I know many of you have your own great recipes for beef stew but… this one is amazing. After many years of trying different beef stew recipes,(one of them my Danish Grandmother’s) I have finally come up with what I think is simply put, an absolute winner. I have subbed out short ribs for Grade A stewing beef. Over the last several years shorts ribs have gone from a relatively inexpensive cut to a premium cut due to increased demand. Ergo the substitution. If you really want to you can use short ribs cut into cubes but honestly, I don’t think it is worth it. This is the perfect recipe for a rainy day in the kitchen.
This recipe is simple yet demanding at the same time. Easy to execute but demanding on your time and also the detail. You can do this in an afternoon but I highly recommend that once the first part is finished, wait until the next day to complete. It allows the fat to rise and the flavour to fully develop. I know it might seem like a lot of wine but this will be reduced by half and then half again. The other important component is the braising. I can’t say it enough. Once your beef is seasoned it is vital to braise ALL sides of the cubes. Don’t worry if it is a little burnt. This will promote an amazing complex and deep finish for a stew like no other. I really hope you enjoy this one. PS: It freezes very well!
Difficulty: Medium Persons: 8 Time: 5 hours (4 hours first day, 1.5 hours second day.)
Classic Beef Stew.
- 2.5 bottles dry red wine ( don’t be cheap).
- Canola oil.
- Salt and pepper.
- All purpose flour for dredging.
- 2 k (4.4 lbs) one inch cubes stewing beef.
- 2 medium onions rough chopped.
- 3 ribs celery rough chopped.
- 3 medium carrots rough cut.
- 10 cloves garlic, slightly crushed.
- 45 gr. (1.5 oz.) Italian seasoning.
- 1 small can tomato paste.
- big bunch flat leaf parsley, stems on.
- 2 large bay leaves.
- 2.8 liters unsalted beef broth.
- 2 medium carrots, peeled,cut and blanched.
- 200 gr. pearl onions
- 16 medium cremini mushrooms sliced. ( You could sub in Portobello if you like )
- Served with Mashed potatoes. (see recipe on my site )
Classic Beef Stew.
- Pour wine into pot and and set to low simmer. Once wine is hot, carefully set aflame. Once flames have died out keep on low simmer until reduced by half. Remove from heat.
- Season beef with salt and pepper. Then dredge liberally with four.
- Heat a saucepan with Canola oil. Once it has just started to smoke add cubes of beef. (do not overcrowd the pan) Thoroughly brown ALL sides of the beef. (This may take awhile. If you like you can use two pans.) Once browned place in large bowl and continue until all are done.
- Set oven to 350F. ( 176 C.)
- Drain excess fat and oil off and add onions, rough cut carrots, and chopped celery. Saute’ until onions are slightly translucent.
- Add all the beef broth into a heavy enameled cast iron lidded pot. Add wine reduction, braised beef, sauteed vegetables, tomato paste, Italian seasoning, Bay leaves, garlic, and parsley. Mix.
- Place in oven, center rack for 3 hours. Stirring every 30 minutes.
- Remove from oven. At this point you can let cool and refrigerate over night. This will allow for fat and oil to separate for easy skimming as well further develop the gravy. If you wish to simply continue, let rest for one hour and continue instructions below.
- Next day set oven to 145 F. (63 C.) ,remove stew from fridge.
- Skim off excess fat and oil leaving some behind.
- Using tongs and a skimmer remove all the beef and place in oven, covered. Toss all the other ingredients into the compost reserving the the gravy that is left after straining.
- Heat gravy to a low simmer and reduce by half.
- While the gravy is reducing, peel pearl onions, peel and chop carrots and then blanche. ( pour into boiling water for several minutes and then into ice cold water and drain immediately) Saute sliced mushrooms in a pan with oil and butter until excess water is evaporated.
- Remove beef from oven and add to gravy along with the carrots, onions and mushrooms. Turn oven up to 250F. ( 122 C.) Place in oven for one hour.
- Remove and serve with mashed potatoes. in a bowl. Yummmmmmy!
- Any leftovers are excellent for freezing.
Based on 2 Review(s)