Notes:
This is an updated procedure for making Beef Stew.
It is still excellent but this process is much easier than trying to heat a large dutch oven or Le Creuset style pot on the glass cooktop. I have an induction top and it is very hard to control the heat with cast iron pots. I am afraid the cast iron will overheat and break the cooktop.
For this recipe, we start with a large 12-inch frying pan on the stove and finish in the dutch oven. It is much easier to make than the original recipe and the results are exactly the same.
Makes about 3 quarts (12 cups)
Ingredients:
- 3 pounds of beef chuck roast (or stew meat). Cut into about 1″ cubes.
- Salt and Pepper (2 Tbsp salt added to meat and 1.5 tsp pepper added when carrots are added)
- 3 Tbsp clarified butter (or vegetable oil)
- 2 medium onions, chopped (roughly)
- 3 garlic cloves, minced (or 1.5 teaspoons prepared, minced)
- 3 Tbsp all purpose flour
- 1 cup of red wine
- 2 cups chicken broth (divided)
- 2 bay leaves
- 1 tsp dried thyme
- 1.5 lbs of red potatoes, cut into 1-inch cubes (I didn’t peel them, I just washed them)
- 1 lb of carrots (half a bag) peeled and sliced 1/4″ thick
- 1 cup of frozen peas
- 1/4 cup of fresh parsley leaves or 1 Tbsp of dried parsley
Instructions:
- Place the empty dutch oven and lid into the oven.
- Pre-heat the oven to 300 degrees.
- Cut the beef and remove any excess water with paper towels (dry meat browns better)
- In a large frying pan, heat 1 Tbsp of clarified butter or oil on medium-high heat. The oil should be very hot but not smoking.
- Brown the meat in batches. For the meat to brown, each piece has to have air around it. If moisture cannot excape because the meat is too close together in the pan, the meat will steam and not brown. I recommend putting about 1/3 of the meat in the pan at a time. Make sure you turn each piece to brown all the sides.
- As you finish each batch of meat, move it out of the pan and into another dish and add more oil before browning the next batch.
- Reduce the heat to medium.
- Add another 1 Tbsp of oil and the chopped onions.
- Cook 4 – 5 minutes, stirring constantly with a wooden spoon to loosen the browned bits from the bottom of the pan.
- Add the garlic and cook for another 30 seconds to 1 minute (don’t cook longer because the garlic will burn).
- Stir in the flour and cook for 1 or 2 minutes until the flour is absorbed and starts to brown. It will stick to the bottom of the pan but that is OK, adding the wine will de-glaze the pan.
- Add the wine and stir until the bottom of the pan is clean again. The liquid will thicken.
- Slowly add about half of the chicken broth (or whatever fits comfortably in the pan) so you don’t cool the mixture. Stir together and scrape any residual mixture off the sides.
- Move the mixture to the preheated dutch oven.
- Add the remaining chicken broth.
- Add the bay leaves, thyme, and the meat into the dutch oven.
- Cover the dutch oven and place it back in the oven.
- Add a spoon to create a gap between the lid and the dutch oven so steam can escape.
- Cook for 1 hour and 15 minutes.
- While the stew is cooking, chop your vegetables and place them in a bowl. cover them with cold water to keep them from turning brown.
- After 1 hour and 15 minutes, drain the water from the vegetables, remove the pot from the oven and add the potatoes and carrots (do not add the peas and parsley).
- Place the frozen peas into a glass bowl on the counter to allow them to thaw.
- Remove the spoon so the lid seals tighly and cook for another 1 1/2 hours until the meat and the vegetables are tender.
- Remove the pot from the oven, stir in the peas and parsley and serve.
