Monday, February 4, 2019

Classic American Beef Stew

This is my take on classic American beef stew: chunks of tender beef braised in a rich yet not heavy brown gravy sauce with sautéed onions, celery, carrots, potatoes and peas. The mushrooms are optional but the addition of a little soy sauce and fish sauce is a total must umami booster that I picked up from Kenji Lopez-Alt's excellent cookbook Food Lab and his blog Serious Eats. Now this is some serious comfort food!



Ingredients:
4-5 lbs. boneless beef chuck, trimmed and cut into 2" dice
Salt & pepper
1 cup flour
1/4 cup vegetable oil

1 large onion, diced

6 cloves garlic, chopped
3 stalks celery, sliced
8 oz. button or cremini mushrooms, halved or cut into thick slices (optional)
2 medium carrots, peeled and cut thirds
1 cup red wine
3 tbsp. tomato paste
1 tbsp. Worcestershire sauce
1 tbsp. soy sauce
1 tsp. fish sauce
4 cups beef stock
6 cups water
3 bay leaves
8 sprigs thyme
8 sprigs Italian parsley

6 medium carrots, peeled and cut into large dice

3 lbs. Yukon Gold potatoes, peeled and cut into large dice
1 tsp. kosher salt
1 tsp. black pepper
1 cup frozen peas

1. Place the diced beef chuck on a lined baking sheet and pat dry with paper towels. Season generously with salt and pepper. 

2. Place the flour on a large plate and add the seasoned beef, a few pieces at a time; coat on all sides and return back to the baking sheet. Repeat with the remaining beef until all the pieces are coated with flour. 

3. Heat 1/4 cup of vegetable oil in a large cast iron pot or Dutch oven over medium high heat until hot. Add the beef to the pan (do not overcrowd - cook in batches as needed) and sauté until the beef is well browned on all sides. Transfer the beef to a plate and cook the remaining beef until done. 

4. Bring the heat back up to medium high in the same pot with the drippings. Add the diced onion and cook for a few minutes until translucent. Add the garlic, celery, and mushrooms and sauté for 10 minutes or until the veggies start to brown. 

5. Add the reserved beef and its accumulated juices back to the pan and deglaze with red wine. 

6. Stir in the tomato paste, soy sauce, fish sauce, beef stock, water, 2 carrots (cut into thirds), bay leaves, thyme and parsley. Bring to a boil, reduce heat to a simmer and partially cover the pot. Simmer for 1 1/2 hours or until the beef is super tender. Remove the carrots, bay leaves, thyme and parsley stems from the pot and discard.

7. Add the remaining 6 diced carrots and potatoes to the pot and cook another 20 minutes or until the they are just tender and the sauce has thickened. Taste and season with 1 tsp. salt and 1 tsp. black pepper, as needed. Stir in the peas, turn off the heat and let sit for 5-10 minutes before serving.  


Diced carrots, celery, garlic, onion, parsley, and 2 carrots cut into thirds for the initial braising.


Diced Yukon Gold potatoes and quartered crimini mushrooms.


Beef chuck for pot roast.


Pat the cubed beef dry with paper towels and season well with kosher salt and black pepper.


Coat the seasoned beef with flour.


Tomato paste, soy sauce, Worcestershire sauce, fish sauce and beef stock.


Brown the beef in batches and set aside on a plate.


In the pan drippings, sauce the diced onion.


Add the garlic, celery (and mushrooms, if using), and sauté until the veggies are lightly browned.


Return the beef and its accumulated juices to the pot and deglaze with red wine. 


Add the tomato paste.


Stir in the beef broth, water, soy sauce, Worcestershire sauce, and fish sauce.


Add 2 carrots, bay leaves, thyme and parsley. Bring to a boil, reduce heat to a simmer and partially cover the pot. Simmer for 1 1/2 hours or until the beef is tender. Discard the carrots, bay leaves, thyme and parsley stems.


Add the remaining 6 diced carrots and potatoes to the pot and cook another 20 minutes or until the they are just tender and the sauce has thickened. Taste and season with 1 tsp. salt and 1 tsp. black pepper, as needed. Stir in the peas, turn off the heat and let sit for 5-10 minutes before serving. Dinner (or lunch, or breakfast) is served!

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