Pressure Cooker Intermediate 75 min

Pressure Cooker Beef Bourguignon

45 Minutes, Not 3 Hours

The classic French beef bourguignon in 45 minutes under pressure, without sacrificing the tender beef or the deep red wine flavour.

Pressure Cooker Beef Bourguignon illustration

Steps

  1. 01

    Brown the bacon lardons in the pressure cooker over medium-high heat. Add the beef chuck in batches and brown well on all sides. Set both aside.

  2. 02

    In the same pot, sauté the sliced carrots, pearl onions, and garlic for 2 minutes. Sprinkle the flour over and stir 1 minute. Deglaze with the red wine, scraping up the browned bits.

  3. 03

    Return the beef and bacon. Add the broth, tomato paste, thyme, and bay leaf. Season with salt and pepper. Seal and cook at high pressure for 35 minutes.

  4. 04

    Natural release 10 minutes, then release any remaining pressure. Add the mushrooms and simmer uncovered for 10 minutes to concentrate the sauce.

  5. 05

    Remove the bay leaf and thyme sprigs. Serve over steamed potatoes or egg noodles.

Why it works

How does pressure cooking extract gelatin from chicken bones?

Bones, cartilage, and connective tissue contain collagen, a tough structural protein. When cooked in water, collagen slowly converts to gelatin. A pressure cooker raises the water temperature to 120°C, which dramatically accelerates that conversion — producing gelatin-rich broth in 45 minutes instead of the 3–4 hours needed on a stovetop.

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Why can't you brown meat in a pressure cooker?

The Maillard reaction requires a dry surface and temperatures above 140°C. A sealed pressure cooker is full of steam and never exceeds 120°C, so browning is chemically impossible inside the pot. You need to sear the meat in a hot pan before pressure cooking — the flavors survive and end up in the sauce.

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What is umami and why does it make food taste better?

Mushrooms taste savory because they're loaded with glutamate, the amino acid that triggers umami receptors. Nucleotides like 5'-guanylate, also present in mushrooms, amplify that glutamate signal several times over — a synergy that explains why mushrooms deepen the flavor of stocks, sauces, and braises even in small quantities.

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Substitutions
  • buttercoconut oil×1

    Direct replacement. Adds slight coconut flavor.

  • butterolive oil×0.75

    Use 3/4 the amount. Changes texture, less rich. Works for cooking, not for baking.

Pressure Cooker Cooking Times Chart →

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01

Brown the bacon lardons in the pressure cooker over medium-high heat. Add the beef chuck in batches and brown well on all sides. Set both aside.

Bacon 150 g
Beef chuck 900 g
Butter 30 g