Baby, it’s cold outside! Luckily, Manzanita Creek Winemaker Jack Salerno has the perfect, cold-weather comfort food- his Beef Bourguignon, made with an entire bottle of Manzanita Creek Zinfandel. Of course, the perfect pairing for this beef bourguignon is another bottle of Manzanita Creek Zinfandel from Dry Creek Valley! Stay warm and cozy with this winter, wine-country recipe that has the slow cooker do most of the work.

Manzanita Creek’s Slow Cooker Beef Bourguignon Paired With 2008 Manzanita Creek Zinfandel Carreras Old Vine, Dry Creek Valley

Ingredients:

  • 3 fat carrots

  • 4 stalks of celery

  • 1 large yellow onion

  • 1 lb white or crimini mushrooms

  • 1 cup flour

  • 1/8 cup Kosher sea salt

  • Black pepper

  • 3-4 Tablespoons Italian seasoning

  • Extra virgin olive oil

  • 3 thick slices apple smoked bacon, diced

  • 5 lbs boneless short ribs (Costco sells nice ones!)

  • 6 sprigs of fresh thyme, 2 large fresh sage leaves and 2 fresh bay leaves, tied together with twine

  • 750 ml Manzanita Creek Zinfandel (or other zin)

 

Cut the carrots, celery and onion into medium dice; slice the mushrooms and combine with the other vegetables in a bowl. Set aside.

In a medium bowl, combine the flour, salt, pepper and Italian seasoning. Set aside.

In a large, heavy-bottomed saute pan, heat 2 TBS of olive oil, then saute the diced bacon until some of the fat is rendered down. With a slotted spoon, remove the bacon.

Cut the short ribs into 1 inch cubes, then dredge the meat in the seasoned flour. Brown the beef on the olive oil/bacon fat in batches so they brown- not steam (overcrowding the pan will result in steaming the meat!)- until all of the meat is browned evenly. Add more oil between batches if necessary. Put browned meat on a plate and set aside.

Add the vegetables to the pan, season with salt and pepper and scrape any browned bits from the meat at the bottom of the pan with a wooden spoon. The moisture from the vegetables will help pull the browned bits off. This is where all of the flavor lies so you want to scrape up as much as possible!

Add the browned beef, bacon, herb bundle and sauteed vegetables to a 6 quart slow cooker or Crockpot. Pour the entire bottle of zinfandel on top, then cook on High for 4 hours or on Low for 8 hours.

Serve over steamed or boiled Yukon Gold potatoes dressed with some chopped Italian parsley and olive oil; pair with 2008 Manzanita Creek Zinfandel Carreras Old Vine, Dry Creek Valley