
Julia’s Easy Beef Bourguignon is a hearty and satisfying fall soup that will leave your mouth watering. It’s easy to make, relatively low maintenance, and can be made in advance for an easy weeknight meal.
Julia’s Easy Beef Bourguignon is a recipe that is made with beef, onions, garlic, carrots, pearl onions, thyme and white wine. This dish is a great way to use up any leftover meat.
Julia’s Beef Bourguignon (Easy) is quick and easy to prepare. All you have to do is brown the meat and veggies and let the Crockpot do the rest.
First and foremost, I must express my admiration for Julia Child. Julia is the one who taught me how to cook, as much as I admired my mother’s food.
I learnt how to prepare anything from artichokes to zucchini and everything in between by watching her.
She also showed me how to fillet fish, carve up a bird, roast a duck, and create her renowned Beef Bourguignon, all of which are recipes from her best-selling cookbook, Mastering the Art of French Cooking.
I have to confess, her technique for creating this delectable stew took a long time and required a lot of effort. But the end effect was always flawless.
With the leaves starting to change and the air beginning to cool, I remembered Julia’s Beef Bourguignon recipe and the thick, luscious broth of that stew, and I knew I had to prepare it.
Unfortunately, I didn’t have the time since my schedule had gotten way too hectic.
However, there is always another option. So I figured the next best thing to Julia’s recipe would be to use my Crockpot.
The flavor variation is quite similar to her original recipe. The broth is thick and flavorful, the meat melts in your mouth, and the veggies are wonderfully cooked.
So, here’s how we’re going to do it:
Julia’s Easy Beef Bourguignon Ingredients
- Bacon
- Beef Stewing
- Sea salt
- Pepper
- Flour
- Butter
- Mushrooms
- Carrots
- Shallots
- Onions with pearls
- Red wine
- Consommé de Boeuf
- Paste made from tomatoes
- Garlic
- Bay leaf
- Thyme
Julia’s Easy Beef Bourguignon Recipe
Begin by crisping the bacon in a frypan over medium high heat. Rendering the fat will take roughly 5 minutes.
When the bacon is crisp, transfer it to a large crockpot set on low, leaving the bacon fat in the pan.
Season the meat with salt and pepper after that. After that, dust it with flour.
Lightly brown the beef pieces on each side in the same frypan with the bacon oil heated to medium high. As you mix the meat, this will take around 4 minutes.
If it isn’t completely brown, don’t worry about it. It’ll all come together nicely. The steak should then be added to the Crockpot.
Add the chopped shallots and pearl onions to the same pan over medium high heat and sauté for 2-3 minutes, or until gently browned. Then, along with the steak, add them to the Crockpot.
Add butter to the same frypan, which is still on medium high heat. Add the mushrooms after it starts to bubble.
Allow them to caramelize for approximately 2-3 minutes, undisturbed. Then transfer them to the Crockpot, leaving the liquid from the mushrooms in the pan.
Replace the frypan over medium-high heat and add the vegetables. Allow them to simmer for 2-4 minutes, stirring regularly, to get a minor caramelization.
Add them to the Crockpot, along with any liquid in the pan.
Toss the ingredients in the Crockpot along with the wine, beef consommé, tomato paste, and garlic. Finally, garnish with 1 bay leaf and a thyme bundle.
Cook for 6-8 hours, covered, on low heat.
Remove the bay leaf and thyme bundle before serving, and spoon the soup into dishes. Add a sprinkling of chopped parsley to finish.
Julia’s Original Recipe Notes
Despite the differences in cooking process, I stuck very close to Julia Child’s original recipe.
It’s difficult to improve on a work of art. So the core components are the same, but I changed a few of her strategies to make her time-consuming recipe easier to follow.
Julia also simmered the beef for 3 hours in its wine broth at 325 degrees to tenderize it before adding the mushrooms and onions to the dish.
I just combined all of the ingredients in the Crockpot for a long, slow simmer. It was certainly simpler, and the taste and texture were unaffected.
And, unlike Julia, who used a casserole and pans that she scrubbed at least three times throughout the cooking process, I simply used one pan to brown the ingredients as I put them to the Crockpot, making cleanup a breeze.
Julia also boiled her bacon lardons in water for 10 minutes before draining and drying the bacon before crisping it in oil.
Because I intended to utilize the oil to flavor and brown the meat, I skipped that additional step and just cooked the bacon until it produced its grease.
It turned out great since the leftover bacon fat infused the veggies with more flavor.
Ingredients Frequently Asked Questions
Is it possible to simply throw everything into the Crockpot without browning it first?
Yes, however browning the components first is recommended. The caramelization just adds a layer of flavor to the meal.
What would you pair this with?
Julia recommended a tossed green salad with buttered noodles or rice as a side dish. I’m not sure you need anything else since this is a full dinner on its own. Maybe some warm French bread to soak up the flavorful soup.
What kind of red wine do you suggest?
Julia favored a burgundy or a Beaujolais. I would recommend using any red wine that you like.
If pearl onions aren’t available, may normal onions be used instead?
Without a doubt! Following Julia’s recipe to the letter In this recipe, I used a mix of onions and tiny pearl onions, although baby onions are notoriously difficult to peel. If you simply use onions, the taste will be almost same. Because shallots have a softer taste than typical yellow or white onions, I nearly always use them instead.
Is it possible to make this dish gluten-free?
Yes. Because flour thickens the sauce, it is a crucial element. Wondra is my preferred flour since it is such a fine flour that does not seize or clump. However, you can make this meal gluten-free by using rice flour instead of wheat flour.
Can you use anything else instead of alcohol if I don’t want to cook with it?
Yes, of course. If you don’t want to use wine, beef broth would suffice, but the taste will be less intense.
What are the finest cuts of beef to use?
Because this stew cooks slowly, a less costly cut like chuck or even brisket is your best choice. However, sirloin might also be used.
You use a lot of salt. Why?
If you’ve been reading my blog for a while, you’ll know that I concentrate on healthy dishes that are low in calories, fat, and salt. Sea salt, particularly Himalayan Pink Sea Salt, has a much stronger taste than normal salt, so you can use less and still get a lot of flavor.
You request a thyme bundle. What precisely does it imply?
I use a thread to tie 3-4 little thyme branches together so that the Beef Bourguignon may be seasoned with the thyme while it cooks. It’s also simple to remove when it’s ready to be ladled into bowls since it’s knotted in a bundle.
Recipes to Print
Julia’s Easy Beef Bourguignon
Julia’s Easy Beef Bourguignon is quick and easy to prepare. All you have to do is brown the meat and veggies and let the Crockpot do the rest.
Time to Prepare: 10 minutes
8-Hour Cooking Time
Time allotted 8 hours and 10 minutes
Main Dish Course
French cuisine
Julia Child’s Beef Bourguignon is a keyword.
Approximately 4 servings
Calories: 461.6 kilocalories
Pam is the author of Two Cups of Health.
Ingredients
- 3 bacon strips, cut into 1″ pieces
- 1 1/2 pound meat for stew Cut into 1″ cubes either chuck or sirloin
- 1/2 teaspoon salt (preferably Himalayan pink salt)
- a half teaspoon of pepper
- 3 tbsp Flour (Wondra preferred)
- 1 tablespoon of butter
- Mushrooms, 1/2 pound, halved
- 2 Carrots, medium 1/2-inch pieces, peeled and peeled
- 2 medium sized scallions, peeled and diced
- a half-cup of red wine Beaujolais or Burgundy are both good choices.
- 1 beef consommé (10 oz)
- Tomato paste, 1 tbsp
- 2 Garlic Cloves Mashed
- 1 leaf of bay
- 4-6 thyme stems tied together with thread
Instructions
- Sauté the bacon in a frypan over medium high heat until crisp, approximately 4-5 minutes. Then, in a big Crockpot set to Low, add the bacon pieces (leaving the bacon fat in the pan).
- Season the meat with salt and pepper after that. After that, dust the meat pieces with flour. Turn the heat to medium high in the same frypan with the bacon fat and add the meat pieces. Cook the beef for approximately 4 minutes, or until it’s mostly browned, then transfer it to the Crockpot.
- Add butter to the same frypan over medium-high heat. Add the mushrooms, cut side down, when the pan is heated. Allow them to fry for 2-3 minutes, or until browned, before adding them to the Crockpot.
- Then, in the same frypan, add the onions and cook for another 2-3 minutes. Add them to the Crockpot once more.
- Then, in a frypan over medium high heat, sauté the carrots for 2-3 minutes before adding them to the Crockpot.
- After that, combine the wine, beef consommé, tomato paste, and garlic.
- Finally, toss in the bay leaf and the thyme bundle. Cook for 6-8 hours on low heat, covered.
- Remove the bay leaf and thyme bundle from the soup and spoon it into serving cups. Finish with a sprinkling of chopped parley and warm French bread, if preferred.
Nutrition
Calories: 461.6kcal | Carbohydrates: 13.39g | Protein: 42.95g | Fat: 18.2g | Saturated Fat: 6.95g | Cholesterol: 123.88mg | Sodium: 580.74mg | Potassium: 1045.46mg | Fiber: 1.94g | Sugar: 3.69g
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Watch This Video-
Julia’s “Beef Bourguignon” is a slow cooker recipe that will be sure to please. It is easy and delicious, with a rich beef flavor. Reference: beef bourguignon slow cooker.
Frequently Asked Questions
How long does Julia Childs Beef Bourguignon take to cook?
A: Julia Childs Beef Bourguignon takes about 2 hours to cook.
What does Julia Child Serve with beef bourguignon?
Whats the difference between beef stew and beef bourguignon?
A: Beef stew is a dish consisting of pieces of beef, carrots and potatoes in a thick brown sauce. Beef bourguignon is braised meat cooked slowly with wine and various vegetables including onions, garlic, mushrooms, tomatoes and celery root.
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