The Best Crockpot Beef Bourguignon

Thanksgiving 2021. The table was full again — not the pre-pandemic full, not the thirty-six people full, but full enough: David, Jennifer, four grandchildren, Rebecca (alone, quiet about Thomas, eating brisket with the focus of a woman processing a breakup through protein). Twelve people. Enough people to fill the dining room with noise and enough food to fill the kitchen with purpose. The turkey was twenty-two pounds. The brisket was supplementary. The kugel was mandatory.

Marvin sat at the table for the blessing. David said grace. Marvin moved his lips during the prayer — I watched his lips the way I watch everything about him: with the vigilance of a close reader who knows the text is changing and wants to catch every edit before it disappears. His lips moved. Whether the words were there, behind the movement, I cannot say. The movement was enough.

Ethan, seven, helped me set the table. He has become my deputy in the kitchen — serious, careful, precise in the way of a child who has been watching his grandmother and absorbing her standards without being told them. He placed each napkin centered on each plate. He filled the water glasses to exactly the same level. He is his grandfather's grandson, which is to say: everything must balance.

After dinner, Rebecca and I washed dishes. She said, "I'm thinking about Chekhov." I said, "You're always thinking about Chekhov." She said, "No, I mean — I'm thinking about writing a book. About Chekhov. An academic book." I put down the dish I was drying and looked at my daughter — thirty-four years old, just out of a relationship, standing in my kitchen on Thanksgiving, telling me she wants to write a book about the writer we have been arguing about since she was fourteen. I said, "You should." She said, "You think so?" I said, "Rebecca, you have been writing that book in your head for twenty years. Write it on paper." She smiled. The smile was the first genuine smile I had seen from her since Thomas left. I filed it in the good moments folder. The folder is thin. Every addition matters.

I wrote about Thanksgiving on the blog — about the return of the table, about the first real Thanksgiving in two years, about how the turkey tasted the same and the table felt the same and the only thing that had changed was us. We were older. We were warier. We held the table more carefully. We did not take the table for granted. The pandemic taught us that. The disease taught me that. You do not take the table for granted. You do not take any of it for granted. Not the turkey, not the kugel, not the man in the chair. Especially not the man in the chair.

The brisket that year wasn’t the centerpiece — the turkey was — but it was the brisket Rebecca kept returning to, quiet and purposeful, and I understood completely. There is something about slow-cooked beef, meat that has had hours to become something deeper than itself, that meets people where they are. This Crockpot Beef Bourguignon is what I reach for now when I need that same effect: a dish that does its work while you’re busy setting the table, saying the blessing, watching your husband’s lips move. You put it in, you walk away, and when the table is finally full, it’s ready.

Prep Time: 25 minutes | Cook Time: 8 hours | Total Time: 8 hours 25 minutes | Servings: 8

Ingredients

3 lbs beef chuck roast, cut into 2-inch cubes
1 bottle (750ml) dry red wine (such as Burgundy or Pinot Noir)
2 cups beef broth
6 strips bacon, chopped
3 cloves garlic, minced
1 large yellow onion, diced
3 medium carrots, sliced into 1-inch rounds
2 cups cremini mushrooms, halved
2 tablespoons tomato paste
2 tablespoons all-purpose flour
2 tablespoons olive oil
1 teaspoon fresh thyme leaves (or 1/2 teaspoon dried)
2 bay leaves
Salt and black pepper to taste
Fresh parsley, chopped, for garnish

Instructions

Brown the bacon. In a large skillet over medium heat, cook the chopped bacon until crisp. Transfer to the crockpot using a slotted spoon, leaving the drippings in the pan.
Sear the beef. Season the beef cubes generously with salt and pepper. Working in batches, sear the beef in the bacon drippings over medium-high heat, about 2–3 minutes per side, until a deep brown crust forms. Transfer each batch to the crockpot.
Sauté the aromatics. Add the olive oil to the skillet if needed. Cook the onion and garlic over medium heat for 3–4 minutes until softened. Stir in the tomato paste and flour and cook for 1 minute, stirring constantly.
Deglaze and build the sauce. Pour the red wine into the skillet, scraping up any browned bits from the bottom. Add the beef broth and bring to a brief simmer. Pour the entire mixture over the beef in the crockpot.
Add vegetables and herbs. Tuck the carrots, mushrooms, thyme, and bay leaves into the crockpot. Stir gently to combine everything.
Slow cook. Cover and cook on LOW for 8 hours (or HIGH for 4–5 hours), until the beef is fork-tender and the sauce has thickened to a rich, glossy consistency.
Finish and serve. Remove the bay leaves. Taste and adjust seasoning with salt and pepper. Ladle into bowls or serve over mashed potatoes or egg noodles, garnished with fresh parsley.

Nutrition (per serving)

The Best Crockpot Beef Bourguignon — The Brisket That Held the Table Together