Instapot Beef Bourguignon
The weather is getting cooler and cooler so the meal need to get warmer and warmer. What better hearty warm meal than a bowl of Boeuf Bourguignon as the French say it.
Ingredients:
3lbs beef - cut into 2" cubes
2 slices thick cut bacon (3 slices if regular cut)
2 tablespoons olive oil
1 cup of carrots (peeled and cut)
1 cup of pearl onions (frozen work well)
1 cup of button mushrooms (stemmed)
1 bottle of red wine (bold red like Bordeaux)
3 cups of beef stock
1 tablespoon tomato paste
1 sprig of thyme
Parsley to garnish
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For this recipe, we use the Instapot for the meat and a convention sauté pan for the rest. We want to layer and build flavors and the two vessels help us to just that.
In a large sauté pan, heat olive oil over medium high heat. Add bacon and cook until browned well but not crispy.
Bring interior pot of instapot to the stove area and place bacon in Instapot.
Place cubed beef starting at the 12 o'clock position around the pan leaving a couple of inches space between every piece. Best to do in batches to as not to crowd the meat.
45-60 seconds per side, browning at least 4 sides of the meat.
Move batches of meat from pan to pot until all meat is browned and in the pot.
Pour off any excess oil into a small bowl and set aside to cool before discarding in trash.
Turn off heat and pour half of the wine into pan to deglaze. Stir with spatula or whisk to help deglaze and pour that into the pot. Add 1 cup of beef stock to the pot.
Place thyme sprig in the pot as well. Make sure the liquid is about 2/3 up the meat (add more beef stock to get there).
Place pot back in instapot and turn on.
Use 1 hour setting for beef to ensure proper cook time and tenderness of the beef.
Place sauté pan back on medium high heat with remaining wine and beef stock.
Once simmering, turn to medium low, add carrots and cover. Simmer for 10 minutes.
Add onions and mushrooms to pot and simmer uncovered for 10 more minutes.
Check liquid level. Turn off heat when liquid is about 1 cup remaining.
(If you want to make mashed potatoes to serve with the Beef, now is the time to start - recipe below)
Once the timer for the instapot has gone off, release the stream by wetting a kitchen towel, fold up to create a barrier for your hand, and turn the pressure release valve.
DO NOT GET A STEAM BURN. Keep hands and face clear of releasing steam.
Move meat to a large bowl and cover.
Pour instapot liquid through a fine strainer over the sauté pan and return to medium high heat. (The strainer will grab the thyme sprig and any small cooked items that wouldn't look good in the final dish)
Simmer the liquid until it's the same depth as your vegetables (approx 1 1/2 cups of liquid).
Stir in tomato paste with a spoon or spatula. Do not whisk the paste or you will break apart the carrots and onions.
Simmer on super low to allow the paste to thicken the liquid.
After a few minutes of simmer, pour the liquid and vegetables into the bowl with the meat and incorporate together to cover the meat fully in the finished liquid.
Taste liquid and salt if needed. The condensed wine and beef stock may not need added seasoning so be careful.
If serving with mashed potatoes, place a nice scoop to one side of the bowl, then place veggies into the remaining bottom of the bowl. Add a few piece of meat on top of the veggies and dress with the "gravy".
Parsley to garnish.
There you have it. A dish that takes several hours in the classic preparation can now be on your table on a random Tuesday night dinner.
If you're like me, you may have a stovetop pressure cooker. The cook time goes down to 30 minutes over medium heat. In that instance, allow the steam to dissipate on it's own... DO NOT RELEASE THE VALVE.
So now it's your turn, are you ready?
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And now for the Mashed Potatoes...
1 medium Yukon Gold (peeled and diced) per person
1 tablespoon of butter per potato
1 tablespoon of heavy cream per potato
A pinch of salt
Bring a medium to large pot of water to boil (large enough to full submerge your potatoes). Add salt when it's at a full boil.
Turn water to medium high and add potatoes.
(A full boil will boil over so reduce heat more as needed to get vigorous but not overflowing boil)
Cook until fork tender (5-8 minutes depending)
Pour off water using a colander, do not rinse, place potatoes directly back into pot and cover. Allow to steam in the pot.
Warm butter and cream either on stove or in microwave to bring to slight simmer.
Add butter and cream to potatoes and mash. Do not leave lumps to mash away.
(I advise against hand mixers. They can overmix the potatoes and make them gummy).
Alright. You're up. Have fun and see you soon.
- The BHC Team