Slow cooker beef burgundy is the iconic French beef bourguignon made hands-off: beef chuck browned with bacon fat and tomato paste, braised in Pinot Noir and beef broth with thyme and bay until meltingly tender. A buttery mushroom-and-onion sauté goes on top at the end, with crisp bacon stirred back in. Sumptuous, comforting, and perfect over cauliflower mash.
SERVES 6
Beef Burgundy, also know as Beef bourguignon, is an iconic French recipe. It is a sumptuous and comforting slow-cooked stew. It is delicious over mashed potatoes or cauliflower mash.
INGREDIENTS
6 pieces bacon, chopped
1 large onion, chopped
2 large carrots, peeled and chopped
4 cloves garlic, minced
2 tbsp/30 ml tomato paste, preferably in a glass jar
2½ lbs/1130 g beef stew meat or chuck roast, cut into 2-inch/5 cm cubes
salt and pepper
10 fresh thyme sprigs
1½ cups/350 ml Pinot Noir
2 cups/475 ml Beef Broth (bay leaves)
1 bay leaf
¼ cup fresh parsley leaves, minced for garnish
2 tbsp/30 g butter
1 cup/150 g of onions, sliced
8 oz/230 g of mushrooms, stems discarded and sliced
COOKING INSTRUCTIONS
Cook bacon until crisp, in a heavy bottom pot with a lid or a Dutch oven over medium-high heat. Remove the bacon from the pan with a slotted spoon and set aside. Pour bacon fat into a small bowl or a glass jar, leave enough behind to sauté the vegetables, about 1 tablespoon. (15 ml) Add chopped onion and carrots to the skillet and sauté until soft, about 5 to 7 minutes, add garlic cloves and sauté until fragrant about 1 minute. Transfer the vegetables to a bowl and set aside. Generously add salt and pepper to the beef. Add another tablespoon of bacon fat if needed to the pot. Brown the beef, turning to make sure all sides are browned, about 7 minutes. Add the tomato paste, stirring frequently to make sure beef is well coated and cook until tomato paste goes from a bright red to a brick color, about 45 seconds. Add the wine, and use a wooden spoon to scrape up any brown bits from the bottom of your pot. Add the broth, bay leaves, and thyme. Cover the pot with a lid and turn the heat down to low. Cook for 1½ hours covered. Cook for an additional 30 minutes uncovered to allow the sauce to thicken. Discard thyme sprigs and bay leaves. 15 minutes before the beef is ready, prep the sliced onions and mushrooms for garnish. Add butter to a medium-sized saucepan and turn heat to medium. Add onions and sauté for 5 minutes, add mushrooms and sauté for an additional 10 minutes, or until onions and mushrooms are tender. Add cooked and chopped bacon back to the beef. Adjust salt and pepper of beef to taste. Garnish with chopped parsley and mushroom and onion sauté and serve.
Pro Tips
- Cook the bacon first and brown the beef in its rendered fat — that layer of smoky, porky flavor is the difference between good stew and great stew.
- Cook the tomato paste until it turns from bright red to brick, about 45 seconds; raw paste leaves the sauce tinny and one-dimensional.
- The final 30 minutes uncovered is deliberate — it reduces and thickens the sauce to a proper bourguignon consistency.
- Cook the mushroom-onion garnish separately and add it at the very end so the mushrooms stay distinct and meaty rather than boiling to gray in the stew.
- Use a Pinot Noir you'd drink; the wine is a major flavor component here, not just a background liquid.
Frequently Asked Questions
Can I make beef burgundy in a slow cooker?
That's exactly what this recipe does — browning on the stove first, then low and slow. Cook on low 8 hours and thicken the sauce at the end if needed.
Can I make this without wine?
Replace the Pinot Noir with more beef broth plus a tablespoon of red wine vinegar. It won't be classic bourguignon, but the stew will still be deeply savory.
How long do leftovers keep?
Four days refrigerated or three months frozen. Beef burgundy is famous for tasting even better the next day once the wine sauce has settled into the meat.
What should I serve with it?
Cauliflower mash is the paleo choice and soaks up the sauce beautifully. Roasted root vegetables work equally well.
Recipe Card
Ingredients
Method
- COOKING INSTRUCTIONS Cook bacon until crisp, in a heavy bottom pot with a lid or a Dutch oven over medium-high heat.
- Remove the bacon from the pan with a slotted spoon and set aside.
- Pour bacon fat into a small bowl or a glass jar, leave enough behind to sauté the vegetables, about 1 tablespoon.
- Add chopped onion and carrots to the skillet and sauté until soft, about 5 to 7 minutes, add garlic cloves and sauté until fragrant about 1 minute.
- Transfer the vegetables to a bowl and set aside. Generously add salt and pepper to the beef.
- Add another tablespoon of bacon fat if needed to the pot. Brown the beef, turning to make sure all sides are browned, about 7 minutes.
- Add the tomato paste, stirring frequently to make sure beef is well coated and cook until tomato paste goes from a bright red to a brick color, about 45 seconds.
- Add the wine, and use a wooden spoon to scrape up any brown bits from the bottom of your pot.
- Add the broth, bay leaves, and thyme.
- Cover the pot with a lid and turn the heat down to low.
- Cook for 1½ hours covered.
- Cook for an additional 30 minutes uncovered to allow the sauce to thicken.
- Discard thyme sprigs and bay leaves. 15 minutes before the beef is ready, prep the sliced onions and mushrooms for garnish.
- Add butter to a medium-sized saucepan and turn heat to medium.
- Add onions and sauté for 5 minutes, add mushrooms and sauté for an additional 10 minutes, or until onions and mushrooms are tender.
- Add cooked and chopped bacon back to the beef.
- Adjust salt and pepper of beef to taste.
- Garnish with chopped parsley and mushroom and onion sauté and serve.
