Beouf Bourguignon – Beef Burgundy

One of the motivating factors in the creation of “Judy and Barry, Cooking D’Lites” was a movie that came out a few years ago entitled Julie and Julia. In the film Julie, played by Amy Adams, is a New York housewife who is searching for something to make her life more meaningful.  She decides to write a food blog based on the book, Mastering the Art of French Cooking, written by Julia Child, who is played in this film by the incomparable Meryl Streep.  In the movie, Julie plans on cooking all 524 recipes from Julia’s book in 365 days in a small New York apartment kitchen.  For me, the film was brilliant and was certainly an inspiration for our blog.

In one scene of the film Julie is shown preparing Beouf Bourguignon according to Julia’s recipe.  The recipe states that the dish should cook, in the oven, for a specific amount of time and then be taken out.  Unfortunately, Julie falls asleep while waiting and the dish is ruined.

Our recipe is much easier to prepare, is cooked in a crock pot or slow cooker, and is basically fool proof.  Best of all, it is out of this world delicious.

From our kitchen to yours.  Enjoy the adventure.

Ingredients

Beouf Bourguignon

2 tsp Canola Oil

16 oz. lean Beef Round, trimmed of all fat and cut into 2-inch cubes.  We used Rump Roast (Bottom Round).

½ tsp Salt, or to taste

¼ tsp Black Pepper, freshly ground, or to taste

1 ½ cups Beef Broth, low sodium

½ cups Red Wine. Use a good wine, one that you would serve with a meal.

2 medium uncooked Potatoes, we used Yukon Gold type

½ pound Cremini Mushrooms, fresh, quartered

3 small Carrots, sliced

4 oz. frozen Pearl Onions

4 cloves Garlic, minced

1 tsp Thyme, dried, or 1 Tbsp fresh, chopped

2 Bay Leaves

2 Tbsp All Purpose Whole Grain Flour

3 Tbsp Water, cold

2 tsp Brown Gravy

2 Tbsp Parsley, fresh, chopped

Instructions

Heat the Oil in a large non-stick skillet over medium heat.  Add the Beef, and then sprinkle with Salt and Pepper.  Cook, turning occasionally, until browned, about 6 minutes.

Transfer the Beef to your slow cooker.  Add the Broth, Wine, Potatoes, Mushrooms, Carrots, Onions, Garlic, Thyme and Bay Leaves. Cover and cook on low until the Beef and Veggies are fork tender, about 8 hours.

About 20 minutes before the cooking time has expired, combine the Water, Flour and Brown Gravy in a small bowl.  Add about ¼ cup of the liquid from the slow cooker to the mixture and stir until blended, creating a “Roux”.  Add the Roux to the slow cooker, cover and cook on high for about 15 minutes, until the mixture simmers and thickens. Discard the Bay Leaves and stir in the Parsley just prior to serving.

Yields 4 servings of 1 ½ cups each.  PointsPlus value per serving is 8. Prep time is 25 minutes.  Cooking time is about 480 minutes.  Level of difficulty is Easy.

Note: We served our dish with a small helping of steamed Haricots Vert (Green Beans) as a side.

Weight Watchers and PointsPlus are registered trademarks of Weight Watchers Intl. Inc.

Recipes shown may not be exactly the same as those found on any website. Judy and I tend to "tweak" each recipe we feature, to some degree, incorporating our own unique tastes and ideas. PointsPlus values, however, are accurate. 

Photo by Barry Baruh