Beef Stew

This beef stew is a wonderful pot of goodness that feels like home. There is nothing fancy about it, but it gives back the love you put into it. Since I like to cook stews for 2-3 hours, they are perfect for a Sunday afternoon and leftovers are a blessing on Monday. Sometimes the most difficult decisions of the week are what to have for dinner. Usually what I choose to cook comes from what I have on hand and how much time I have to invest- and of course, how many are coming for dinner. For this beef stew, I had all the ingredients on hand except for the meat, which I purchased yesterday. Also, I know I am getting old because after I saw the price for 2.5 pounds of stew meat, I considered being a vegetarian, yikes! So, here is how I decided on beef stew. I had some potatoes that were looking a little sad, I also had fresh carrots, celery and onions (I always have these on hand) and I also had some mushrooms that I meant to cook earlier in the week that REALLY needed to be cooked. Oh, and I had some leftover red wine- what are the chances of that? After weighing all the info, beef stew it was.

To me, the best part of the stew is the gravy/sauce and the best way to get great flavor is to layer in the goodness. I started with bacon grease (yes, you can use olive oil), then tossed the meat with flour and browned to perfection. Added onions, celery, garlic and tomato paste, then poured in the wine and scrapped all the goodness from the bottom of the pot. Added the broth, rosemary, potatoes and carrots and cooked for 2-3 hours.

Depending on how you were raised, you may like your beef stew thin or you may like it thicker. I am the latter. So at the end, I wanted my stew a little thicker so I whipped up a cornstarch slurry (cold water and cornstarch) and tossed it into the large pot. It is an instant thickener and has saved my life many times.

So, we paired this with the same wine we tossed in, Leese-Fitch 2018 Merlot. In all transparency, this wine was brought to my house Thursday night when we had a few friends over. There is nothing better than having friends that bring wine to your house. Trust me on this! Don’t roll your eyes at Merlot, I know, you may think it is so 2001, but hear me out…I think it’s making a comeback. Merlots are fabulous, not as bold as a cab, not as mild as a pinot, and actually I have never met a Merlot that I didn’t like. Vivino rates this one 3.6, and I would rate it a little higher than that. It is soft like a Merlot, but definitely has some “cabby” notes.

Beef Stew

A wonderful pot of goodness that feels like home.

Ingredients

2 tbsp oil of your choice. If you have bacon grease, it is a great addition.
2.5 lbs beef stew meat (you can also cut up a chuck roast for stew)
1/2 cup flour
2 tbsp tomato paste
1 cup red wine
4 cups beef broth
2 small containers of mushrooms, sliced
4 potatoes, larger dice
3 carrots, sliced
2 celery stalks, sliced
1 onion, sliced
4-5 garlic cloves, chopped
1 sprig of fresh rosemary
Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper
If you would like it thicker, add a cornstarch slurry.

Directions

In a bowl, toss the meat with the flour. Brown in oil, remove from pot. Toss in onions, celery and garlic and cook for 1-2 minutes. Add tomato paste and cook for 1 minute. Add wine and scrape bits from the bottom of the pan, add the broth. Toss in the carrots, potatoes, mushrooms and sprig of rosemary, cover and turn heat to low for 2-3 hours, stirring occasionally. You could also place the covered pot in the oven on 275 degrees for 2-3 hours.

Make this recipe your own. Add in some heat with crushed red pepper, toss in some frozen peas toward the end, or even substitute lamb for the beef. If you don’t have any wine, skip it. If you have a bag of frozen tiny onions you would like to add, toss them in. There are no wrong additions or substitutes.