Beef chunks are simmered in red wine in the slow cooker and results in a melt-in-your-mouth delicious stew. Make this crockpot version of the classic French stew - Beef Burgundy (Boeuf Bourguignon) in the morning and enjoy it for dinner!

I feel the chill in the air! It has started to get cooler the past few days and I have seen leaves fall all over the place already which means Autumn has started. Yay! I do love the fall season with all the gorgeous colors that it brings and also the most wonderful and aromatic dishes we associate with it.

This is all truly fascinating to me. I come from a country which has only 2 seasons - wet and dry. Our temperature pretty much averages in the high-80s the whole year through except perhaps for a few weeks between December-February. That means our cooking style and food remain the same throughout the year. You can grill the whole year through and except, if you have aircon, it would always be too warm to turn on the oven. So, I definitely love that here in the US, with each change of the season, it brings a new set of food and culinary methods as well. I find that to be very exciting, indeed!

Certainly, the onset of fall brings with it thoughts of comfort food to help us ease through the cooler months to come. For my family, the best comfort food for fall and winter is a delicious bowl of stew! We love to try a different one each time but there are a couple of favorites that we repeat often and this classic French beef stew - Boeuf Bourguignon - is certainly one of them! I have made this many times before but I haven't done a slow cooker version of it on the blog. This time I also decided to add some carrots and potatoes to the mix apart from the usual mushrooms and onions.

Doesn't that look so good? Now, I am totally hungry!

When you make either the French or Belgian stew - one ingredient is crucial and that is the Bouquet Garni. Don't be intimidated by the foreign sounding term - it's just herbs bunched together in a string if using fresh ones or dried ones placed inside a sachet. Below is a photo of what it looks like fresh.

When I use a fresh bunch of Bouquet Garni, I add it towards the end of the cooking together with the mushrooms but when I place the dried herbs in a sachet then I simply add it together with the beef at the beginning. So feel free to choose whichever you like. You can buy dried bouquet garni in the grocery, too (in the spice section) and simply add one little pouch when you cook your stew. Hope you enjoy this as much as we do! Happy Fall Eating!!

Slow Cooker Beef Burgundy (Boeuf Bourguignon)

By: Manila Spoon
Published: 09/17/2016

Beef chunks are simmered in red wine in the slow cooker and results in a melt-in-your-mouth delicious stew! Make this crockpot version of the classic French stew - Beef Burgundy (Boeuf Bourguignon) in the morning and enjoy it for dinner!

Ingredients

• 1 Kilo/2.2 lbs stewing Beef (pref. chuck steak or roast), cubed
• 1 Tablespoon Olive Oil
• 4 Bacon strips, chopped
• 2 medium Onions, chopped
• 3 Garlic cloves, peeled and crushed
• 1 1/2 cups Carrots, sliced (same size as cubed beef)
• 1 1/2 cups red Potatoes, sliced (same size as cubed beef)
• 1 Bouquet Garni (fresh or dried made of thyme, bay leaf and parsley)
• 1 1/3 cup dry Red Wine
• 8 oz brown Mushrooms, chopped (like mini-Bella)
• Salt and Pepper, to taste

Instructions

1. Liberally season the beef cubes with salt and pepper. Heat the oil in a deep pan or large skillet. Add the chopped Bacon and cook just until they begin to render their fat. Remove and set aside. Brown the cubed beef to sear in batches and avoid overcrowding the meat. Place the beef cubes in a large platter as you cook. Searing is worth the work to add more depth of flavor.
2. Quickly, sauté the onions and garlic in the remaining fat in the pan for a couple of minutes. Scrape all that yummy brown bits in there.
3. Place the sauteed onions and garlic and everything else left on the pan on the slow cooker. Add the beef cubes, fried bacon and sliced carrots and potatoes together with the bouquet garni (if using dried or fresh in a packet). Pour in the red wine. Cover and cook on low for about 6-8 hours.
4. After 6-7 hours of cooking, when the beef is already tender, add the mushrooms and herbs (if using fresh Bouquet garni not in a packet but simply tied together). Cook for another hour or 2 until the mushrooms are tender. 
5. Transfer to a platter, removing the bouquet garni before serving. Enjoy with some rice or mashed potatoes.

Yield: 6-8 Servings
Prep Time: 00 hrs. 15 mins.

Cook time: 08 hrs. 00 mins.
Total time: 8 hrs. 15 mins.
Tags: French, Stew, Beef, Slow Cooker, Main Dish, Fall, Winter, Comfort Food

This recipe is featured at the Weekend Potluck.