Sunday evening I made a delicious pot of beef stew using a chuck roast from the 75 pounds of beef that I purchased last week.  With the cold days and nights that we’ve had lately, beef stew was the perfect hearty meal.

This recipe starts on top of the stove and finishes in the oven.  The meat becomes melt in your mouth tender and the potatoes and carrots cooked to the perfect consistency.  This stew will definitely be made at my house again this winter, maybe even for company.

Parker’s Beef Stew

(This recipe is Ina Garten’s found by way of Food TV a few years ago.)

2½ lb. good quality chuck beef, cut into 1½” cubes
1 (750-ml bottle) good red wine (Cab sauv or other)
2 whole garlic cloves, smashed
3 bay leaves
2 cups all-purpose flour
Kosher salt
Freshly ground black pepper
Good olive oil
2 yellow onions, cut into 1-inch cubes
1 lb. carrots, peeled and cut diagonally in 1 1/2-inch chunks
1/2 lb. white mushrooms, stems discarded and cut in 1/2
1 lb. small potatoes, halved or quartered
1 Tbsp. minced garlic (3 cloves)
2 cups or 1 (14 1/2-ounce can) chicken stock or broth
1 large (or 2 small) branch fresh rosemary
1/2 cup chopped sun-dried tomatoes
2 Tbsp.s Worcestershire sauce
1 (10-ounce) package frozen peas

Place the beef in a bowl with red wine, garlic, and bay leaves. Place in the refrigerator and marinate a few hours or overnight.

The next day, preheat the oven to 300º F.

Combine the flour, 1 Tbsp. salt, and 1 Tbsp. pepper. Lift the beef out of the marinade with a slotted spoon and discard the bay leaves and garlic, saving the marinade. In batches, dredge the cubes of beef in the flour mixture and then shake off the excess. Heat 2 Tbsp.s of olive oil in a large pot and brown half the beef over medium heat for 5 to 7 minutes, turning to brown evenly. Place the beef in a large oven-proof Dutch oven and continue to brown the remaining beef, adding oil as necessary. (If the beef is very lean, you’ll need more oil.) Place all the beef in the Dutch oven.

Heat another 2 Tbsps of oil in a large pot and add the onions, carrots, mushrooms, and potatoes. Cook for 10 minutes over medium heat, stirring occasionally. Add the garlic and cook for 2 more minutes. Place all the vegetables in the Dutch oven over the beef.

Add 2 1/2 cups of the reserved marinade to the empty pot and cook over high heat to deglaze the bottom of the pan, scraping up all the brown bits with a wooden spoon. Add the chicken stock, rosemary, sun-dried tomatoes, Worcestershire sauce, 1 Tbsp. salt, and 2 teaspoons pepper.

Pour the sauce over the meat and vegetables in the Dutch oven and bring to a simmer over medium heat on top of the stove.

Cover the pot and place it in the oven to bake it for about 2 hours, until the meat and vegetables are all tender, stirring once during cooking. If the stew is boiling rather than simmering, lower the heat to 250 or 275º F.

Before serving, stir in the frozen peas, season to taste, and serve hot.

My Notes:
~I marinated the meat for a few hours rather than overnight.
~I cut the meat into bite sized cubes rather than 1 1/2” cubes.
~I cut the onion, carrots, and mushrooms into slightly smaller pieces than what reads in the recipe.
~I used one cup of dehydrated tomatoes instead of 1/2 cup.
~2 cups of flour for coating the meat was too much.  1 1/2 cups would be more than enough.

We really enjoyed this dish!

Beef Stew

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Ingredients

• 2½ lb. good quality chuck beef, cut into 1½" cubes
• 1 (750-ml bottle) good red wine (Cab sauv or other)
• 2 whole garlic cloves, smashed
• 3 bay leaves
• 2 cups all-purpose flour
• Kosher salt
• Freshly ground black pepper
• Good olive oil
• 2 yellow onions, cut into 1-inch cubes
• 1 lb. carrots, peeled and cut diagonally in 1 1/2-inch chunks
• 1/2 lb. white mushrooms, stems discarded and cut in 1/2
• 1 lb. small potatoes, halved or quartered
• 1 Tbsp. minced garlic (3 cloves)
• 2 cups or 1 (14 1/2-ounce can) chicken stock or broth
• 1 large (or 2 small) branch fresh rosemary
• 1/2 cup chopped sun-dried tomatoes
• 2 Tbsp.s Worcestershire sauce
• 1 (10-ounce) package frozen peas

Instructions

Place the beef in a bowl with red wine, garlic, and bay leaves. Place in the refrigerator and marinate a few hours or overnight.

The next day, preheat the oven to 300º F.

Combine the flour, 1 Tbsp. salt, and 1 Tbsp. pepper. Lift the beef out of the marinade with a slotted spoon and discard the bay leaves and garlic, saving the marinade. In batches, dredge the cubes of beef in the flour mixture and then shake off the excess. Heat 2 Tbsp.s of olive oil in a large pot and brown half the beef over medium heat for 5 to 7 minutes, turning to brown evenly. Place the beef in a large oven-proof Dutch oven and continue to brown the remaining beef, adding oil as necessary. (If the beef is very lean, you'll need more oil.) Place all the beef in the Dutch oven.

Heat another 2 Tbsps of oil in a large pot and add the onions, carrots, mushrooms, and potatoes. Cook for 10 minutes over medium heat, stirring occasionally. Add the garlic and cook for 2 more minutes. Place all the vegetables in the Dutch oven over the beef.

Add 2 1/2 cups of the reserved marinade to the empty pot and cook over high heat to deglaze the bottom of the pan, scraping up all the brown bits with a wooden spoon. Add the chicken stock, rosemary, sun-dried tomatoes, Worcestershire sauce, 1 Tbsp. salt, and 2 teaspoons pepper.

Pour the sauce over the meat and vegetables in the Dutch oven and bring to a simmer over medium heat on top of the stove.

Cover the pot and place it in the oven to bake it for about 2 hours, until the meat and vegetables are all tender, stirring once during cooking. If the stew is boiling rather than simmering, lower the heat to 250 or 275º F.

Before serving, stir in the frozen peas, season to taste, and serve hot.

My Notes:

I marinated the meat for a few hours rather than overnight.

I cut the meat into bite sized cubes rather than 1 1/2” cubes.

I cut the onion, carrots, and mushrooms into slightly smaller pieces than what reads in the recipe.

I used one cup of dehydrated tomatoes instead of 1/2 cup.

cups of flour for coating the meat was too much.  1 1/2 cups would be more than enough.