Hearty Beef Stew

I have posted a couple other versions of beef stew on here the last couple years, but this is my favorite recipe so far. I keep changing ingredients and trying to make it better and better and this batch came out pretty darn good. What did I do differently with this recipe? Well, I added a few things that I haven’t in the past, stewed tomatoes and wine. It’s a very simple recipe and all you really have to be careful with, is browning the meat. Just do part of it at a time so you get a good sear on the meat and also collect those golden nuggets of flavor on the bottom of the pan. Like most stew’s you do need to let it cook for several hours for all the flavors to meld together and for the meat to get tender. I always buy a chuck roast for stew and cut it into pieces instead of buying pre-cut stewing meat. This way I can trim the excess fat and know that I’m getting a good cut of meat.

Hearty Beef Stew

3 Pound Beef Chuck Roast, trimmed of excess fat and cut into 1 inch cubes
2 Large Onions, chopped
3 Cloves Garlic, minced
6 Stalks Celery, chopped
6 Large Carrots, peeled and chopped
6 Red Potatoes, cut into 1 inch cubes
1 Cup Red Wine
1 28 Ounce Can Diced Tomatoes with juices
1 28 Ounce Can Tomato Sauce
6 Cups Beef Broth
Salt & Pepper
1 Tablespoon Dried Thyme
1 Tablespoon Dried Rosemary
4 Bay Leaves
Oil, for browning the meat

In a large heavy stock pot (at least 6 quarts or larger) over medium high heat add just enough oil to coat the bottom of the pan, heat until just smoking. Liberally season the meat with salt and pepper. Working in batches, brown half of the meat stirring occasionally until a dark crust forms, remove from the pot, add more oil if necessary and finish browning second half of meat and remove from the pan. Next add the onion and garlic and cook until just starting to get tender, a few minutes. Add the celery and carrots and continue to cook until they are slightly tender, about 5 minutes. Next, deglaze the pan with the wine, scraping up all browned bits that have formed on the bottom of the pan. Add the potatoes, diced tomatoes, tomato sauce, beef broth, thyme, rosemary, and bay leaves and bring to a boil. Turn heat down and simmer on low stirring every 30 minutes until beef is tender, about 3 hours. Remove the bay leaves and serve with fresh chopped parsley as a garnish if desired.