Canning Beef Burgundy (Julia Child’s Recipe)

Canning Beef Burgundy takes a French comfort food classic and puts it right on your homemade pantry shelf for a heat-and-eat meal anytime.  Savory, tender beef is cooked in a rich wine sauce with onions, mushrooms, and carrots.

Since the pressure canner’s doing most of the work, this meal comes together quickly, and it’ll be in the canner before you know it.

Beef Burgundy, a classic French dish consisting of tender pieces of beef slow-simmered in a hearty red wine sauce, is the epitome of comfort food. With its rich flavors and melt-in-your-mouth texture, this meal is perfect for any occasion. 

However, as our lives become more hectic, it can be difficult to find time to prepare and enjoy such a sumptuous meal. Enter – the many benefits of pressure canning! 

By canning your very own Beef Burgundy, you can conveniently prepare this scrumptious dish ahead of time and have it ready to heat and eat whenever you desire.

Pressure canning will result in deliciously tender beef, and the flavors really come together in a jar.  Cook it once, and you can enjoy it seven times over in quart jars!

Ingredients for Beef Burgundy 

This pressure canning recipe is adapted from Pressure Canning for Beginners and Beyond by Angi Schneider.  I’ve added spices to make the recipe a bit more like Julia Child’s traditional recipe.

The ingredients for canning beef burgundy are quite simple.  To make a canner batch of 7 quart jars, you’ll need the following:

•  ¼ lb (113 g) chopped bacon
•  4 lbs (1.8 kg) cubed round or chuck roast (cubed into 1″ or 2.5 cm pieces)
•  6 cups (768 g) peeled and sliced carrots 
•  4 cups (640 g) chopped onions 
•  2 lbs (907 grams) sliced mushrooms
• 14 cloves minced garlic
• 2 Tbsp Parsley
• 1 Tbsp thyme
• 1 quart (960 ml) beef broth (or water)
• 2 cups (480 ml) dry red wine 
• 6 oz can tomato paste (optional)
• 1/4 cup Worcestershire sauce
• 1 Tbsp salt (or more to taste)

For four cups of chopped onions, you’ll need about 1 ½ pounds (or 680 grams) of unprepared onions. Similarly, for the six cups of carrots, you’ll need about 2 ¼ lbs (1 kg) of unprepared carrots.

The recipe states 2 lbs sliced mushrooms, which is about 7 cups.

Any type of carrots and onions can be used, and you can substitute parsips for the carrots if you’d like.  You can also use leeks or shallots in place of the onions.  That said, onions and carrots are traditional.

For the mushrooms, Crimini or white button mushrooms work best, but you can use any type of cultivated mushroom.  Wild mushrooms (like morels) aren’t tested for canning, so stick with cultivated varieties.

You may use any kind of red wine you’d like for this recipe, as long as it’s a dry red.  Burgundy, as the name suggests, is the traditional choice.

When you serve this recipe, you can choose to add add 1 tsp cornstarch to thicken (optional), but don’t thicken the soup before canning.

Canning Beef Burgundy 

Begin by preparing the canning jars, lids, and pressure canner. For this recipe, you will need seven 1 quart (1 liter) jars. Fill the canner with several inches (about 8 cm) of water, depending on your manufacturer’s recommendations, and place the canner on the stove.

Place it on low heat with the jars inside to stay warm. Because this is a hot pack recipe, the jars need to be warm, and the water needs to be hot (180 degrees F or 82 degrees C) when you begin.

Fry the bacon in a large stockpot, cooking it over medium-high heat or for about 10 minutes (it will be crispy). Remove the bacon with a spatula or slotted spoon, but keep the bacon grease in the pan. 

Use the bacon grease to sear the cubes of beef. Stir often to make sure the edges are adequately browned, but don’t stick to the bottom of the pan. You might need to work in batches – if that’s the case, keep the finished and seared meat warm by putting it in a container with a lid off to the side of the stove.

Once everything’s browned, add all the meat back into the pan.

Next, add the carrots, onions, mushrooms, and garlic. Add the bacon next, along with the broth, seasonings, Worcestershire, and tomato paste, as well as the wine. Bring everything to a boil, then turn the heat to a low simmer for five minutes.

Remove the stockpot from the heat, then ladle the mixture among the jars, dividing evenly. Put the solids in the jars first, and then add liquids. Leave an inch (2.5 cm) of headspace.

Using a bubble removal tool, remove the bubbles. Double-check the headspace if you’re short on liquid, you can top the jars off with boiling water.

Wipe the rims clean with a damp cloth, then put the bands and lids on the jars. Tighten each one until it is fingertip-tight. Load them into the pressure canner. 

Process the jars, based on the pressure canner manufacturer’s instructors, at 10 lbs of pressure for 90 minutes. Adjust for altitude if necessary, see below. 

Once the processing time has finished, you can let the canner depressurize naturally. Then, remove the jars and allow them to cool on the counter for 12 hours.

Check the seals, label the jars, and store them for up to one year. 

Altitude Adjustments for Canning Beef Burgundy

With pressure canning, the processing times stay the same at higher altitudes, but the pressures change.  Here are the altitude adjustments for pressure canning:

For dial gauge pressure canners:

• 0 to 2,000 feet in elevation – 11 lbs pressure
• 2,001 to 4,000 feet in elevation – 12 lbs pressure
• 4,001 to 6,000 feet in elevation – 13 lbs pressure
• 6,001 to 8,000 feet in elevation – 14 lbs pressure

For weighted gauge pressure canners:

• 0 to 1,000 feet in elevation – 10 lbs pressure
• Above 1,000 feet – 15 lbs pressure

Serving Beef Burgundy 

When you’re ready to serve your beef burgundy, pour the liquid from the jar into a medium stockpot. Heat over medium heat for 10 minutes, or until hot and bubbling. Thicken with a cornstarch slurry, if desired. 

Then, pour the meat and vegetables into the stockpot with the sauce. Simmer for five to seven minutes, or until everything is heated. Stir often. 

Pair with a side of mashed potatoes, egg noodles, or crusty bread for a delicious and satisfying meal. Note that this dish is intended to be heat-and-eat, so no additional ingredients are needed at serving time.

Yield: Makes 7 quarts

Canning Beef Burgundy (Julia Child's Recipe)

Prep Time: 30 minutes

Canning Time: 1 hour 30 minutes

Total Time: 2 hours

Classic Beef Burgundy is a delicious meal in a jar canning recipe.

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Ingredients

•  ¼ lb (113 g) chopped bacon
•  4 lbs (1.8 kg) cubed round or chuck roast (cubed into 1" or 2.5 cm pieces)
•  6 cups (768 g) peeled and sliced carrots 
•  4 cups (640 g) chopped onions 
•  2 lbs (907 grams) sliced mushrooms
• 14 cloves minced garlic
• 2 Tbsp Parsley
• 1 Tbsp thyme
• 1 quart (960 ml) beef broth (or water)
• 2 cups (480 ml) dry red wine 
• 6 oz can tomato paste (optional)
• 1/4 cup Worcestershire sauce
• 1 Tbsp salt (or more to taste)

Instructions

1. Begin by preparing the canning jars, lids, and pressure canner. Fill the canner with several inches (8 cm) of water, depending on your manufacturer's recommendations, and place the canner on the stove. Place it on low heat with the jars inside to stay warm. 
2. Fry the bacon in a large stockpot, cooking pot over medium-high heat or for about 10 minutes (it will be crispy). remove the bacon with a spatula or slotted spoon. Keep the bacon grease in the pan. 
3. Use the bacon grease to sear the cubes of beef. Stir often to make sure the edges are adequately browned but don't stick to the bottom of the pan. 
4. If you were working in batches, add all the beef back into the pan once it's all browned.
5. Add the carrots, onions, mushrooms, and garlic. 
6. Add the bacon next, along with the remaining ingredients, including spices, broth, wine and tomato paste (if using).
7. Bring everything to a boil, then turn the heat to a low simmer for five minutes.
8. Remove the stockpot from the heat, then ladle the mixture among the jars, dividing evenly. Put the solids in the jars first, then add the liquids. Leave an inch (2.5 cm) of headspace.
9. Using a bubble removal tool, remove the bubbles. Double-check the headspace if you're short on liquid, you can top the jars off with boiling water.
10. Wipe the rims clean with a damp cloth, then put the bands and lids on the jars. Tighten each one until it is fingertip-tight. Load them into the pressure canner. 
11. Process the jars, based on the pressure canner manufacturer's instructors, at 10 lbs of pressure for 90 minutes. Adjust for altitude if necessary. 
12. Once the processing time has finished, you can let the canner depressurize naturally. Then, remove the jars and allow them to cool on the counter for 12 hours. Check the seals, label the jars, and store for up to one year. 

Notes

Altitude Adjustments for Canning Beef Burgundy

With pressure canning, the processing times stay the same at higher altitudes, but the pressures change.  Here are the altitude adjustments for pressure canning:

For dial gauge pressure canners:

• 0 to 2,000 feet in elevation – 11 lbs pressure
• 2,001 to 4,000 feet in elevation – 12 lbs pressure
• 4,001 to 6,000 feet in elevation – 13 lbs pressure
• 6,001 to 8,000 feet in elevation – 14 lbs pressure

For weighted gauge pressure canners:

• 0 to 1,000 feet in elevation – 10 lbs pressure
• Above 1,000 feet – 15 lbs pressure

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