Beef Stew, From Me to You

I like to consider this recipe Beef Stew meets Beef Bourguignon. There are qualities I love about both dishes — how rich beef stew is, but how flavorful beef bourguignon becomes from the base of red wine that the meat is cooked in. The reason why I say this is a hybrid of the two is because this dish combines the basic principles of creating a classic beef stew broth with a flavorful punch from the addition of red wine. Regardless of what this dish is called, it’s sure to deliver a comforting, savory dinner with tender vegetables and fall-apart beef. 

What to serve with beef stew? The classic go-to side to serve with beef stew is undoubtedly potatoes. There are many ways you can prepare the potatoes to go along with beef stew, the most popular being either cooking them directly in the broth or making mashed potatoes. I also enjoy this dish over egg noodles or with a nice piece of crusty french bread. 

What is the most tender beef for stew? My go-to meat for beef stew is chuck — sometimes even labeled beef stew meat in the grocery store. I like this cut because it has great fat content that flavors the stew and it gets incredibly tender once it’s cooked for a few hours.

How do you thicken beef stew? This recipe is special because the cooking technique and ingredient amounts set you up to not have to use any additional thickening agents to achieve a smooth, silky sauce. With that being said, if you get to the end of the cooking process and the sauce is loose or too brothy you can use what’s called a slurry. This is where you mix cornstarch with a bit of the broth to form a loose paste — the best way I can describe the texture it should be is like glue. Once you have your slurry mixed, add it to the stew off of the heat, stir until combined, and then return the pot to the heat for a few moments, until the broth is thickened and the cornstarch flavor is cooked out. It’s important to add a slurry off of the heat so that the cornstarch mixes into the broth seamlessly and doesn’t get clumpy.
Can you cook beef stew in an Instant Pot? Absolutely! This technique is great for a weeknight dinner, because it cuts the cook time down to about 30 minutes. With that being said, the broth will not cook down very much (if at all) when using the Instant Pot. In order to achieve the viscosity of a great beef stew in an Instant Pot I’d plan on thickening the broth using a slurry at the end of the cook time. Explanation and tips on this methodology are included in the question above!

Yield 4

Prep time

30 Min

Cook time

3 Hour

Total time

3 H & 30 M

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Beef Stew

This is a classic guide to creating a fantastic beef stew with a twist — including ingredients, techniques, as well as FAQs, setting you up for success in creating the best beef stew.

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Ingredients

• 1-1.5 lb of Beef Chuck or Beef Stew Meat
• 2 Large Carrots, cut into large chunks
• 1 Carton of Beef Stock (32 oz)
• 1 Yellow Onion, diced
• 3 Stalks Celery, diced
• 1 tbsp Tomato Paste
• 2 Bay Leaves
• 1 tsp Dried Thyme
• 1 cup Red Wine
• 1 tsp Worcestershire Sauce
• 3 Cloves Garlic
• Dash of Sherry Vinegar (or Balsamic Vinegar)
• Optional: 1 lb Baby Potatoes, cooked & mashed for serving

Instructions

1. Cut the meat into 1 inch cubes, season with salt and pepper, and sear in a dutch oven over medium heat until very brown, about 10 minutes. Don’t rush this step — creating a nice browning on the outside of the meat will pay off with great flavor.
2. Remove the meat from the pot, replacing it with diced onion and celery. If the pan looks dry, add an extra drizzle of olive oil at this step to sauté the vegetables. Once the onions and celery are soft, add the garlic, tomato paste, bay leaves, thyme, red wine, and worcestershire sauce. Be sure to scrape the bottom of the pan with a wooden spoon at this step to bring all of the flavor from browning the meat into the sauce.
3. Add the meat and the beef stock back to the dutch oven and let it come to a simmer. Turn the heat down to medium low, partially cover the pot and let it cook for about 2 hours.
4. After the two hours of cooking, add the carrots and simmer for an additional hour or until the meat is very tender. Keep a close eye during this cook time, adding additional water or stock if the sauce starts to reduce too quickly. Finish with a splash of sherry or balsamic vinegar and serve over mashed potatoes.