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Beef Stew with Red Wine and Rosemary

Beef stew seems like an easy enough dish to "get right",  but it took me years to figure out how to make a truly flavorful and tender beef stew that my whole family loves!
Tina Verrelli - epicuricloud.com
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Prep Time: 20 minutes
Cook Time: 2 hours
Total Time: 2 hours 20 minutes
Servings: 8

Ingredients

  • 4 slices bacon cut into thin strips
  • 4 pounds beef chuck roast pieces after trimming - cut into 1 1/2 - 2-inch pieces
  • 1/2 teaspoon kosher salt I use Morton coarse kosher salt
  • 1/2 teaspoon black pepper
  • 1 1/2 cups onion chopped
  • 2 cups pearl onions fresh (peeled) or frozen
  • 2 1/2 cups carrot pieces peeled and cut into 1 - 1 1/2-inch pieces
  • 1 tablespoon oil if needed
  • 3-4 cloves garlic
  • 2 sprigs fresh rosemary
  • 4 sprigs fresh thyme
  • 2 bay leaves dried
  • 1 1/2 cups red wine I used merlot
  • 2 cups low-sodium beef broth
  • 2 tablespoons soy sauce
  • 2-3 tablespoons butter softened
  • 2-3 tablespoons flour
  • 1/2 teaspoon kosher salt if needed
  • 2 tablespoons fresh flat leaf parsley chopped - Optional

Instructions 

  • Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
  • In heavy oven-safe dutch oven, cook bacon until crispy. Remove to paper towel lined plate. Keep 2 tablespoons bacon drippings in pan (drain any excess.)
  • Season the beef chunks with 1/2 teaspoon salt and 1/2 teaspoon pepper. Brown over medium-high heat in batches. Remove to platter.
  • Lower heat to medium and add chopped onion, pearl onions, carrot and garlic. If pan seems too dry, add 1 tablespoon oil. Sauté for about 3 minutes.
  • Deglaze pan with the wine, scraping up bits from bottom of pan. Bring to simmer. Add broth and soy sauce to mixture. Add the beef back to the pot.
  • Use cotton kitchen string* to tie the rosemary and thyme sprigs into a bundle that will be easy to remove later. Add the herb bundle, bay leaves and bacon to the pot.
  • Cover pot with lid and place in oven to braise for 75 minutes - 2 hours. You know it's done when the beef chunks can be easily pulled apart with a fork. Remove herb bundle and bay leaves.
  • To thicken the sauce, make a paste of butter and flour. (I use 2 tablespoons butter and flour, if you like a thicker stew, you can use 3 tablespoons butter and flour.) In a small bowl mash together softened butter and flour with a fork to form a paste. Spoon a few tablespoons liquid from stew into the paste and stir until smooth.
  • Push the beef and vegetables to the side of the pan to make an area of liquid to add the thickening mixture. Pour in the thickening mixture, stirring to combine. Bring stew to simmer for a minute or two to thicken.
  • Give the stew a taste, add additional salt if needed. Garnish with parsley if desired.

Notes

*If you don't have kitchen string, you can add the herb sprigs to pot and pick out the stems later or you can strip the leaves off the sprigs and add just them to the pot. I usually serve this stew with mashed potatoes or soft Parmesan polenta.  We usually have peas on the side, but you can certainly add them to the stew at the end before thickening. This stew freezes very well.  I usually freeze half and can make 2 meals for our family of 4 from one batch.
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