This is our classic-style beef stew. I tend to make it as a base now, skipping the potatoes and more delicate vegetables, which are served alongside it.
Mechanic
Brown the beef in batches without crowding; you want a sear, not a steam. The fond that builds on the bottom of the pot is the stew’s backbone; the wine deglaze lifts all of it. Making this as a minimal stew, without vegetables in the braise, means you can cook it longer without anything going mushy and serve it over whatever you have on hand.
Ingredients
- 1–2 kg chuck roast, trimmed and cut into 4 cm cubes
- ½ cup AP flour or other starch
- 1–2 tablespoons neutral oil, bacon fat, or shortening
- 2 large yellow onions, diced
- 225 g cremini mushrooms
- 2 leeks, white and light green parts, diced
- 2–3 cloves garlic, minced
- 2 tablespoons tomato paste
- 240–480 ml (1–2 cups) bright, drinkable red wine
- 1 L (4 cups) beef or chicken stock
- 1 tablespoon Worcestershire sauce
- 1–2 tablespoons herbes de Provence, in a cheesecloth bundle or tea infuser
- Smoked paprika (optional)
- Salt and pepper
Flavour enhancers
- 1 teaspoon MSG (Accent) (optional)
- 1–2 tablespoons soy sauce (optional)
- 2–3 teaspoons fish sauce (optional)
Method
Season the beef generously with salt, pepper, and smoked paprika if using. Toss with the flour until lightly coated.
Heat fat in a large Dutch oven or pressure cooker over medium-high. Sear beef in batches until deeply browned on all sides, 3–4 minutes per side. Don’t crowd the pan. Remove and reserve with any drippings.
Add mushrooms with a little more fat. Cook until they release their liquid and begin to brown. Add onions and leeks and cook until soft. Stir in tomato paste and cook until fragrant, about 1 minute. Add garlic and cook 30 seconds. Deglaze with the wine, scraping up all the browned bits from the bottom.
Add the Worcestershire, stock, any flavour enhancers, and the reserved beef with its drippings. Nestle in the herb bundle. Bring to a simmer.
Dutch oven: cook on the lowest possible heat until the beef is spoon-tender, 2–3 hours.
Pressure cooker: cook at high pressure for about 35 minutes; cookers vary, so check a cube and add time if it isn’t spoon-tender. Let the pressure release naturally.
Taste and season. Thicken with a flour slurry if needed, or reduce uncovered.
To serve
Over roasted potatoes, egg noodles, or roasted veg. Frozen peas stirred in at the end. Occasionally with KD for a nostalgic 80s extend-a-meal.
Notes
- Improves overnight. Make it a day ahead.
- Freezes well up to 3 months.