Nothing says comfort food for my family as much as a hardy bowl of Beef Stew. On a cold winter’s day there is no better meal to come home to. Now I will warn you that Beef Stew is not a quick meal. It is not a complicated meal to make but it will take some time to build up the flavors that when combined will make a delicious hearty bowl of Beef Stew. I will say if you are willing to invest some time it will pay off.
Now everyone has there favorite version of Beef Stew. I have tried several of them. I have added potatoes instead of noodles and also tried adding peas but with every different recipe that I have tried, my family will always say that this version is there favorite.
How To Make Hardy Beef Stew
To me one of the most important components of making a good stew is to have a good pot and the perfect pot for stew is a high quality Dutch Oven. I love my Le Creuset Dutch Oven. I have had it for years and have used it for countless soups and stews. Now this pot was an investment but for the amount of times I have used it over the years it was well worth it.
I like to start with about two to three slices of a good bacon, because bacon in my opinion makes everything taste better.
I cook the bacon until crispy and then remove it from the pot with a slotted spoon and place it on a dish lined with a paper towel to soak up the excess grease. Chop the bacon into very small pieces and set aside. Now you can leave the bacon fat in the pot to sear all you meat or you can soak some of that fat up and sear the meat in a good quality olive oil instead for a healthier version.
You will need 2 to 3 lbs of chuck eye round. Usually when I buy stewing cubes they are a bit large for me so I like to cut them into smaller pieces. This is a little extra work but I want a little bit of every ingredient in every spoon full. You will want to pat down your cubes with a paper towel because wet meat does not sear as well as dry meat. Season your meat generously with salt and pepper. I like to season it now because it will stick to the meat and ensure that every piece is seasoned properly.
Dredge each piece in flour and shake off excess.
Place the flour coated meat into the Dutch Oven, making sure not to over crowd, you want the meat to sear not steam. Do this in batches until all the meat is seared.
While the meat is searing dice the onions, fennel and carrots into small pieces.
When you are done searing the meat the bottom of the pan will have a layer of brown on the bottom. That is exactly what you want. That brown will add a ton of flavor to your stew.
Place the chopped vegetables and thyme in the Dutch Oven with about two tablespoons of olive oil and mix to coat.
Once vegetables become translucent, about 7 to 10 minutes, add garlic and bay leaves and let cook an additional 5 minutes.
Add a full bodied red wine and continue to cook scraping the brown bits from the bottom of the pan. Add the beef stock, seared beef and cooked bacon and let simmer for two hours.
Your stew will thicken slightly and develop a richness. Now it is delicious just as is but I like to add a whole wheat noodle to finish it off.
Served with some crusty bread, this dish is perfect for those cold winter days to warm you up.
Harty Beef Stew
Ingredients:
- 3 Lbs. chuck eye roast cut into small cubes.
- 3 Slices of bacon cut into small pieces.
- 2 Tablespoons olive oil.
- 2 Yellow onions, chopped into small pieces.
- 5 Small carrots, chopped into small pieces.
- 1 Fennel bulb, chopped into small pieces.
- 3 Garlic cloves, minced.
- 1 Tablespoon fresh thyme.
- 3 Bay leaves.
- 1/2 Cup all purpose flour.
- 1 Cup full bodied red wine.
- 2 Cups beef stock
- Salt and pepper to taste.
- Noodles for serving.
Instructions:
- Place Dutch Oven on stove at medium heat. Add bacon and cook until crispy. Remove bacon with a slotted spoon ( leave drippings in pot ) and transfer onto a dish lined with paper tower to absorb excess grease. Set aside.
- If beef cubes are very large, cut them into small pieces. Season beef generously with salt and pepper. Place flour in a dish and coat beef with flour, dusting off excess. Brown beef in small batches in bacon drippings, adding olive oil if needed. Transfer to bowl.
- Place olive oil in Dutch Oven. Sauté onions, fennel and carrots for 7 to 10 minutes or until vegetables begin to soften. Add garlic, thyme and bay leaves and sauté for one minute.
- Add wine, stirring to scrape the brown bits off the bottom of the pot.
- Chop cooked bacon into small pieces and place in pot along with beef stock. Bring to a simmer.
- Add browned beef, reduce heat to low and simmer for 2 hours.
- Serve over noodles.
