Beef stew is a classic dinner staple,
especially during those cold weather months. With this recipe, you're in for a treat. Whoa, you're going to love the meltingly
tender beef and amazing smells, it's so good. The best thing about it is everything
is made in one pot. Let's get started. The first thing I'm going
to do is cut the vegetables. I'm going to use a classic mirepoix
which is onions celery and carrots. It's going to add a ton of flavor
dimension and aromatics to the dish. My carrots are peeled and I'm going
to cut them into 3/4-inch pieces. Cutting them into larger chunks
is going to ensure that they don't break down while they braise in the oven. We need about 2 cups for the recipe. For the celery, we're going to cut
them into 1/2-inch thick pieces. The smaller size is going
to infuse a lot of flavor into the stew. You need about 1 cup of celery. Trim the top off of the red onion and then
just a little bit of the root end so that it stays intact and it's easier to cut. Cut it in half and peel off the skin.
Cut the onion into 1 inch thick pieces. We need about 1 cup for the
recipe to make a hearty stew. I like to add some waxy potatoes
like Yukon gold into the recipe. I don't want them to break down while they're cooking in the oven so I'm
going to cut these into 1-inch size pieces. These are baby-sized potatoes, so
I'm just going to cut them in half These types of potatoes have more sugar
instead of starch in them so they're not going to break down they're actually going
to hold their shape as they're cooking. For this recipe, I'm going to use
beef chuck it's very inexpensive and it comes from the shoulder region of the cow. It's full of marbling and fat and connective
tissues that are going to be very flavorful when we braise it. So I have about 2 1/2 pounds of meat
but you could use up to 3 pounds and we're going to cut them
down into smaller pieces. You want to trim off any extra fat on the outside because it's just
going to make the stew really greasy. Okay, just cut these into smaller 1 1/2-inch pieces. See there's big chunks of fat right
there so I'm just going to trim that off. I'm going to season the beef with 1 teaspoon of
kosher salt and 1/2 teaspoon of black pepper. Just flip the meat over so
you can season both sides. I had refrigerated my meat before I cut
it so it's really dry on the surface but make sure if it's a little bit wet, use paper towels to dry it off because we want
the beef to sear and not steam in the pan. Let's go ahead over to the stove Set the oven rack to the lower
third position, heat to 350 degrees. Heat a large dutch oven over medium-high
heat, add 3 tablespoons olive oil, once hot add the beef in a single
layer, work in two batches. Sear each side until browned
about 1 to 2 minutes per side. Transfer to a clean plate and
repeat with the remaining beef. The beef is done searing when it has a beautiful caramel-colored crust and there's a
ton of fond or brown bits stuck to the bottom of the pan that we're going to dissolve,
that's going to add a lot of flavor to the dish. Now in the same pot, we're going to saute the
vegetables and add the rest of the ingredients. Turn the heat down to medium, and add
2 cups of carrots, 1 cup of celery, and 1 cup of onion, saute until the onions
are lightly browned and tender, five minutes. Add 1 teaspoon chopped thyme, and
bay leaf, saute for 30-seconds. Add 1 tablespoon minced
garlic, saute for 30-seconds. Wow, this smells amazing already. The
onions are getting caramelized and the garlic and thyme are really nice and
herbaceous and adding a ton of aromatics. Now, I'm going to add some
balsamic vinegar to deglaze the pan but it's also going to add this
nice acidity and brightness and really boost the flavor of the ingredients. Add 1/4 cup balsamic vinegar, stir scraping the
bottom of the pan to release any brown bits. Cook until most of the liquid
has evaporated, about 1 minute. Add 1 tablespoon tomato paste,
stir and cook for 30-seconds. Sprinkle in 1/4 cup of flour,
stir and cook for 1 minute, slowly stir in 3 cups of beef stock
scraping down the bottom of the pan. As a finishing touch to the stew,
I'm going to add some dry red wine. I like a full-bodied red wine like
a cabernet sauvignon because it has really fruity flavors and nice balanced tannins but you could also use a merlot,
a chianti, or a French bourgeois, but make sure you use one that you like to drink because you'll have a few glasses
left over to enjoy with your meal. And if you don't want to add wine you could also
add grape juice instead or even pomegranate juice or you could just add an extra cup of beef
stock if you don't want to add that at all. Add 1 cup of red wine, and 2
tablespoons soy sauce, stir to combine. Add the brown beef and 1 pound of sliced potatoes, bring the liquid to a rapid simmer
over medium-high heat for five minutes. Turn off the heat. I've simmered the stew just for a few minutes to
get the starches in the flour to start thickening and to keep that liquid nice and
hot before we add it to the oven. The oven is going to give a
nice consistent amount of heat, cooking the stew by conduction and it
allows you to not have to touch it at all. We're just going to put the cover on and you're
going to bake it for about 75 to 90 minutes or until the meat is super fork-tender and the
vegetables can be easily pierced with a knife. You can also cook the stew
on the stovetop but there's going to be little pockets of heat that build-up so make sure to stir it
about every 20 minutes or so. Wow, this looks incredible
the meat is fork-tender, all the vegetables are ready,
and if you want a thicker sauce you could turn the heat up to
medium-high and concentrate it for a few more minutes until
you get the desired consistency but this looks good to me it's ready to serve. Okay, let's take a peek. Wow, the meat and vegetables are glazed
with the sauce, it smells amazing. Okay, right before serving I like to garnish with a little bit more freshly
cracked black pepper and some chopped parsley. You can grab some serving
bowls and just enjoy it as is or if you want a heartier meal I would definitely serve it with my
homemade mashed potatoes right here. I hope you enjoyed learning
the science behind beef stew, and if you did please give it a big thumbs up it means a lot when you do. See you in the next video. It's time to eat.
