The Ultimate Beef Stew Recipes

Steps:

• To make the marinade, place the beef in a large glass or plastic container. Add 8 sprigs of thyme, carrots, garlic, red onions, orange peel, cloves, peppercorns, bay leaves, and the wine. Mix well to coat, then cover and refrigerate for 4 hours.
• Remove beef from the marinade and blot dry on paper towels. Heat the oil and butter and the remaining 4 sprigs thyme in a heavy-bottomed saucepan on a high heat. When the oil begins to smoke, remove the thyme. Add the beef and brown evenly on all sides. Season with salt and freshly ground black pepper. Strain the marinade into the beef and stir with a wooden spoon, scraping up the flavorful bits in the bottom of the pot. Add bouquet garni and beef stock. Bring to a simmer and cook, uncovered, until the liquid starts to thicken, about 15 to 20 minutes. Cover and cook on low heat for 2 hours.
• After about 2 hours add the baby carrots, garden peas, and mushrooms, along with a pinch of sugar to balance out the acid from the red wine. Turn the heat up slightly and simmer, uncovered, for 30 minutes more, until the vegetables and meat are tender. Season with salt and pepper.
• Garnish with chopped parsley and chives. Squeeze some of the roasted garlic onto the Croutons, drizzle with extra-virgin olive oil and serve with the stew.
• Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.
• Put garlic on a sheet of aluminum foil. Drizzle with olive oil, and season with salt and freshly ground black pepper. Add a sprig of thyme and fold the foil around the garlic. Cook for 30 to 40 minutes or until garlic is tender and golden brown.
• Heat about 1/4-inch of the olive oil in a frying pan. When the oil is hot, add the bread in batches and fry until golden on both sides, about 1 minute per side. Remove from pan and dry on paper towels.

Steps:

• In a small bowl, toss beef and 1/4 teaspoon salt. In a large bowl, combine 4 tablespoons flour and paprika. Add beef, a few pieces at a time, and toss to coat. , In a Dutch oven, brown beef in oil over medium heat. Stir in tomato paste, herbes de Provence and garlic; cook until fragrant and color starts to darken slightly. Add wine; cook until mixture just comes to a boil. Simmer until reduced by half, about 5 minutes. Stir in broth, 1 teaspoon rosemary and bay leaves. Bring to a boil. Reduce heat; cover and simmer until meat is almost tender, about 1-1/2 hours., Add potatoes, onions and carrots. Cover; simmer until meat and vegetables are tender, about 30 minutes longer., Discard bay leaves. In a small bowl, combine remaining 1/2 teaspoon rosemary, remaining 1/4 teaspoon salt and remaining 2 tablespoon flour. Add cold water and vinegar; stir until smooth. Stir into stew. Bring to a boil; add peas. Cook, stirring, until thickened, about 2 minutes. If desired, top with additional fresh rosemary.

Steps:

• Preheat a large heavy-bottomed saucepan or Dutch oven over medium-high heat with the oil and butter.
• While the pan is heating, arrange the flour on a large dish. Season the cubed beef with some salt and freshly ground black pepper and then toss in the flour to coat. Shake off the excess flour and add the beef chunks in a single layer to the hot pan, being careful not to over crowd the pan, you might have to work in batches. Thoroughly brown all of the cubes on all sides. Once all the meat has been browned remove it to a plate and reserve.
• Add the wine to the pan and bring up to a simmer while you scrape the bottom of the pan with a wooden spoon being sure to loosen up all those tasty bits. Once the wine has gotten hot add the browned meat, thyme, smashed garlic, orange zest strip, ground cloves, freshly ground black pepper and salt, to taste, bay leaves and beef stock. Bring the mixture up to a boil and then reduce the heat to a simmer and cook uncovered until the liquids start to thicken, about 15 to 20 minutes. Cover and cook on low heat for 2 1/2 hours.
• After 2 hours add halved potatoes, sliced carrots, pearl onions and mushrooms, along with a pinch of sugar to balance out the acid from the red wine. Turn the heat up slightly and simmer, uncovered, for 30 minutes more, until the vegetables and meat are tender. Add the frozen peas during the last minute of cooking. Season with salt and pepper and remove the thyme sprigs.
• To serve, place the stew in a soup bowl, garnish with parsley, drizzle with olive oil and add a dollop of Horseradish Sour Cream. Right before serving add a slice of Toasted Peasant Bread, half way submerged in the stew.
• Combine sour cream, prepared horseradish and a drizzle of olive oil in a small bowl and mix until thoroughly combined. Season with salt and pepper. Add a dollop of the mixture on top of the stew and garnish with chopped chives.
• Preheat the oven to 500 degrees F.
• Put a sheet pan in the oven so that it gets good and hot.
• Place the bread slices on the hot sheet pan. Drizzle the bread with the extra-virgin olive oil bake for 5 minutes, until the bread is nicely toasted. Rub the bread slices with the garlic cloves, and discard garlic. Sprinkle with parsley and serve.

Steps:

• Preheat the oven to 300˚ F.
• Heat the oil in a large (11- to 12-inch) Dutch oven over medium heat. Add the pancetta and cook for 4 to 5 minutes, until browned. With a slotted spoon, transfer the pancetta to a plate lined with a paper towel and set aside.
• Meanwhile, season the short ribs all over with 2 teaspoons salt and 1 teaspoon pepper. Brown half the meat in the Dutch oven over medium heat, turning occasionally, for 5 to 7 minutes, until browned on all sides. Transfer the meat to a bowl and brown the second batch. (Don't cook them all in one batch or they won't brown!) Transfer the second batch to the bowl and set aside.
• Off the heat, add the Cognac and 1/3 cup of the wine to the pot, scraping up any browned bits, then simmer over medium heat for one minute. Add the onions and fennel and sauté, stirring occasionally, for 7 to 8 minutes, until the vegetables are tender. Add the garlic and cook for one minute.
• Stir the tomatoes and tomato paste into the vegetables. Add the remaining 2/3 cup of wine, the beef broth, the seared meat (and juices), 2 teaspoons salt and 1 teaspoon pepper. Bring to a simmer, cover and bake for 1 1/4 hours, checking occasionally to be sure the liquid is simmering.
• Degrease the stew, if necessary. Stir in the carrots and potatoes, cover and bake for one hour longer, until the vegetables and meat are very tender when tested with a fork. Just before serving, stir in the peas and pancetta, taste for seasonings and serve hot in large, shallow bowls.

Steps:

• In large bowl, whisk together flour, salt and pepper; toss with beef to coat. In large Dutch oven, heat 2 tablespoons of the butter and the oil over medium heat; working in small batches, cook beef, stirring, until browned, about 20 minutes total. Using slotted spoon, remove to bowl; set aside. Add remaining butter to Dutch oven; cook celery and onion over medium heat, stirring occasionally, until softened, about 5 minutes. Add tomato paste; cook, stirring, for 2 minutes. Add wine; cook, stirring and scraping up browned bits, for 2 minutes. Return beef and any juices to Dutch oven. Add potatoes, carrots, thyme, parsley and bay leaves. Stir in broth and Worcestershire sauce; bring to boil, stirring occasionally to loosen any remaining browned bits from bottom. Cover and braise in 350°F (180°C) oven for 45 minutes. Stir in cocktail onions; cover and braise for 15 minutes. Uncover and cook until vegetables are tender and beef offers no resistance when pierced with tip of knife, 30 to 40 minutes. Stir in peas; cook for 5 minutes. Skim any fat from surface of stew; remove thyme, parsley and bay leaves. Let stand for 10 minutes before serving. Change it up - The Ultimate Beef and Mushroom Stew: In large Dutch oven, melt 1 tablespoon butter over medium heat; cook 1 package (227 g) button or cremini mushrooms, trimmed, stirring occasionally, until tender, golden and no liquid remains, about 7 minutes. Using slotted spoon, remove to bowl; set aside. Continue with recipe as directed, returning mushrooms to Dutch oven along with beef.

Steps:

• Add oil to an oven proof casserole or metal stewing pot and heat until it is smoking. If you want to use a slow cooker then just do all the steps in a large pan and transfer to the slow cooker when the strew is simmering. It is good economy to buy a whole role of brisket from your butcher. When you are about to start cooking, rince it under the tap to remove that 'sweat' that it generates in the fridge.
• Preheat the oven to 160C. Sear the beef in batches on all sides to get brown caramalisation of the meet. Remove from the pan and set to one side. Add the onions to the pan and cook down, stirring all the time. When done stir in the flour and mix. Add the water, stock cubes, red wine and tomato purée. Mix and make sure everything is dissolved. Return the beef to the mix and throw in the carrots and mushrooms. To give it some extra flavour richness, add 2 tbs Worcestershire Sauce.
• Transfer the cooking pot with the lid on to the oven for 1 hour 40 minutes with the lid on, or in the slow cooker on high for 1 hour then 5-6 hours on low (or just 6-7 hours on auto).
• crank the oven up to 200C. Throw the bread into a food processor and blitz! Throw in the baking powder, salt and herbs. Throw in the butter and blitz again until the butter disappears. Add the eggs and blitz again until a wet sticky dough is formed. You can of course do this by hand using a grater for the bread and mixing with a spoon. Open the stew pot and take small pieces of dough and form into dumplings (around the size of a small orange). Add to the stew and close the lid. Put the stew in the pre-heated oven for 20 minutes. If using a slow cooker, add when the cooker goes down to the 'low' setting.
• Serve ladled into a bowl with some fresh chopped parselly spinkled on top. Goes great with a glass of robust red wine or English Pale Ale.