Beef stew is a classic dinner staple, especially during those cold weather months.
With this recipe, you're in for a treat.
Whoa, you're going to love the meltingly tender beef and amazing smells, it's so good.
The best thing about it is everything is made in one pot. Let's get started.
The first thing I'm going to do is cut the vegetables.
I'm going to use a classic mirepoix which is onions celery and carrots.
It's going to add a ton of flavor dimension and aromatics to the dish.
My carrots are peeled and I'm going to cut them into 3/4-inch pieces.
Cutting them into larger chunks is going to ensure that they
don't break down while they braise in the oven.
We need about 2 cups for the recipe.
For the celery, we're going to cut them into 1/2-inch thick pieces.
The smaller size is going to infuse a lot of flavor
into the stew. You need about 1 cup of celery.
Trim the top off of the red onion and then just a little bit of the root end so that it
stays intact and it's easier to cut.
Cut it in half and peel off the skin. Cut the onion into 1 inch thick pieces.
We need about 1 cup for the recipe to make a hearty stew.
I like to add some waxy potatoes like Yukon gold into the recipe.
I don't want them to break down
while they're cooking in the oven so I'm going to cut these into 1-inch size pieces.
These are baby-sized potatoes, so I'm just going to cut them in half
These types of potatoes have more sugar instead of starch in them so they're not
going to break down they're actually going to hold their shape as they're cooking.
For this recipe, I'm going to use beef chuck it's very inexpensive
and it comes from the shoulder region of the cow.
It's full of marbling and fat and connective tissues that are going to be very flavorful
when we braise it.
So I have about 2 1/2 pounds of meat but you could use up to 3 pounds
and we're going to cut them down into smaller pieces.
You want to trim off any extra
fat on the outside because it's just going to make the stew really greasy.
Okay, just cut these into smaller 1 1/2-inch
pieces. See there's big chunks of fat right there so I'm just going to trim that off.
I'm going to season the beef with 1 teaspoon of kosher salt and 1/2 teaspoon of black pepper.
Just flip the meat over so you can season both sides.
I had refrigerated my meat before I cut it so it's really dry on the surface
but make sure if it's a little bit wet,
use paper towels to dry it off because we want the beef to sear and not steam in the pan.
Let's go ahead over to the stove
Set the oven rack to the lower third position, heat to 350 degrees.
Heat a large dutch oven over medium-high heat, add 3 tablespoons olive oil,
once hot add the beef in a single layer, work in two batches.
Sear each side until browned about 1 to 2 minutes per side.
Transfer to a clean plate and repeat with the remaining beef.
The beef is done searing when it has a beautiful
caramel-colored crust and there's a ton of fond or brown bits stuck to the
bottom of the pan that we're going to dissolve, that's going to add a lot of flavor to the dish.
Now in the same pot, we're going to saute the vegetables and add the rest of the ingredients.
Turn the heat down to medium, and add 2 cups of carrots, 1 cup of celery,
and 1 cup of onion, saute until the onions are lightly browned and tender, five minutes.
Add 1 teaspoon chopped thyme, and bay leaf, saute for 30-seconds.
Add 1 tablespoon minced garlic, saute for 30-seconds.
Wow, this smells amazing already. The onions are getting caramelized and
the garlic and thyme are really nice and herbaceous and adding a ton of aromatics.
Now, I'm going to add some balsamic vinegar to deglaze the pan
but it's also going to add this nice acidity and brightness
and really boost the flavor of the ingredients.
Add 1/4 cup balsamic vinegar, stir scraping the bottom of the pan to release any brown bits.
Cook until most of the liquid has evaporated, about 1 minute.
Add 1 tablespoon tomato paste, stir and cook for 30-seconds.
Sprinkle in 1/4 cup of flour, stir and cook for 1 minute,
slowly stir in 3 cups of beef stock scraping down the bottom of the pan.
As a finishing touch to the stew, I'm going to add some dry red wine.
I like a full-bodied red wine like a cabernet sauvignon because it has
really fruity flavors and nice balanced tannins
but you could also use a merlot, a chianti, or a French bourgeois,
but make sure you use one that you like to drink
because you'll have a few glasses left over to enjoy with your meal.
And if you don't want to add wine you could also add grape juice instead or even pomegranate juice
or you could just add an extra cup of beef stock if you don't want to add that at all.
Add 1 cup of red wine, and 2 tablespoons soy sauce, stir to combine.
Add the brown beef and 1 pound of sliced potatoes,
bring the liquid to a rapid simmer over medium-high heat for five minutes.
Turn off the heat.
I've simmered the stew just for a few minutes to get the starches in the flour to start thickening
and to keep that liquid nice and hot before we add it to the oven.
The oven is going to give a nice consistent amount of heat,
cooking the stew by conduction and it allows you to not have to touch it at all.
We're just going to put the cover on and you're going to bake it for about 75 to 90 minutes
or until the meat is super fork-tender and the vegetables can be easily pierced with a knife.
You can also cook the stew on the stovetop but there's
going to be little pockets of heat that build-up
so make sure to stir it about every 20 minutes or so.
Wow, this looks incredible the meat is fork-tender,
all the vegetables are ready, and if you want a thicker sauce
you could turn the heat up to medium-high and concentrate
it for a few more minutes until you get the desired consistency
but this looks good to me it's ready to serve.
Okay, let's take a peek.
Wow, the meat and vegetables are glazed with the sauce, it smells amazing.
Okay, right before serving
I like to garnish with a little bit more freshly cracked black pepper and some chopped parsley.
You can grab some serving bowls and just enjoy it as is
or if you want a heartier meal
I would definitely serve it with my homemade mashed potatoes right here.
I hope you enjoyed learning the science behind beef stew,
and if you did please give it a big thumbs up
it means a lot when you do.
See you in the next video.
It's time to eat.