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Boeuf Bourguignon Slow Cooker Recipe – During winter, I love to prepare easy Boeuf Bourguignon in the slow cooker.
It is always a huge hit with my kids and grand-kids! Everyone eats in silence. No need to ask anyone if they would like second helpings!
While there are many recipes for pot roasts and beef stew (every chef has their own version). But just once – make Beef Bourguignon instead.
Tops The List Of Comfort Foods
Guess I am a little prejudiced in that I find this particular slow cooker recipe to be the best beef bourguignon!
As with many other one pot meals, there are endless variations on this recipe but to my mind – simple always tastes best.
Yesterday was the perfect day for a slow cooker meal. Busy all day long!
In other words, it is time to bring the slow cooker out of “storage” and set it on the kitchen counter. It’s officially crock pot season.
Mashed Potatoes or Rice?
Traditional Beef Bourguignon is one of those recipes that delivers a huge flavor punch with a minimum of ingredients.
Serve the beef ladled on mashed potatoes, rice or straight up with a healthy serving of the freshest baguette you can find.
The idea here is to dunk pieces of country style bread in the rich gravy. Bread hot out of the oven always tastes incredibly good.
Traditional Boeuf Bourguignon Slow Cooker & Comfort Food
With a few tweaks, the wine braised beef Bouguignon is easily be prepared in any slow cooker.
To add flavor, I always sauté or brown the meat before adding it to the slow cooker. Sautéeing adds a layer of flavor. Deglaze the pan with broth, wine or even water to add yet another layer.
Vary The Recipe Ingredients
You can also vary the ingredients to a certain extent.
Don’t add just any ingredient but substitute a similar ingredient if you cannot find exactly what you need.
In this recipe I used yellow onions because that’s what I had in the pantry but you could use pearl onions. I would use pearl onions when making this dish for company.
Yes, they make for better plating but they’re a pain to peel! You will find these beauties at Harris Teeter® in the Shops at County Center but also at Wegmans® Potomac.
Pearl onions can also be found in jars or canned although they will not have the same flavor quotient as fresh or frozen pearl onions.
Melissa’s Assorted Pearl Onions(10 oz)
I happened to find very fresh shiitake mushrooms but Julia Child used wild mushrooms in her famous recipe.
Why not sliced mushrooms instead of caps? Don’t allow a recipe ingredient stop you from making this your recipe. As long as the recipe’s basic flavor components are there… a sliced mushroom is still a mushroom!
Ventrèche Versus Bacon
Ventrèche is difficult to find unless you look in a high end food market and even then the odds are against finding it.
Bits of Pancetta work well but lean bacon would work as well.
I use a lot of fresh garlic in my cooking and this is one recipe where garlic adds intense flavor.
You might want to try jumbo organic garlic. It packs a punch!
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Description
Mom gave this recipe a 5 star rating by asking that I not misplace the recipe! The ultimate compliment? “I need a slice of baguette. This sauce tastes just like Grandma’s!” Why is she surprised? Her Grandma and her own Maman taught me how to prepare a selection of my favorite French country cuisine recipes.
Ingredients
4 lbs. beef chuck roast. Prime is superior but Choice meat also results in a great tasting dish
1/4 to 1/3 lbs ventrèche or pancetta
10 oz. mushrooms, sliced
2 large onions, sliced
4 medium carrots, peeled and diced
3 cloves of fresh garlic
1 cup of beef stock
2 to 3 cups of dry red wine
1 tablespoon fresh thyme
3 tablespoons fresh parsley, chopped
Salt and freshly cracked pepper to taste
Instructions
Slice the onions and mushrooms into thick slices.
Wash, peel the carrots then dice.
Crush the cloves of garlic then set all the vegetables aside.
Add the pancetta, ventrèche or even bits of lean salt pork to a Dutch oven over medium heat.
Sauté until lightly browned then add the veggies. Stir until well combined.
Sauté over medium heat until the vegetables are softened but not burned.
With a slotted spoon, remove the bacon/vegetable mixture from the pan. There should not be much rendered fat but if there is more than you want left in the pan, blot it out with a couple paper towels before proceeding with the recipe.
Season the meat with salt and pepper then add the pieces to the pan. Brown well on both sides.
Repeat with all pieces of meat depending on the cut of meat your purchased. I cut each large chuck roast into thirds.
Add a couple carrots to the bottom of the slow cooker to support the pieces of meat.
Transfer the meat to the slow cooker, placing the pieces and evenly level across the bottom of the cooler.
Top the meat with the sautéed vegetables then with the sliced mushrooms.
Spread them evenly over the meat.
Use the beef broth to de-glaze the pan where you browned the meat, then pour over the vegetables.
Pour the wine evenly over the vegetables.
Place the lid on the slow cooker and set to HIGH for 4 hours. It can easily be left to cook for another hour (I actually let it go through the entire “keep warm” cycle) but check the level of liquid from time to time.
Add a little broth if needed.
Serve over rice, mashed potatoes, egg noodles or straight up with buttered bread.
Keywords: beef, boeuf bourguinon, French Cuisine, slow cooker, crockpot
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