Try this Instant Pot Beef Bourguignon recipe, or contribute your own.
- 1/2 teaspoon ground black pepper
- 1 bay leaf
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
- 1 tablespoon butter
- 1 cup red wine
- 2 sprigs of rosemary
- 2 medium brown onions finely diced (or 7-8 small shallots, peeled and left whole)
- 4 slices of bacon or pancetta
- 3 cloves of crushed or finely diced garlic
- 3 lb (1.5 kg ) good quality braising beef steak cut into cubes or you can get diced beef
- 1 + 1/2 teaspoons sea salt
- 1 cup stock (beef or chicken)
- 1 cup chopped tinned tomatoes
- 1 teaspoon mixed dried herbs
- optional: 5 oz (150 g ) button mushrooms sliced or left whole if they are small
- 2 large carrots (sliced)
- 1 tablespoon cornstarch regular flour or tapioca flour (for paleo/gluten-free)
- 2 tablespoons freshly chopped parsley to serve
- Carbohydrate 6.49929958532467 g
- Cholesterol 5.08385416884683 mg
- Fat 2.55820520939718 g
- Fiber 0.796408347768178 g
- Protein 0.559658125055755 g
- Saturated Fat 1.31799616722089 g
- Serving Size 1 1 Serving (347g)
- Sodium 19.1492500085224 mg
- Sugar 5.70289123755649 g
- Trans Fat 0.169482541730776 g
- Calories 108 calories
Step-by-step
- Peel and chop the onion and dice t the bacon, and in the meantime turn the Instant Pot on and press the Sauté function key.
- Add olive oil, onion and bacon to the inner pot and cook for 5 minutes, stirring a few times, until golden brown.
- Add garlic, beef, salt, pepper, stock, red wine, tomatoes, and herbs and stir through. Add mushrooms, if using, and half of the carrots (reserve the other half for later). Press Keep Warm/Cancel to stop the Sauté function.
- Place the lid and lock. Set to Manual, High pressure, and set for 30 minutes. After three beeps the Instant Pot will begin to build up pressure and start cooking. Once the cooking finishes, release the pressure naturally for 10 minutes before using quick release to let off the rest of the steam.
- Add the remaining carrots and change back to the Sauté setting for a further 10 minutes (keep the lid off). Stir a few times. This process will thicken the sauce slightly by evaporating some of the liquid.
- Finally, combine the cornstarch or other flour with a couple of tablespoons or water or the broth from the stew in a small bowl, whisk together and return to the broth. Stir through immediately and then add the butter and stir through to finish the dish.
- Sprinkle with parsley when serving in bowls over your preferred side of vegetables or pasta.
Traditional French beef bourguignon relies on hours of gentle oven heat, but a pressure cooker compresses that timeline significantly without sacrificing connective tissue breakdown. Chunks of braising beef demand tough, well-exercised muscle groups like chuck roast, which contain abundant collagen that melts into gelatin under sustained pressure. Sautéing the meat and bacon first builds foundational fond on the pot's bottom, which must be scraped up with liquid to prevent the burn warning from triggering on modern cookers.
- Pair this rich stew with plain starches that absorb excess liquid, such as buttered egg noodles or a dense slice of crusty sourdough bread.
- Mashed potatoes offer another reliable base, though ensure they are smooth enough to meld with the glossy wine reduction rather than competing with it.
- Substitute regular flour with tapioca starch at a strict one-to-one ratio if thickening a gluten-free batch, keeping in mind that tapioca creates a glossier sheen than cornstarch.
- Stir the slurry thoroughly into the simmering liquid during the final ten-minute uncovered reduction step to avoid lumps.
- Store leftovers in an airtight glass container for up to four days, noting that the flavor deepens significantly after twenty-four hours in the refrigerator.
Butter stirred in at the very end rounds out the tomato and red wine acidity. Fresh parsley sprinkled on top adds necessary herbal contrast to cut through the heavy sauce.
