Julia Child's Famous Beef Bourguignon

Julia Child's Famous Beef Bourguignon (bœuf bourgignon in french), simmered in a rich red wine sauce! This original recipe has been simplified and made easy in VitaClay!

Ingredients

• 1 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
• 6 ounces bacon, roughly chopped
• 3 pounds beef brisket, trimmed of fat (chuck steak or stewing beef) cut into 2-inch chunks
• 1 large carrot sliced 1/2-inch thick
• 1 large white onion, diced
• 6 cloves garlic, minced (divided)
• 1 pinch coarse salt and freshly ground pepper
• 2 tablespoons flour
• 12 small pearl onions (optional)
• 2-3 cups red wine like Merlot, Pinot Noir, or a Chianti
• 1-2 cups beef stock
• 2 tablespoons organic tomato sauce
• 1 beef bullion cube, crushed (optional)
• 1 teaspoon fresh thyme, finely chopped
• 2 tablespoons fresh parsley, finely chopped (divided)
• 2 bay leaves
• 1 pound fresh small white or brown mushrooms, quartered
• 2 tablespoons butter

1. In a large pan or skillet, sauté the bacon over medium heat in 1 tablespoon of oil for about 3 minutes, until crisp and browned. Transfer to your VitaClay Multicooker slow cooker bowl.
2. Pat dry beef with paper towel; sear in batches until browned on all sides in the oil/bacon fat. Transfer to Vitaclay Smart Organic multi cooker slow cooker bowl with the bacon, and add in the onions (both types) and carrots. Season with 1/2 teaspoon coarse salt and 1/4 teaspoon ground pepper, tossing well to combine.
3. Add the red wine, stock into your VitaClay pot then whisk in the flour until free from lumps. of stock, tomato paste, garlic, bullion and herbs. Mix well to combine all of the ingredients.
4. Set on Stew to Cook for 2 hours (or on soup to cook for 3 hours) or until beef is falling apart and tender.
5. In the last 10 minutes of cooking time, prepare your mushrooms: Heat the butter in a medium-sized skillet/pan over medium heat. Add the remaining 2 cloves garlic and cook until fragrant (about 30 seconds), then add in the mushrooms. Cook for about 5 minutes, while shaking the pan occasionally to coat with the butter. Season with salt and pepper, if desired. Add to the Beef Bourguignon, mixing them through the sauce before serving.
6. (Optional): you may thicken the Beef Bourguignon sauce in a sauce pan on stovetop, allowing the sauce reduced to half to make the sauce richer. I did that! It was so yummy!
7. Garnish with fresh parley and serve with mashed potatoes, rice or noodles.