Slow-cooker boeuf bourguignon joint

This is my slow-cooker boeuf bourguignon recipe with a twist. Instead of cutting the meat into chunks, we're cooking a whole joint of beef in the slow-cooker with bacon, onions, mushrooms and a delicious red wine gravy flavoured with thyme, carrots and celery.

📝 Ingredients

• 1 1/2 pounds / 700 grams beef joint (brisket, topside or similar)
• 4 ounces / 113 grams bacon
• 12 shallots or baby onions
• 2 large carrots
• 2 ribs celery
• 5 ounces / 150 grams button mushrooms
• 1 cup /240 ml pinot noir or other red wine
• 1 cup / 240 ml beef stock (you can make it with a stock cube)
• 2 tablespoons tomato puree
• 2 tablespoons Worcestershire sauce
• 1 sprig fresh thyme
• 1 sprig fresh parsley
• 2 tablespoons sunflower oil
• 1 tablespoon cornflour/cornstarch (optional)
• 2 tablespoons plain all-purpose flour
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 teaspoon black pepper
• 2 teaspoons garlic granules

👨‍🍳 Instructions

1. 1--- Preparation ---
2. 2Peel the carrots and shallots (or onions). Cut the carrots into one-inch chunks. If your onions are quite large, cut them in half or quarters.
3. 3Wash the celery and cut it into one-inch pieces.
4. 4Cut the bacon into approximately one-inch pieces.
5. 5Mix the garlic granules, salt and pepper into the flour.
6. 6Dissolve the stock cube in one cup of boiling water and mix in the tomato paste and Worcestershire sauce
7. 7--- Beef bourguignon ---
8. 8Coat the beef well with the seasoned flour, taking care to cover the entire joint.
9. 9Heat two tablespoons of sunflower oil in a frying pan and sear the beef on all sides on a medium-high heat until it has browned all over.Transfer the browned meat to the slow-cooker.
10. 10Add the chopped bacon to the same frying pan and stir it over a medium heat until it has browned.Add it to the beef in the slow-cooker.
11. 11Arrange the vegetables around the meat.Pour over the prepared stock and the red wine, and place the herbs on top.
12. 12Cook on low for 5 to 6 hours until the meat is tender.You can also cook this dish on high for 4 to 5 hours.Once the dish has coked, remove the sprigs of thyme.
13. 13Remove the meat to a serving dish, cover lightly with tinfoil and leave to rest.
14. 14--- Make the gravy ---
15. 15Remove most of the vegetables to a serving dish and keep warm.
16. 16Blend the gravy with a stick blender (or immersion blender) until it is smooth. If you don't have a blender, pour the gravy into a metal sieve and press the vegetables through the sieve with the back of a spoon.
17. 17If necessary, thicken the gravy with a tablespoon of cornflour/cornstarch mixed with 2 tablespoons of water. Stir it into the gravy in the slow-cooker (set on high) until the gravy thickens.