Slow cooker cuts Beef Bourguignon time to six hours

A Marysville home chef has adapted Beef Bourguignon for slow cookers, reducing the traditional oven time to a six-hour low-heat process.

Roy Mosby, creator of the YouTube channel Broke Gourmet, published the recipe on October 29. He describes the dish as a beef stew with a French influence. The preparation uses chuck roast, bacon, carrots, onions, mushrooms, and a red wine sauce. Mosby noted that the dish requires patience for the beef to become fork-tender. The total cooking time ranges from six to eight hours on the low setting.

The recipe serves approximately three to four people. It requires two to two and a half pounds of beef chuck roast cut into two-inch pieces. The sauce is built with one and a half to two cups of dry red wine and one-half to one cup of beef broth. Other ingredients include tomato paste, flour, garlic, thyme, and bay leaves. The carrots are added to the slow cooker after two and a half to three hours. Mushrooms and pearl onions are sautéed separately and folded into the dish during the final 10 to 30 minutes to prevent them from becoming mushy.

Mosby said he used a slow cooker because his oven was too small. He browned the bacon first, then seared the beef in batches to add color. He built the sauce in the same skillet, adding onions, garlic, tomato paste, and flour before pouring in the wine and broth. He scraped the browned bits from the pan into the liquid. The mixture is then poured over the beef and bacon in the slow cooker. The bay leaves are removed before serving. The sauce can be reduced in a saucepan if it is too thin.

The chef emphasized that the beef is ready when it yields easily to a fork. He warned that timing varies based on the size of the beef pieces and the specific appliance. He recommended tasting and adjusting salt and pepper near the end of the cooking process. The dish is intended to be served hot over creamy mashed potatoes.

Mosby said he wanted to try something outside his comfort zone before Halloween. He acknowledged that the dish sounds expensive and complicated. He found that the process was manageable with basic equipment. He did not use professional tools or a large kitchen. He said the recipe requires good ingredients and the willingness to wait for the food to finish cooking.

The recipe is titled Slow Cooker Beef Bourguignon. It is part of a Halloween special on the Broke Gourmet channel. Mosby lives in Marysville. He runs the channel under the name Broke Gourmet. The channel focuses on cheap ingredients and expensive taste. The recipe includes a note that the food does not care about the cook's schedule. The chef said he enjoys trying new dishes without a fancy culinary background.

The full ingredient list includes cooking oil for searing. The garlic should be minced and the onion diced. The bacon is chopped before browning. The mushrooms are halved. The pearl onions are peeled or thawed if frozen. The beef is patted dry and seasoned with salt and pepper before dusting with flour. The wine is poured into the skillet to scrape up the browned bits. The sauce simmers for three to five minutes before transferring to the slow cooker. The thyme and bay leaves are added to the slow cooker with the beef.