Instant Pot Beef Bourguignon

Before You Start

Brown the beef in batches, not all at once.

Scrape the base of the pot clean before sealing.

Add the thickener at the end, not before pressure cooking.

Making Instant Pot Beef Bourguignon

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1. Season the beef with the salt and pepper. Set the Instant Pot to sauté and cook the lardons for 4 minutes. Remove them. Brown the beef in 2 batches in the olive oil for 4 minutes per batch.

   Mark done Start 4 min timer

2. Add the onion and carrots and cook for 4 minutes. Add the garlic and tomato purée and cook for 1 minute.

   Mark done Start 4 min timer

3. Pour in the wine, scraping the base, and reduce for 5 minutes. Add the stock, thyme and lardons.

   Mark done Start 5 min timer

4. Seal and cook on high pressure for 35 minutes. Release naturally for 10 minutes, then release the rest.

   Mark done Start 35 min timer

5. Fry the mushrooms in 10 g of the butter until golden. Mash the remaining butter with the flour, stir into the stew on sauté for 3 minutes until thick, and fold in the mushrooms.

   Mark done Start 3 min timer

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Why the Method Works

Beef bourguignon means beef from Burgundy, and the name tells you the cooking liquid: red wine. A good bottle is not needed, but a wine you would drink is, since the flavour concentrates as the sauce reduces.

Brown the beef in batches in the Instant Pot on the sauté setting. The dark crust on each piece is where the flavour of the stew starts, so do not rush it. Crowding the pot makes the meat steam and turn grey, and the sauce will taste thin.

Deglaze with the wine and scrape the base clean. The brown stuck to the bottom contains much of the flavour, and it can also trigger the burn warning if left there when the pressure builds. Reduce the wine for a few minutes before sealing the lid.

Pressure cooking reduces the cooking time from three hours to 45 minutes. Thicken the sauce at the end with a paste of butter and flour, and cook the mushrooms separately in a pan so they stay golden rather than turning soft and grey in the stew.

Leftovers, Reheating and Keeping

Keeps for 4 days in the fridge or 3 months in the freezer. Better the next day.

Ingredient Swaps

• An eighth of a teaspoon of garlic powder per clove is the stand-in usually given when you are out of fresh garlic; it will not brown the same way, and it burns easily, so add it with the liquid.

Serving Instant Pot Beef Bourguignon

• Mashed potatoes
• Crusty bread
• Green beans
• Buttered noodles

Sides from the same cuisine on this site: French Baguette, Fougasse, Gratin de Courgettes.

Instant Pot Beef Bourguignon Nutrition Facts

Per serving, an approximate calculation from the ingredient list. Treat it as a rough guide: all the alcohol is counted, though some is lost in cooking. The calories include 5 g of alcohol a serving, which is not part of the protein, carbohydrate or fat. How the figures are worked out.

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