Beef Stew
Recipe VIDEO above. Just a great, classic beef stew with meltingly tender beef smothered in a rich sauce. Be sure to brown the beef well - it's key for the deep rich colour and flavour of the sauce! Great on the day, but even better the next day so make ahead if you can. This recipe is best made on the stove or in the oven. For the set-and-forget Slow Cooker and pressure cooker versions of this Beef Stew, see here.
Servings: 6
Calories: 605cal
Ingredients
- 1.2 kg / 2.4lb chuck beef , cut into 3.5 cm / 1.5" cubes (Note 1)
- 1 tsp cooking salt / kosher salt (halve for table salt, +50% for flakes)
- 1/2 tsp black pepper
- 3 tbsp olive oil , divided
- 1 large onion , halved then cut into 1 cm / 2/5" slices
- 4 garlic cloves , minced
- 3 carrots , cut into 2.5cm / 1" pieces on the diagonal
- 2 celery stalks , cut into 2.5 cm / 1" pieces
- 1/3 cup plain flour / all-purpose flour
- 3 cups beef broth / stock , salt reduced
- 2 cups red wine , bold and dry (Cab Sauv, Burgundy, Merlot) (Note 2)
- 2 tsp Worcestershire Sauce
- 2 tbsp tomato paste
- 2 bay leaves , fresh or dried
- 4 sprigs thyme
- 400 g / 14 oz baby potatoes , halved
- More salt and pepper , if required
For serving
- Mashed potato
- 1 tsp finely chopped parsley , optional garnish
- Crusty bread , for bowl mopping and dunking
Instructions
ABBREVIATED RECIPE
- Season then brown beef, remove from pot. Sauté onion and garlic, then stir in carrot and celery. Stir in flour, then broth, wine, tomato paste and Worcestershire. Stir. Add beef, herbs and potato, stir. Slow cook 1 hour 45 min with lid on then 30 min lid off. Serve over mash.
FULL RECIPE
- Season beef - Sprinkle the beef with salt and pepper.
- Brown beef - Heat 1 1/2 tbsp oil in a large, heavy based casserole pot over high heat until just starting to smoke. Add 1/3 of the beef and brown aggressively all over - about 4 minutes. Remove to bowl, repeat with remaining beef, adding more oil if required (if you don't use enough oil, the beef will just burn rather than brown).
- Sauté - Turn down heat to medium high. Add 1 tbsp oil if required. Add onion and garlic, cook for 2 minutes until onion is softened slightly and golden on the edge. Add carrot and celery, stir for 1 minute to coat in flavours.
- Make sauce - Sprinkle flour evenly across surface, then stir to coat (the flour will thicken the sauce). Add broth, red wine, tomato paste and Worcestershire sauce. Stir to dissolve tomato paste and flour into liquid.
- Add browned beef (including any juices), thyme, bay leaf and potato. Stir. Liquid level should almost fully cover everything (see video), if not, add a touch of water.
- Slow cook 1 hr 45 min covered - Bring to simmer, then adjust heat to low / medium low so it's simmering very gently. (Note 3 for other cooking methods) Cover and cook for 1 hour 45 minutes or until beef is pretty tender (check with 2 forks at 1.5 hrs).
- Simmer uncovered 30 minutes - Remove lid and simmer for further 30 minutes or until sauce reduces slightly. It should be like a thin gravy (see video) and beef should now be very tender.
- Check seasoning - Taste the sauce and add more salt if required.
- Serve over creamy mashed potato with a sprig of fresh thyme for decoration or a sprinkle of parsley (Note 4).
Notes
2. Beef chuck is the best cut of beef for stews, in my opinion. See FAQ above recipe card for my thoughts on other cuts. Look for a piece nicely marbled with fat, and use a single large piece so you can cut it into large pieces, or buy very thick cut chuck steaks (carried at some grocery stores and butchers). Start with ~1.4kg/2.8lb, after trimming large chunks of fat you should end up with 1.25kg.
2. Red wine adds to the depth of flavour of the sauce. Use a good value full-bodied red wine, like cabernet sauvignon or merlot. Shiraz is ok too. No need to use expensive wine for slow cooked recipes like this (and the New York Times agrees). Use discount end of bin specials. I don't use a pinot noir here, I find it too light.
99% of the alcohol in the red wine evaporates during cooking. The sauce does not taste winey at all, it completely transforms.
If you can't consume alcohol, substitute with more beef broth and 2 tsp brown sugar.
3. Other Cooking Methods:
- OVEN: Cover and bake for 2 1/2 hours at 180°C/350°F (160°C fan-forced). The sauce should thicken sufficiently but if it's a little thin, pop the pot on the stove and simmer gently with the lid off until the sauce is thickened a bit (stir very gently as the meat will be ultra tender!).
- SLOW COOKER and pressure cooker: See separate recipe here. Same stew, but recipe altered to suit slow cookers and pressure cookers. Also use that recipe for Instant Pot, but do the stove steps in the Instant Pot using the sauté function. 4. To make this gluten free, use cornflour/cornstarch instead, as follows: Mix 3 tbsp cornflour/cornstarch with 3 tbsp of water and stir that into the stew at the very end once the meat is fall-apart tender. Simmer for a few minutes and the sauce will thicken. I recommend cornflour over using gluten-free flour because some gluten free blends containing lots of rice flour can occasionally taste a little grainy. Also make sure your Worcestershire sauce and beef stock cubes are also GF, not all brands are. 5. Other serving suggestions: with warm crusty bread for dunking (try this easy rustic no-yeast Irish Bread or Crusty No-Knead Artisan Bread), polenta, rice, cauliflower mash (low carb option), or other mashed root vegetables (carrot, parsnip, pumpkin, sweet potato). 5. STORAGE / LEFTOVERS - Refrigerate or freeze, then thaw before reheating on the stove or microwave. Tastes even better the next day because the flavours develop even more. 6. Nutrition per serving, assuming 6 servings. I like to trim excess fat from the beef but this is not factored into the nutrition. Stew only - not mashed potato.
- SLOW COOKER and pressure cooker: See separate recipe here. Same stew, but recipe altered to suit slow cookers and pressure cookers. Also use that recipe for Instant Pot, but do the stove steps in the Instant Pot using the sauté function. 4. To make this gluten free, use cornflour/cornstarch instead, as follows: Mix 3 tbsp cornflour/cornstarch with 3 tbsp of water and stir that into the stew at the very end once the meat is fall-apart tender. Simmer for a few minutes and the sauce will thicken. I recommend cornflour over using gluten-free flour because some gluten free blends containing lots of rice flour can occasionally taste a little grainy. Also make sure your Worcestershire sauce and beef stock cubes are also GF, not all brands are. 5. Other serving suggestions: with warm crusty bread for dunking (try this easy rustic no-yeast Irish Bread or Crusty No-Knead Artisan Bread), polenta, rice, cauliflower mash (low carb option), or other mashed root vegetables (carrot, parsnip, pumpkin, sweet potato). 5. STORAGE / LEFTOVERS - Refrigerate or freeze, then thaw before reheating on the stove or microwave. Tastes even better the next day because the flavours develop even more. 6. Nutrition per serving, assuming 6 servings. I like to trim excess fat from the beef but this is not factored into the nutrition. Stew only - not mashed potato.
Nutrition
Serving: 522g | Calories: 605cal