Beef Stew Recipe

Beef stew in a white bowl with chunks of beef, sliced potatoes, carrots, and slice of baguette with a silver spoon.

5 from 2 votes

Traditional beef stew is a beloved dinner worldwide and one of the great recipes of all time. We all crave cozy warm bowls of comfort food on cold Winter nights. This Dutch oven beef stew can be made on the stovetop or in a slow cooker crock pot. Delicious red wine beef stew starts with meat browning, creating succulent tender beef and a rich depth of flavor. Then topped off with tender potatoes and carrots in a thick dark hearty stew to dunk crusty bread into.

Prep Time30

Cook Time2

Course: Dinner & Main Dishes

Cuisine: American

Keyword: beef stew, beef stew recipe, meat stew

Servings:

Calories: 381kcal

Author: Lisa Hatfield

Equipment

Ingredients

Beef Marinade

1 cup good red wine cabernet sauvignon, pinot noir, or French red
3 whole bay leaf
3 whole garlic cloves
2 tablespoons Worcestershire sauce or swap in balsamic vinegar

Brown Beef

2-3 pounds good quality beef (well trimmed stew meat, bottom round, chuck beef, or tenderloin, cut into 1 ½ inch cubes)
1 cup flour
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 tablespoon Kosher salt
1 tablespoon black pepper
olive oil

Cooking The Beef Stew

2 whole yellow onions diced
½ cup sun dried tomatoes or sub 3 tablespoons tomato paste
2 cups beef broth or sub chicken stock - 32 oz. is 2 cups
2 pound small baby potatoes Yukon gold, red etc. halves
1 pound carrots peeled, cut on diagonal 1-½"
garnish: fresh parsley

Get Recipe Ingredients

Instructions

Remove any silver skin or tough shiny membrane from the meat. Cut into 1 ½” cubes, and place the small pieces of cut beef in a covered airtight container with marinade.
Marinade: Pour in 1 cup of wine, peeled garlic cloves, 3 whole bay leaf, and 2 tablespoons Worcestershire sauce. Marinate overnight preferably, or at least 2 hours in fridge to add tremendous flavor.
Preheat oven to 300 degrees.
In a small bowl or plate, combine all purpose flour, baking soda, salt, and pepper in a large bowl. PRO TIP: baking soda raises the PH and helps to brown the meat!
Using tongs, remove the garlic and bay leaves and discard from the marinade. Grab 2 large plates. On one plate, remove the beef from the marinade using tongs (don’t throw out marinade!) and toss a few pieces into the flour mixture in the bowl. Coat all the pieces in the flour mix and place the floured beef on the other plate.
On the stove top, in a large dutch oven or large pot that has a fitted lid, heat the pan over medium-high heat. Add 3 tablespoons olive oil to the bottom of the pot. Brown for 5-7 minutes in batches removing to a plate as you go.
PRO TIP: Don’t overcrowd pan, this develops deep flavor and the flour coating will help the stew thicken as it cooks. Cook all the beef, and add a little bit more olive oil (or you can use vegetable oil) as you brown them. If the meat sticks to the pan, it isn't quite seared enough, wait a few more minutes and if it releases from the pan it has formed a brown seared crust and will easily lift with tongs.
Now add the diced chopped onion to the dutch oven. Use a wooden spoon to scrape up the browned bits on the bottom of the pan. Cook the onion until it starts to soften and turns brown for about 5 minutes.
Next, into the dutch oven, on top of the cooked onions, place all the reserved marinade, beef stock, browned beef, and sun-dried tomatoes. Stir well, cover, and place in the oven for 1 hour at 300 degrees.
Peel and slice the carrots into diagonal 1-½" pieces. Wash and slice the baby potatoes in halves. Set aside.
After 1 hour, carefully remove the pot from the oven, and add the cut carrots and sliced potatoes, stir well and cover. Place it back into the oven for 1 additional hour at 300 degrees. TIP: If the stew gets too hot and boils, reduce heat to 250 degrees. Once the meat and vegetables are tender, the stew is ready to eat.
Serve hot with crusty bread or baguettes.

Video

Notes

How to remove the silver skin from meat?

Silver skin is a shiny white membrane of connective tissue on a variety of meat cuts, especially on large cuts of meat and underneath ribs. Insert the tip of a sharp paring knife in between the silver skin and meat. Hold the silver skin in one hand with a paper towel to grip it and slowly slice away the tough membrane moving your knife back and forth. If you leave on the silver skin, it will not break down while cooking and is super chewy and tough.

Best Stew Top Ingredient & Cooking Tips

- Time & Patience: The secret to delicious stew, is time. Both prep time and cooking time. Stews have tougher cuts of meat that need a long, slow cooking process to break down the meat into succulent tender bites and release a depth of flavor.

- Silver Skin: Be sure to slice it all off or have the butcher remove the silver skin. No one wants a chewy tough bite of meat!

- Cooking Oil: lean meat beef cuts will need more oil, you can use olive oil, or a high temperature cooking oil like vegetable or avocado oil.

- Beef Browing: baking soda raised the PH and browns better, that is why it is in the flour coating mixture.

- Thicker Stew: The flour mixture on the pieces, helps to thicken the stew!

Beef: Choose a package of stew meat, boneless beef chuck roast, bottom round, or beef tenderloin, cut into 1 ½ inch cubes, and be sure to trim the silver skin and fat or ask the butcher for well-trimmed stew meat.

Vegetables: You can add different root veggies like sweet potatoes, celery, parsnips, Yukon gold potatoes, russet potatoes, or red potatoes. Another classic addition is to add frozen peas. Add them during the last 15 minutes of cooking so they stay bright green and don't get mushy.

Best Red Wine: A nice bottle of red wine you would drink is the best choice. A dry red wine, a merlot, a pinot noir, or a cabernet sauvignon all work well. I found well-priced bottle of French red wine at Trader Joe's. If you don't want to use wine, swap in beef broth in your marinade!

Beef Broth: Ideally beef broth is best for stew. You can swap in chicken broth or chicken stock, and if you have it add in some beef bullion like Better Than Bouillon.

Leftovers: The next day, portion servings in an airtight container or zip top bag, and store in the freezer for up to 3 months. Defrost in the refrigerator, and heat in a microwave safe bowl or on the stove in a small pot for a great lunch or dinner on a cold day.

Thickeners: You don't need any cornstarch slurry or thickeners, because the flour on the browed meat does that work for you

Seasonings & Flavor Add-Ins: Fresh rosemary and or fresh thyme are also nice for additional flavor. Be sure to remove the stems before serving. Some people love to add a packet of Lipton onion soup mix for added flavor! Another addition is to crisp up some bacon and use a bit of bacon fat in your stew for flavor. To make a rich velvety stew sauce, at the end of cooking, stir in a couple of tablespoons of butter. It adds shine, flavor, and richness. This is a French term called Monter au Beurre that adds shine, flavor, and richness to sauces and stews.

Serving Ideas: Side dish recipes that go with your hearty stew dinner can be these beautiful Dinner Rolls, a big loaf of French crusty bread, or a baguette.

Nutrition