Beef Stew with Burgundy Reduction

By Lu

My pot of Beef Stew

Slow cook foods have to be my all time favorite things to eat. The wet cooking methods done slowly such as stewing and braising are also my preferred ways to prepare a meal. To me, soups, stews, fricassee, and blanquette de veau are so comforting and packed with flavors. The meats are cooked until fork tender and I can't think of anything better than that other than sex.

Anyway, before I went on a tangent about sex - let's go back to stewing. Beef Stew is definitely a comfort food, so good that they can them in America. But just imagine eating something that's supposed to be hearty and cooked by mom, from a can. Yeah, it doesn't do it for me. I love love eating Beef Stew if it's done right. It is so easy to do really and it doesn't take much efforts. I know a lot of people like making beef stew in a crock pot and they just put everything in, and plug in the pot hoping by the time they come home from work the stew would be ready. However, usually they would get slow cooked beef with overcooked everything else. One rule of cooking - not every ingredients needs the same cooking time. They all cook at different pace. Thus why, I never cook anything in a slow cooker. If I didn't have the time to really cook and give the ingredients the time of day, then I will make something else.

So if you would like to try my recipe, please make sure you  have ample of time to make this. This will be a great dish to make on a lazy Saturday or Sunday and to share it with your friends and family. Make it soon when it is still somewhat cold outside because there's nothing more comforting than a bowl of hot stew in a cold day.

However, of course stewing is not limited for countries with cold climates. Many tropical countries have their own version of stews. One of my favorite Indonesian dishes is a version of beef stew as well; however, this one is cooked in coconut milk and spices. It is called "Rendang." It was so good that it helped the latest Top Chef Master, Floyd Cardoz, to win the title.

So are you ready for some Beef Stew? Yum Yum..Yes!! Oh, this is a "throw-this-throw-that" type of food, so don't expect exact measurements. You can't go wrong. Use your instinct and taste the damn food!

INGREDIENTS

2 lbs stewing beef (or any type of beef that are tougher cuts like round or shank)
32 oz good quality beef stock. If don't have any and don't want to make, you can use beef broth (about 2 cans)
1 cup of all purpose flour for dusting
3 cloves of garlic, minced
3 stalks of celery, medium dice
2 carrots, medium dice
2 medium yellow onions, large dice
1 bottle of good red wine such as Burgundy or Cabernet
1 can of San Marzano canned plum tomatoes
10 to 15 small fingerling potatoes/new potatoes/red potatoes (any small size boiling potatoes)
1 small bag of baby carrots
1 bag of pearl onions, skinned.
a handful of fresh green beans, trim the edges
a bag of fresh or frozen peas
1 packet of cremini or portabella mushroom
bouquet garni of parsley stems, bay leaves, and peppercorn
Salt and Pepper


METHODS

In a bowl, add the cubed meats. Season the meats with salt and pepper thoroughly, then dredge with flour. Make sure to shake excess flour from the meat. Meanwhile, also heat a skillet with some oil to coat the bottom of the skillet.

Dredge the meat with flour, season with salt and pepper

When the oil is hot, add the meat and sear. Do not overcrowd the skillet. If you have to do it in two batches, do it. We need to get a good color and crust on the meat so they will seal in the juice. Once seared, put them aside.

Once done with searing, increase the heat on the stove, Then, using a wooden spatula, start scraping the leftover brown bits on the bottom of the pan (fond). These bits are yummy and would help flavor your stew. Use some of the wine for deglazing as you scrape.

Sear the meats

In a stew pot that is big enough to contain the stew, add some oil and let it get hot. Once hot, sweat the garlic until it becomes aromatic. Add onion, celery and carrots. Sautee them for a little bit of time until they become somewhat soft. Add the seared meat. Now you have two choices - you can either add the stock and let it reduced before adding wine, or you can reduce the stock separately until half to create demi glace. If you choose to make demi glace, you will have a really fantastic beef flavor that's beyond belief! But, it also takes extra time and effort. If not, add the liquid (stock and wine) and the bouquet garni. Rule of thumbs according to my chef in culinary school, you don't want to submerge the beef while stewing. Just add enough liquid to cover. However, if you are like me, and love a lot of gravy, you want extra sauce. So, really - it is up to you. Nobody will police you if you don't do it according to the book.

Glaze the pan with wine and scrape the brown bits

To make the bouquet garni, you can just tie everything with twine and let peppercorn loose, or you can put all in a cheesecloth. If not, just dump them in. It'll be fine.

The flour on the beef would help as thickening agent; and, as the liquid reduces naturally, it will also get thicker. You want to reduce the heat as well to low and let it simmer for 1.5 to 2  hours. Check periodically and stir so it won't burn on the bottom. Around the 1.5 hour mark, check the tenderness of the beef. Skim the surface for any scums periodically throughout the process. If not tender yet, let it cook. It can take between two to three/four hours depending how slow you cook it. The most important thing is that your meats are cooked until tender and the wine reduces naturally and you can't taste that raw wine flavor.

Let stew cook slowly...

When stew is about 3/4 done, if you don't mind the mire poix (celery, onion, and carrots) flavoring being there, then it's fine. I mind because these veggies would be quite cooked by this time and wouldn't be nice to eat. However, they're necessary to add flavoring. So, I usually transfer them to a new pot, and run the liquid through a strainer. Then, I will get a clean and nice sauce. Once done, then, add tomatoes. It is also up to you how much tomatoes you want to add. If you don't want it to be too acidic, then don't add the whole can. However, adding the acid really helps in balancing the flavor.

Add the tomatoes..see, I just dumped my bay leaves

Next, I can start adding my vegetables. Add the hard vegetables first that will take the longest to cook - like the potatoes and the pearl onions. To skin the pearl onions, just blanch  them in boiling water real quick. Then it will be really easy to peel. You don't have to skin the potatoes, just wash them clean.

Once the potatoes have been cooked for a little bit (about 10 to 15 minutes), add baby carrots. Mushrooms, green beans, and peas can be added the latest as they take almost no time to cook. Cook until meats are tender, and all veggies cooked. Oh, you don't have to use the whole bag of carrots, or peas. Just add however you want. You can't go wrong. Make sure you season them with salt and pepper as needed. Then, serve while hot! You can add some chopped parsley as garnish.

I love eating Beef Stew while hot with some warm bread. Bread is a great vessel for dipping and to soak in the gravy! I also like to eat it with a sunny side up egg. The runny yolk with the tender meat are just a great combo. You can also serve the stew with rice pilaf.

Hope you will try this recipe and let me know if you like it than the stew in a can! If you say can, I'm going to can you!