Best Paleo Instant Pot Beef Bourguignon
A classic French-inspired dish made easy in the Instant Pot: our Best Paleo Instant Pot Beef Bourguignon! Pre-cut stew beef is seared on all sides until nicely browned and flavorful. It is joined with boiler onions, carrots, red wine, tomato paste, fresh garlic, fresh thyme, and beef stock. A delicious braising liquid is created from the mixture, so we added some arrowroot starch to thicken it for a sauce that beautifully glazes the meat.
How to Make It
Step 1
Remove the skins from the boiler onions by dropping them into a pot of boiling water for 30 seconds. Then drop them into a bowl filled with ice water for 30 seconds. Remove them from the water and trim off the ends. The skins should peel right off using a paring knife to help get underneath the papery skins. Set the peeled onions aside.
Step 2
Dry the stew beef using paper towels. Discard the wet paper towels and repeat with more if necessary. Drying the meat is critical for achieving a proper sear. Season the beef with one teaspoon of kosher salt and ¼ teaspoon of black pepper. Preheat the Instant Pot on the Saute setting. Add in chopped bacon before the pot is hot to render the bacon fat. Keep cooking the bacon until it is crispy and the fat is rendered off into the bottom of the pan. Remove the crisp bacon to a bowl for now.
Step 3
Add in ⅓ to ½ of the stew beef, browning it on the first side for several minutes before stirring it. Repeat browning the beef on all sides. Remove the beef to the bowl with the bacon and repeat with the remaining meat.
Step 4
There should be some fat and brown bits on the bottom of the pan. Add the boiler onions and cut carrots to this. Stir well to incorporate it all. Season it with one teaspoon of kosher salt. Cook until the onions and carrots start to brown. Before the bottom of the pan burns, drizzle some red wine into the pan to deglaze some of the browned bits and continue cooking the carrots and onions for a couple more minutes.
Step 5
Next, add the mushrooms. The mushrooms should be destemmed and then cut into quarters. Cook the mushrooms until they become nicely browned.
Step 6
Next, add back in the beef, tomato paste, garlic cloves, red wine, beef broth, fresh thyme, and bay leaves. Set the pot on high pressure for 1 hour and 15 minutes.
Step 7
Once the timer is up, set the pot on the quick release. When the button pops open the lid to see how much liquid was created in the pot. Create a starch slurry by mixing four tablespoons of arrowroot starch and 1-2 tablespoons of water. Pour the slurry into the pot and give it a good stir. Turn the Instant Pot on the Saute setting and allow the mixture to come to a boil and thicken the sauce. Remove the thyme stems as well as the bay leaves and discard. Once thickened, serve immediately with chopped parsley on top.
Ingredients
- White Boiler Onions
8 oz
- Pasture-Raised Thick Cut Bacon
1 fried slice
- Beef For Stewing
2 lb
- Coarse Kosher Salt
1 tsp
- Carrots, raw
1 medium – 6″ to 7″ long
- Red wine
1 cup
- Coarse Kosher Salt
1 tsp
- Black pepper
0.25 tsp
- Tomato paste
1 tbsp
- Garlic
2 clove
- Beef broth
1 cup
- Thyme, fresh
2 tbsp
- Bay Leaf
2 leaf
- Arrowroot flour
4 tbsp
- Fresh Parsley (for flavoring only)
1 tsp