Instant Pot Beef Bourguignon
Chuck roast, red wine, bacon, and pearl onions braised under pressure for 35 minutes to hit the same fork-tender finish a Dutch oven takes three hours to reach.
instant-pot Timer
Set for 35 mins @ High Pressure, Sauté for browning and reduction
Ingredients
Base recipe calibrated for 6 adults.
Get to the Point
Render 4 oz bacon in Sauté High, remove. Brown 3 lbs cubed chuck in bacon fat in batches.
Sauté carrots, onion, garlic; deglaze with 2 cups red wine and reduce 5 minutes.
Add beef, bacon, 1 cup broth, thyme, bay. Cook 35 min High Pressure, 15 min natural release.
Whisk 2 tbsp cornstarch slurry into juices on Sauté; simmer 3 minutes to gravy.
Step-by-Step Guided Instructions
Cut 4 oz thick-cut bacon into 1/2-inch lardons. Set Instant Pot to Sauté High, add lardons, and cook 5 minutes until crisp and fat is fully rendered. Transfer bacon to a bowl with a slotted spoon, leaving fat in the pot.
Bacon fat is your entire browning medium. If you skip this step and use butter, you lose the smoky backbone of the whole dish.
Pat 3 lbs cubed chuck completely dry. Season with 1.5 tsp kosher salt and 1 tsp black pepper. Sear in the bacon fat in 3 batches, 3 minutes per side, until deep brown on 2 sides only. Transfer to the bowl with the bacon.
Crowding steams the beef gray. Leave 1/2 inch between cubes every batch — brown crust is where the sauce flavor lives.
Add 1 diced onion and 2 sliced carrots to the pot. Sauté 4 minutes until softening. Add 4 minced garlic cloves and 2 tbsp tomato paste; stir 1 minute. Pour in 2 cups dry red wine, scrape all fond, and reduce 5 minutes.
Reducing the wine before pressure cooking burns off the raw alcohol bite. Under pressure, alcohol cannot evaporate — reduce it on Sauté or it stays sharp.
Return beef, bacon, and any collected juices to the pot. Add 1 cup beef broth, 2 sprigs fresh thyme, 2 bay leaves, and 10 oz frozen pearl onions. Do not stir — let the beef sit on top of the liquid.
Beef only needs to be 3/4 submerged for the steam under pressure to cook it evenly. Piling the beef on top keeps the fond from lifting off the bottom.
Seal the lid and set the valve to Sealing. Cook at High Pressure for 35 minutes. Allow a full 15-minute natural pressure release, then vent any remaining pressure.
Chuck is done when the connective tissue melts, not when it hits an internal temp. 35 minutes of pressure plus 15 of natural release is the collagen-conversion window.
Fish out thyme stems and bay leaves. Whisk 2 tbsp cornstarch with 3 tbsp cold water. Set pot to Sauté High, stir in the slurry, and simmer 3 minutes until the sauce coats a spoon. Rest off heat 10 minutes before serving.
Slurry goes in only after pressure comes off. Under pressure, starch coats the pot bottom and triggers the burn error every time.
The wine has to be one you would actually drink. Cooking wine is over-salted, and cheap bottles with off-notes concentrate as they reduce into something bitter. A $12 Cotes du Rhone is the sweet spot.
Serve the shredded beef over buttered egg noodles with the sauce spooned only under the noodles. Pearl onions and mushrooms go on the adult plates.
- Buttered egg noodles or mashed potatoes
- Crusty French baguette
- Roasted haricots verts with lemon
Reheat covered in a 325°F oven for 25 minutes, or in a covered Dutch oven over medium-low for 12 minutes. The gravy loosens back up as it warms — do not add liquid until it is fully hot.