Rich and Hearty Beef Stew

It’s a cold, rainy day, and I am craving some hearty beef stew. Beef stew is one of those dishes that really benefits from slowing down and taking your time.

It all starts with the beef. I like to use a flavorful cut such as chuck roast or you can buy cubed stew meat, or sirloin roast. And all of these cuts are tougher pieces of meat, so they need to be cooked for a longer period of time to break down all of their connective tissue, and become nice and tender and fall apart in your mouth like you want in a beef stew.

Making your beef stew is actually quite simple. All that you need is a little bit of time. And you start by coating your beef in a flour, salt and pepper mixture and brown in your oil to get all of the sides nice and crispy. Next, sweat your vegetables, minus the potatoes, until they are translucent. After that we’re going to make a roux in the pot with the vegetables. You do this by adding your flour directly onto the vegetables and stirring it until everything is nice and combined. We’re also going to add in our tomato paste at this step. Once the vegetables are fully coated in the flour mixture and all of the flour has absorbed the butter, you deglaze with your wine and beef stock. Stir that to combine and then add in your beef cubes. Let the stew simmer for at least three hours on medium low heat. You want gentle bubbles not a rolling boil.

Check your meat after three hours. If it is beginning to be tender, you can add in your potatoes. Once you add it in your potatoes you can add in your herbs and simmer for an additional 40 minutes to an hour until your potatoes are soft all the way through. I like to serve my beef stew piping hot with a garnish of fresh thyme, and a nice crusty piece of bread on the side to sop up all of that goodness. Enjoy!!

Rich and Hearty Beef stew

Rich and hearty beef stew filled with vegetables, potatoes and big chunks of beef! This stew is the perfect thing to keep you warm on a cold evening!

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Prep Time 30 minutes mins

Cook Time 3 hours hrs 30 minutes mins

Course Dinner, Soup

Cuisine American, European

Servings 6 Servings

Equipment

• 1 Stock Pot 6 Qts or larger

Ingredients

  

• 1½-2 Lbs Stew Meat 1 inch cubes
• ½ tsp salt
• ½ tsp pepper
• 2-3 Tbsp All purpose flour
• 2 Tbsp Oil I use grapeseed or avocado
• 3 Large Carrots diced
• 5 Celery Stalks diced
• 1 Med Onion diced
• 4 cloves Garlic minced
• 2 tbsp Tomato Paste
• 3 Tbsp Flour
• 3 Qt Stock Chicken or Beef would be best
• ¼ Cup Red Wine
• 2 Bay Leaves
• 1 Sprig Fresh Rosemary
• 5-6 Sprigs Fresh Thyme
• 2 Med Potatoes Peeled and Diced
• ¾ tsp Salt

Instructions

 

• If your meat isn't cubed, cut it into 1"cubes. Season the meat with salt and pepper and dust with 2-3 tbsp of flour.
• In a large pot on medium high heat, heat up the oil until its glistening then brown the floured meat until it is crispy all around. No need to cook it through at this stage, just get it nice and golden. Set aside.
• In the same pot, sweat your celery, onion, carrot and garlic until translucent. Next, add in the tomato paste and stir it around to coat the vegetables.
• Add in the 3 tbsp of flour and make sure everything is evenly coated then add in the red wine and stock, stir and bring to a simmer.
• Add back in the meat and bay leaf and continue to simmer on low heat for 2.5 to 3 hours. Keep an eye to make sure it doesn't get to a rapid boil if it does, you may need to add a bit of water to get back to the proper stew consistency.
• After the 2.5 to 3 hours add in your diced potatoes, fresh herbs and salt and simmer for an additional 30 minutes to an hour. Your potatoes should be soft but not mushy and the meat should be tender and falling apart.
• Adjust seasoning as necessary with salt and pepper and enjoy!!

Keyword Beef Stew, Potatoes, Soup, Stock