Beef Bourguignon

Simple Beef Bourguignon – Easy & delicious beef stew recipe. The perfect winter warmer dinner. Ideal for freezing, cooking in the pressure cooker, slow cooker, Instant Pot or oven.

Favourite things about autumn?

Cosy jumpers, log fires, leaves, crisp air, and all the stew and casseroles and Beef Bourguignon I can cram into our meal plans. 

 

✅ Can be cooked on the hob, oven, slow cooker OR pressure cooker.

✅ Like a warming hug in a bowl!

✅ Freezes perfectly so great for those batch cooking days. 

I’m full on embracing all that is the season and loving the slow cooked dinners. BUT (and I’d like to point out that I realise how totally ridiculous this sounds) they are well, SLOW.

This recipe is so simple, I used a pressure cooker, but I have also included instructions for slow cooker and oven cooking this Beef Bourguignon recipe too!) 

 

How do you make Beef Bourguignon?

Classic Beef Bourguignon is basically a French beef stew made with red wine. It usually has small pearl onions, mushrooms, carrots, beef stock (or beef broth) and some herbs too.

You simply brown off the meat and vegetables, add your liquids and herbs. Then cook long and slowly until the meat it tender and the sauce is thick and delicious.

To cook Beef Bourguignon in a pressure cooker, you follow that method, but just thicken the sauce at the very end of cooking.

What kind of beef is best? 

This recipe uses braising beef, so any kind of beef suited to long, slow cooking is fine.

Braising beef (or braising steak as my Mum always called it) is actually a generic name for any type of beef (mostly cubed) that needs long slow cooking, include chuck, skirt, leg and flank.

I sometimes use beef shin for these recipes. It can be more fatty though, but is super tasty.

 

How do you cook beef in a pressure cooker?

Brown off your meat in the pan or the pressure cooker with a little oil, add vegetables and enough liquid (as directed by the recipe of your pressure cooker manual).

Then, after giving it a good stir, secure the lid, allow the pressure cooker to come up to pressure and when the time is up, release the pressure.

You’ll often find with pressure cooker recipes that the sauce is very liquid, this is because it doesn’t evaporate and thicken in the same way as traditional cooking. I just thicken with a little cornflour at the end of the recipe.

What can I serve with Beef Bourguignon?

Mashed potatoes work really well to soak up that delicious gravy.

One of my favourite versions ever is this Colcannon recipe. It is SO delicious.

Orzo pasta, cous cous, or even baked potatoes work well too.

How long does it take to cook beef in a pressure cooker?

Generally the cooking time in a pressure cooker is about a third of the regular cooking time.

I cooked this Beef Bourguignon (once it had reached full pressure) for 45 minutes and it was perfectly soft and tender. Some of the meat had fallen apart into the sauce but I quite like it like that for a really meaty, rich sauce.

If you wanted more firm pieces of meat that all hold their shape, you could reduce this by 5 minutes.

Larger cuts of beef, like a pot roast joint (my next project!) would take about 60 minutes.

 

What is the difference between Beef Bourguignon and Beef Stew?

In the UK a Beef Stew (or any type of stew in fact) is usually cooked on the stove top in a lidded saucepan.

Whereas a casserole (in the UK at least) tends to be a similar dish, but cooked in the oven in a lidded saucepan.

Beef Bourguignon is the name of a classic French beef stew, made using slow cooked beef and red wine.

 

Can I freeze Beef Bourguignon?

Yes. This dish freezes brilliantly. When it’s cold, I portion it up into takeaway containers (I buy them in bulk from Amazon, about £8 for 50).

I then defrost and warm through when needed. The sauce will thicken even more on reheating, just add a splash of water if you would like more gravy.

 

Tips for making this Beef Bourguignon recipe:

• Be sure to dry your beef pieces with kitchen paper before frying. This will mean that they brown easily more in the pan.
• Make sure you follow the instructions on your own pressure cooker for safety, as they may vary.
• Life is too short to to peel a miniature onion in my opinion! BUT they really do make a difference in this Beef Bourguignon so, I use pre peeled frozen ones. These are available from Waitrose, Ocado and other big supermarkets.

 

How do you cook Beef Bourguignon in the slow cooker?

Brown your beef and bacon, followed by vegetables (as detailed in the recipe below). Add in your liquid and pop on the lid of the slow cooker and cook on low for about 6 – 8 hours or high for 3 – 4 hours.

(Timings will vary depending on your slow cooker, I always go on the side of caution and allow more time, so that the meat is meltingly soft.)

How do you cook Beef Bourguignon in the oven?

Brown your beef and bacon, followed by vegetables (as detailed below). Add in your liquid and pop on the lid of a casserole dish. Pop it into an oven, preheated to 160C for 3 hours to 3.5 hours.

Check the liquid as it cooks and add a splash more beef stock if needed.

When cooking Beef Bourguignon in the oven, you may not need to add in the cornflour if the gravy is already thick enough at the end of the cooking time.

Fancy some other comforting recipes…?

• Beef and Guinness Stew?
• Slow Cooker Chicken Curry  (the easiest ever recipe!)
• Pork Casserole Recipe
• Slow Cooker Beef Joint

 

Hope you enjoy this recipe as much as we do. I’d love to know how you got on and what you thought of it if you make this Beef Bourguignon recipe.

Please rate the recipe and leave me a comment below if you do.

Also, if you fancy showing me a photo by tagging me on Instagram (@tamingtwins) I LOVE to see your creations.

How to make this Beef Stew Recipe: