Slow Cooker Beef Bourguignon Soup – Julia Child
ShareA classic and hearty recipe for beef bourguignon soup, reinvented and made easier by using the slow cooker.
Happy birthday Julia! You sure did leave a huge impression on this world.
The finale. Fifteen weeks of classic recipes. Easy, complex, flavorful and fun. I’ve learned so much in such a short time. I tackled creamy, easy and perfect omelettes. Who knew you could have hot, good for you breakfast in under 2 minutes. They’re my go to eggs now. Make them. Trust me. We enjoyed the most amazing chocolate mousse. Which you of course have got to try yourself! And I even conquered cooking fish, multiple times over. That’s huge for someone who prefers chicken… or bacon, over every other kind of meat.
It should have been an easy guess that the finale would be one of her most well known recipes, if not the most well known. Most of the traditional items are still here, but I switched things up a bit. Would you expect anything otherwise? I never got to adding the mushrooms and honestly, I think it’s perfectly acceptable to leave them out. People have strong opinions about mushrooms but the rest of the ingredients here are fairly well accepted.
I felt this needed to not only be a soup but be made in a slow cooker as well. Kids running around, nap times not always consistent… I just couldn’t count on doing the whole in and out of the oven bit with a hot French oven. Slow cookers just make life easier, even if you’re home while they do the slaving away.
This dish takes a bit of prep time, but it’s definitely worth it. Though a bit of warning… enlist someone to do the cleanup. You may faint from the amount of grease splatter. I had puddles of grease on my stovetop. Not splatters here and there… puddles! Fried bacon and beef cubes seared in the remaining bacon grease. Ohh yeah. The combination of searing and simmering the meat for hours makes for flavorful and melt in your mouth tender beef.
Let this simmer away while you’re at work, or kicking back watching your favorite trashy tav. This hearty and classic dish is a perfect way to kick off fall… even if it’s still 5 1/2 weeks away. ;)
What was your favorite recipe of the JC100 series?
Slow Cooker Beef Bourguignon Soup
Ingredients
- 4 slices bacon
- 1 1/2 lb stew beef
- 1 C carrots
- 1 C celery
- 1 C yellow onion
- 3 C baby red potatoes
- 2 cloves garlic
- 1 1/2 tsp salt
- 1/2 tsp ground black pepper
- 1/2 tsp thyme
- 1/2 tsp basil
- 1/8 tsp red pepper flakes
- 2 C red wine
- 3-4 C beef stock
- 3/4 C pasta I used ditalini pasta
Instructions
- Prepare vegetables: chop onion, celery and carrots. Mince garlic. Quarter potatoes. Add to slow cooker.
- Cut stew meat into bite size pieces.
- Fry bacon in a large skillet over medium heat until crisp. Chop and set aside.
- In remaining bacon grease, sear stew meat in small batches. Flip pieces to sear both sides. Remove to a platter or immediately toss in slow cooker. Continue until all of your meat has been seared.
- Add bacon and seared meat to slow cooker. Sprinkle with seasonings. Pour in wine and beef stock. Stir gently. Cover and cook on high for 5 hours.
- In the last 30 minutes, add pasta.
- Serve warm. Store in the refrigerator for up to several days or in the freezer for several months. Remember to label your containers well.
Notes
Celebrating 100 with Julia Child:
Week 1: Rolled omelette
Week 2: Chocolate mousse
Week 3: Coq au Vin
Week 4: Salade Niçoise
Week 5: Vichyssoise
Week 6: Reine de Saba
Week 7: Fillet Meunière
Week 8: Roast Chicken
Week 9: Charlotte Chantilly
Week 10: Bouillabaisse
Week 11: Ratatouille
Week 12: Celery Root Rémoulade
Week 13: Cheese Soufflé
Week 14: Scallops with spinach and bacon
You did it!! What a great series!!
I could eat a whole crockpot of this! Yum!
I Have been wanting to make Beef Bourguignon for a few weeks as it is one of my favorite recipes of all time and wanted to today for Julia’s b-day. BUT it’s too hot to run the oven for 6ish hours! It never occurred to me to pull out my crock pot!
Wow…this looks seriously amazing! Way to go!
I made this last year, and it turned out too boozy. I still think when I doubled the recipe, I must have messed up. It would only make sense. I was so dissapointed. I must give it another go.
Julia’s Boeuf Bourguignon is one of my all-time favorite recipes I started making when I was first married. My husband was busy all day one Saturday and I decided to pull out her cookbook I’d been given as a wedding present. It never disappoints. Your method for cooking in the slow cooker is wonderful! I can’t wait to give it a try!
This looks delicious!
What a PERFECT way to celebrate Julia’s birthday!!
I adore beef bourguignon and the fact that this is a slow cooker recipe just kicked it up another notch. This sounds so good!
What a classic! This is the perfect recipe to share today!
Congrats on finishing up an awesome series – this looks awesome + i love that you can make it in the slow-cooker!
Really just the perfect way to say Happy Birthday to her and have as a finale. I have really been wanting to make this, but it just always seemed so daunting. Your version looks much simpler and of course, the slow cooker makes everything better. I cant wait to make this in the fall!
so this was what you were making in the slow cooker!! great series, i really enjoyed reading all of it and how it lead up to her 100th bday! what a great inspiration :) and this soup is PERFECT to share on this lovely day. i will give this a shot sometime this winter!
This sounds amazing, and what a perfect finale to the series!!
What a finale!! Love that you did this in the slow cooker. What a perfect way to get geared up for fall:-)
Congrats on finishing this great series!!!
I’ve wanted to make this for years! It looks delicious and I love that you adapted it for the slow cooker!