Best Beef Stew

I love beef stew!  It’s a great stick-to-your-ribs sort of dish that’s very satisfying.

The best stew I ever had was made by grandpa Hal.  He was quite the gourmet cook.  Unfortunately, he past away before I had a chance to get the recipe out of him.

I’ve spent the last several years trying to perfect the right spices and ingredients to get something that approximates the goodness that I remember. This recipe is the closest I’ve gotten so far.

Ingredients

• 2 pounds beef stew meat (chuck)
• 1 pound lamb stew meat
• ¼ cup all purpose flour
• 2 tablespoons olive oil
• 2 tablespoons butter
• 1 cup Pinot Noir (or any rich red such as merlot)
• ¾ cup chopped onion (appox. ½ a large onion)
• ¾ cup chopped carrot (appox. 2 carrots)
• ¾ cup chopped celery (appox. 2 stalks)
• 1 garlic clove minced
• ¾ cup parsnip cubed (appox. 2 roots)
• 1 ½ cups Yukon gold potato cubed (appox. 3 large potatoes)
• 4 cups beef broth
• 2 tablespoons veal demi-glace
• 1 tablespoon chopped fresh thyme
• ½ tablespoon chopped fresh rosemary
• Salt and pepper to taste

Directions

Sprinkle the flour over the meat and mix together in a mixing bowl. In a large pot (or Dutch oven) brown meat in oil over high heat. Remove and set aside.

Add butter and sauté celery, carrot, garlic and onion until onions are see-though (do not brown.) Add wine and reduce until a paste. While the wine is reducing, deglaze the bottom of the pot by scraping it with a spatula or wooden spoon.

Add the meat, parsnip, potatoes, broth, demi-glace, and herbs.  Bring to a boil and simmer on low heat 1 ½ to 2 hours, or until meat and vegetables are tender. Season with salt and pepper.

Serve with a good bottle of red wine, and enjoy!

 

UPDATED: August, 24 2012.