Beef · Slow cooker adaptation

Budget Beef Bourguignon

Chuck roast, seared until deep brown, then braised in Merlot with carrots, celery and thyme, this is beef bourguignon stripped back to basics. Chef John's version skips the fuss but keeps the flavour, and costs less because you're cutting your own meat instead of buying pre-cubed stew packs.

R By Richard · Adapted from Food Wishes · Published 8 May 2026
👁 384.9k source views ❤️ 5.9k source likes
⏱Prep 25 min
🍲Slow cook 8 hr (Low) / 4 hr (High)
🍽Serves 6
✓Confidence 82%
Budget Beef Bourguignon

Source video by Food Wishes on YouTube. This recipe was adapted with strict source-fidelity rules and is marked for human review.

This is Chef John's Beef Merlot, a relaxed riff on classic beef bourguignon that swaps Burgundy for more affordable Merlot and uses a whole chuck roast you cube yourself rather than pre-packed stew meat. The beef is browned, then braised gently with onion, carrot, celery, thyme and a bay leaf in red wine and beef broth until fall-apart tender. We have adapted the original 2 hour hob simmer for the slow cooker. Serve over buttery mashed potato to soak up the sauce.

Slow cooker notes: Original recipe is a hob Dutch oven braise. Browning the beef and reducing the wine are still done on the hob, as slow cookers cannot sear or reduce. Beef broth reduced from 2 cups (around 480 ml) to 350 ml because slow cookers retain liquid. Wine still reduced by half on the hob before transferring. Final uncovered reduction step is replaced by removing the lid for the last 30 minutes on High, or thickening with a cornflour slurry if needed.

Ingredients

Main
  • 1.25 kgbeef chuck roast, trimmed of fat and cut into chunks
  • salt
  • black pepper, freshly ground
  • vegetable oil
  • 1 largeonion, chopped
  • 1 tbspbutter
  • 2 tbspplain flour
  • 375 mlMerlot red wine
  • 2carrots, cut into 2.5 cm (1 inch) pieces
  • 2 ribscelery, chopped
  • 1bay leaf
  • fresh thyme sprigs, tied together with kitchen string
  • 350 mllow sodium beef broth

Method

  1. Pat the beef chunks dry and season generously with salt and pepper.

    ~5 min

  2. Heat vegetable oil in a large frying pan or Dutch oven until very hot, then sear the beef in batches until nicely browned on all sides. Transfer to the slow cooker.

    ~10 min

  3. Add the chopped onion, butter and a pinch of salt to the same pan. Cook for a couple of minutes to soften, scraping up the brown bits.

    ~3 min

  4. Sprinkle in the flour and cook for 3 to 4 minutes, stirring, so the flour cooks out without burning.

    ~4 min

  5. Pour in the Merlot, scrape the pan well, and simmer to reduce by about half. This will take roughly 10 minutes and the sauce will start to thicken from the flour.

    ~10 min

  6. Tip the wine and onion mixture into the slow cooker over the beef. Add the carrots, celery, bay leaf, tied thyme sprigs and another small pinch of salt.

    ~3 min

  7. Pour in the beef broth, just enough to almost cover the beef. Stir gently to combine.

    ~2 min

  8. Cover and cook on Low for 8 hours or High for 4 hours, until the beef is fall-apart tender.

    ~480 min

  9. If you would like a thicker sauce, remove the lid for the final 30 minutes on High, or stir in a cornflour slurry (1 tbsp cornflour mixed with 2 tbsp cold water).

    ~30 min

  10. Fish out the bay leaf and thyme stems. Taste and adjust seasoning. Serve spooned into a well of buttery mashed potato.

    ~3 min

Frequently asked

Do I really need to brown the beef and reduce the wine first?
Yes. Slow cookers cannot sear or reduce, so both jobs have to happen on the hob. Browning gives you the deep colour and savoury crust, and reducing the wine cooks off the raw alcohol so the finished sauce tastes rounded rather than sharp.
Can I use a different red wine instead of Merlot?
Yes. Any decent dry red you would happily drink works well, including Burgundy, Pinot Noir, Cabernet Sauvignon or a Côtes du Rhône. Avoid anything labelled cooking wine.
Why buy a chuck roast instead of pre-cut stew meat?
A whole chuck roast is cheaper per kilo, and you can trim the fat and cut the chunks to a size you actually want. Pre-packed stew meat is often a mix of off-cuts that cook unevenly.
Can I add potatoes to the slow cooker?
You can, but the original recipe deliberately leaves them out and serves the stew over buttery mashed potato instead. If you want them in the pot, add chunks of waxy potato at the start so they cook through with the beef.
Can I make this ahead?
Yes, and it actually tastes better the next day. Cool, refrigerate, and reheat gently on the hob or on Low in the slow cooker until piping hot.
Extraction notes (transparency): Slow cooker timings and reduced broth volume are inferred adaptations, not from the source. Serving count estimated from a 2.75 lb chuck roast. Garlic mashed potato mentioned as serving suggestion only, not included in ingredients.