It’s a super snowy day up here in the mountains and a bowl of beef stew in front of the fire sounds pretty darn perfect. Here is my spin on a classic beef stew. Browning the meat, using GOOD red wine and GOOD bone broth (I use Bonafide) along with the addition of a little demi-glace makes this stew unbelievably rich and delicious. Enjoy!
Classic Beef Stew
- Yield: 4 servings
Ingredients
- 2 pounds chuck roast, fat trimmed and cut into bite size pieces (I usually buy a 3 pound roast as I cut off a lot of the fat)
- 2 tablespoons flour
- 1 yellow onion, diced
- 5 carrots, peeled and cut into ¼ inch round slices
- 2 baking potatoes, peeled and cut into ¾ inch cubes
- 1 cup red wine (I like to use something French or an old-world style Pinot)
- 2 tablespoons red wine vinegar
- 2 tablespoons beef demi-glace
- 2 bay leaves
- 6 – 8 cups GOOD beef bone broth
- Salt + pepper
- Olive oil
Instructions
- Season the cut chunks of beef with salt and pepper and then toss with the flour
- Heat about 2 tablespoons of olive oil in a large Dutch oven and cook the beef in two batches to brown it well (you don’t want to overcrowd the meat as it won’t brown well if the pot is too crowded). Brown each batch for about 4 – 5 minutes (or until the meat has a nice brown coloring), stirring frequently. Remove meat from Dutch oven and set aside
- Add the onions and brown for about 4 minutes
- Add the red wine vinegar, beef demi-glace and red wine, stir and scrape up any bits of meat stuck to the bottom of the Dutch oven. Bring to a boil, reduce heat and simmer for about 5 minutes
- Add the beef broth and bay leaves, return to a boil then cover, reduce heat and simmer for at least 1 ½ hours
- About 45 minutes to 1 hour before serving, add the carrots and potatoes to the stew. You don’t want to add them too early because if they cook for more than about 1 hour they can get soggy
- Season with salt + pepper to taste
