I know I cannot adequately explain Ms. Child's method for making this stew, I will direct you
to this video.

2.  Slow Cooker Method
The slow cooker method mostly parallels the traditional method of preparing boeuf bourguignon. The big advantage of using the slow cooker, though, is that you don't have to use an oven, which means your house stays cool in spite of the blistering heat.

While this boeuf bourguignon is exceptionally wonderful in its own right, it is incredible when served over mashed potatoes and/or a crusty, whole grain baguette 😋.  Add a sprinkle of fresh chopped parsley and you'll have yourself an incredible dinner. And of course, share this stew with your loved ones while listening to French music and you'll have a very pleasant dining adventure 😊.

One bite of this quintessential French entree and you'll be whisked away in your memory to a quaint restaurant in Paris.

I hope you love this dish as much as I did! Today's recipe was adapted from this recipe.

I look forward to posting again on Monday 😊. That post will be part 2 of French cooking!

Slow Cooker Boeuf Bourguignon

• 8 oz. bacon, cut into 1-inch strips
• 2 pounds beef chuck, cubed
• 2 cups red wine
• 8 carrots, peeled and cut into  1-inch pieces
• 1 medium yellow onion, chopped
• 4 cloves garlic, finely minced
• 3 tsp. fresh thyme, finely minced
• 3 T. tomato paste
• 2 bay leaves
• 2 1/2 cups beef stock
• 10 oz. cremini mushrooms, finely sliced
• 10 oz. pearl onions
• Salt and pepper to taste

1.  In a sauté pan, sauté the bacon until crisp, then set aside.

2.  Remove all but 2 tablespoons of fat from the pan; set the rest aside.

3.  With the 2 tablespoons of fat in the pan, sear the beef chuck for about 2 to 3 minutes per side, season it with salt and pepper, and transfer it to the slow cooker.  Don't turn the slow cooker on yet!

3.  Deglaze the pan with the red wine, using a wooden spoon to loosen the browned bits of meat in the pan.

4.  Pour the wine mixture into the slow cooker.  Don't turn the slow cooker on yet!

5.  With 1 tablespoon of reserved bacon fat, use the same sauté pan to sauté the carrots, onion, garlic, and fresh thyme for about 10 minutes, then transfer the mixture to the slow cooker.  Don't turn the slow cooker on yet!

6.  Whisk together the tomato paste, bay leaves, and the beef broth, then pour the mixture into the slow cooker.

7.  Cook everything in the slow cooker for 8 hours on low heat or for 4 1/2 hours on high heat but make sure to add the prepared onions and mushrooms after 7 hours if cooking on high heat and after 3 1/2 hours if cooking on low heat.

8.  With 1 tablespoon of reserved bacon fat, in a sauté pan, sauté the mushrooms for 3 minutes, then set aside.

9.  Next, add the pearl onions to the sauté pan, adding more of the reserved bacon fat if needed, and sauté them until they have softened.

10.  Add the mushrooms and pearl onions to the slow cooker and cooker after 7 hours if cooking on high heat and after 3 1/2 hours if cooking on low heat.

11.  Enjoy, serving with mashed potatoes and/or crusty whole grain bread and sprinkling with chopped parsley, storing leftovers in the fridge for up to 3 days.

12.    Note:  If the sauce of the stew is not thick enough, add one tablespoon of cornstarch that has been mixed with one tablespoon of water until dissolved.

13.  Stir the cornstarch mixture into the sauce and let it cook for 5 minutes before serving.