Poppy Cooks: The Actually Delicious Slow Cooker Cookbook
Beef bourguignon recipe
Poppy O'Toole | 13 Sept 2024
Recipe from Poppy Cooks: The Actually Delicious Slow Cooker Cookbook
Now we’re getting fancy! Picture it now … a beef bourguignon on the slow cooker. Red wine in the glass. Barry White on the Alexa. A rose between your teeth. Okay maybe a bit too far. And if I’m being honest, there’s probably better food to get you in the mood than this hearty beef and moist carrot stew, because after a bowl or two of this you’ll be needing at least a three-hour nap. But whatever floats your boat.
Ingredients
Serves 4
5 hours on high
- 800g beef shin, diced
- 200g pancetta
- 250g shallots, finely diced
- 2 celery sticks, finely diced
- 300g chestnut mushrooms, halved
- 2 carrots, thickly sliced
- small handful of thyme, leaves picked
- 2 rosemary sprigs, leaves picked
- 2 bay leaves
- 250ml red wine (I like Malbec)
- 250ml beef stock
- 30g butter, cubed (optional)
- splash of olive oil
- 1 tablespoon cornflour, slackened with water
- salt and black pepper
- flat-leaf parsley leaves, to serve (optional)
Method
- Season the beef generously with salt and let it come up to room temperature. Then, tip it into the bowl of your slow cooker.
- Add all the remaining ingredients, with the exception of the cornflour, along with 1 teaspoon of salt and lots of black pepper. Put the lid on and cook on high for 5 hours, until the beef is completely tender and shreds easily with a fork. Stir through the cornflour slurry, and scatter with a few flat-leaf parsley leaves to serve, if you like.
My suggestions
If you like mustard, whack a good spoonful of Dijon into the mixture before you start the cooking, just to give the stew a bit of extra oomph.
Classically, this would be served with mashed potatoes, but if you want just a bowl of beefy goodness then make sure you have plenty of crusty bread on the side to swipe round the bowl.
