Servings: 6
Preparation Time: 20 minutes
Start to Finish Time: 1 hour 50 minutes
With tender hunks of beef in a red wine sauce, beef bourguignon is at once a rich, company-worthy meal and quintessential French comfort food.
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Beef Bourguignon in a Pressure Cooker: A 5-Star French Classic, Reinvented: We often get asked, “Can you actually make a 5-star recipe in a multi-cooker?” The answer from our chefs is an enthusiastic yes, and they’ll even go a step further—sometimes, the multi-cooker outperforms traditional methods. One dish where this cooking innovation shines is Beef Bourguignon. This French classic, with its rich red wine sauce and tender chunks of beef, might make purists cringe at the thought of using a pressure cooker. But we’re here to tell you that our multi-cooker version rivals some of the best traditional French versions. And the best part? It’s faster and just as flavorful.
Beef Bourguignon: is a culinary masterpiece, often associated with elegance and comfort in the same bite. Succulent beef, braised in a luscious, deeply flavored red wine sauce, makes for a meal that feels both company-worthy and iconic in its simplicity. With the pressure cooker, we’ve taken this traditionally slow-cooked dish and made it accessible for busy cooks, without sacrificing any of its rich, comforting essence.
Our adaptation of this beloved dish brings some modern twists without losing the heart of what makes it special. For one, we’ve swapped out the sometimes hard-to-find salt pork or fatback for bacon, which adds a familiar, smoky depth to the sauce. Instead of the usual chuck roast, we’ve opted for boneless short ribs, which are prized for their tenderness and ability to cook beautifully in a short amount of time—ideal for the pressure cooker’s quick, intense cooking environment.
One of the secrets to this version’s success is the braising liquid—a perfect blend of beef broth and two cups of a rich, fruity red wine. This balance creates a depth of flavor that’s essential to the dish, and the concentrated environment of the pressure cooker only intensifies the flavors. Choosing a wine like a red Burgundy or a Pinot Noir is critical here; these wines add a complex richness that becomes the soul of the sauce.
While the pressure cooker excels in tenderizing the beef and infusing the wine-soaked mushrooms with flavor, there’s one step where we diverge from the all-in-one approach. The delicate pearl onions are best sautéed separately. This allows them to maintain their subtle sweetness and texture, adding a refined finish to the dish that’s worth the extra step.
What makes this recipe truly shine is the way it merges convenience with sophistication. You get all the elegance of a traditional Boeuf Bourguignon, but with the ease and speed of modern technology. The result is tender beef, an aromatic, velvety sauce, and a dish that feels like it took all day to prepare—even though it didn’t.
So the next time you’re craving French comfort food or need an impressive dish for a special occasion, let the pressure cooker do the heavy lifting. Our Beef Bourguignon is a testament to how modern methods can elevate even the most revered of classic dishes. And yes, it’s absolutely 5-star worthy!
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Ingredients:
FOR BUILDING FLAVOR:
2 slices bacon, chopped fine
2 tablespoons tomato paste
1 tablespoon fresh thyme, minced fine (or 1 teaspoon
dried)
1/2 cup flour
2 cups Burgundy wine (or Pinot Noir)
1 cup beef broth
8 ounces mushrooms, cremini, trimmed and sliced thin
1 each bay leaf
FOR THE BEEF:
3 pounds beef short ribs, boneless, trimmed and cut
into 2-inch pieces, pat dry, and season with salt and
pepper
salt and pepper, to taste
FINISH WITH:
2 cups pearl onions, frozen
1/2 cup water
1 tablespoon unsalted butter
1 tablespoon granulated sugar
2 tablespoons fresh parsley, minced
1 tablespoon cognac
RECIPE DEVELOPMENT: Boeuf Bourguignon, featuring succulent
beef chunks bathed in a luscious red wine sauce, effortlessly straddles
the line between an opulent, company-worthy meal and an iconic
French comfort classic. In our adaptation, we’ve replaced the
sometimes elusive salt pork or fatback with readily available bacon,
imparting a deep meaty flavor. Furthermore, we opted for boneless
short ribs, renowned for their tenderness, over the conventional chuck,
ensuring a faster and more straightforward preparation.
The melding of two cups of wine with beef broth yields a harmonious
braising liquid and sauce, creating a symphony of flavors. In the
pressure cooker’s concentrated environment, the choice of a fruity, rich-bodied red Burgundy or Pinot Noir is imperative to achieve the desired
depth. While the mushrooms handle the pressure beautifully, the
delicate onions shine brightest when sautéed separately, adding a
nuanced layer of perfection to this exquisite dish.
Instructions:
BUILD FLAVOR (20 minutes):
Cook bacon in pressure-cooker pot over medium-high heat until
browned and crisp, about 3 minutes.
Using slotted spoon, transfer bacon to paper towel-lined plate.
Add tomato paste and thyme to fat left in pot and cook until
fragrant, about 30 seconds.
Stir in flour and cook for 1 minute.
Whisk in wine, smoothing out any lumps, and simmer until
thickened, about 10 minutes.
Stir in broth, mushrooms, and bay leaves. Using wooden spoon,
scrape up all browned bits stuck on bottom of pot.
Pat beef dry with paper towels, season with salt and pepper, and
stir into pot.
HIGH PRESSURE (40 Minutes):
Bring to high pressure and cook for 35 minutes.
NATURALLY RELEASE PRESSURE (15 minutes):
Turn off presure cooker and allow pressure to release naturally
for 15 minutes. Quick release any remaining pressure, then
carefully remove lid, allowing steam to escape away from you.
BEFORE SERVING (15 minutes):
Bring pearl onions, water, butter, sugar, and 1/4 teaspoon salt to
boil in 12-inch non-stick skillet over high heat.
Cover, reduce heat to medium-low, and simmer, shaking pan
occasionally, until onions are tender, about 5 minutes.
Uncover, increase heat to high, and simmer until all liquid
evaporates and onions caramelize, about 3 minutes.
Remove and discard bay leaves from stew.
Using large spoon, skim excess fat from surface of stew.
Stir in cooked pearl onions (from skilet), parsley, and cognac and
season with salt and pepper to taste.
Sprinkle individual portions with reserved bacon before serving.