The Best Beef Stew Ever Recipes

BEST EVER ONE POT BEEF STEW

Steps:

• Preheat your oven to 325 degrees Fahrenheit.
• Place a large Dutch Oven pot over medium-high heat and warm the olive oil in it.
• Season the beef with salt and pepper and add to the hot pot, just so the beef covers the bottom of the pot (Don't overcrowd as this will prevent the browning process. Brown the beef in batches if necessary.).
• Brown the beef pieces on each side just until they're beautifully caramelized, sprinkling the flour over the beef as it browns, about 1 teaspoon at a time.
• Remove the beef from the pot to a plate after it has browned (don't worry about cooking it through at this point!) and add the thyme, smoked paprika, onions, garlic, carrots and celery to the pot.
• Stir the vegetables around to catch all the drippings left in the pot from the meat and add the beef back into the pot after the onions are almost translucent.
• Add the red wine, the Worcestershire Sauce, and the tomato paste. Give everything a good stir and let the liquid cook down (it's important to let the wine cook off for a good 4-5 minutes before adding the other liquid).
• Once the wine liquid has reduced for several minutes and it has thickened, add the tomato sauce, the beef stock and the potatoes.
• Give everything a good stir, scraping any bits off the bottom of the pot.
• Make sure the potatoes are nicely nestled into the liquid and add the lid to the pot. Place the pot in the oven at 325 degrees Fahrenheit for about 3 to 3 and a half hours.
• Every hour or so, lift the lid of the pot and give everything a quick stir.
• If you'd like to add the frozen green beans (they're totally optional and I only add them about 50% of the times I make this dish), stir them in during the last 30 minutes of cooking so they don't get soggy.
• You'll know the stew is done after the allotted time has passed and the beef pieces fall apart when you touch them with a fork.
• Serve in deep bowls with a piece of crusty bread for dipping, and a sprinkling of fresh parsley for garnish (if desired).

BEST OF ALL: SLOW COOKER BEEF STEW

Steps:

• Whisk flour, garlic salt, and black pepper together in a small bowl; pour into a large resealable plastic bag. Place stew beef in bag, seal the bag, and shake to coat beef to coat completely.
• Heat olive oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat; saute coated beef in hot oil until browned on all sides, about 10 minutes. Stir onion into beef; saute until onion is softened, 5 to 7 minutes. Pour beef and onions into a slow cooker.
• Stir beef broth, red wine, and Worcestershire sauce together in a bowl. Pour broth mixture into the same skillet and bring to a boil while scraping the browned bits of food off of the bottom of the skillet with a wooden spoon. Transfer broth mixture to the slow cooker.
• Mix potatoes, carrots, celery, garlic, bay leaves, beef stew seasoning mix, and paprika into beef mixture.
• Cook on High for 1 hour. Reduce heat to Low and cook until meat is tender, 6 to 7 hours.

THE BEST BEEF STEW

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.

THE BEST BROWNED BEEF STEW EVER

Steps:

• Put flour, salt and pepper in a large ziploc bag.
• Heat oil over medium heat in a large dutch oven.
• Place meat in bag with the flour and shake until well coated.
• Shake off meat pieces and add them to the oil and stir until slightly browned, Add remaining flour from the bag and the finely chopped onion.
• Stir until well browned.
• Add finely chopped carrot and next 4 ingredients.
• Cover and cook over low heat for 1 1/2 hours (stirring every 15 minutes).
• Add diced potatoes, carrots, and onions, cook for another 45 minutes or until potatoes are tender.

THE ULTIMATE BEEF STEW

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.

BEST EVER BEEF STEW

Steps:

• Heat olive oil in a large stockpot or Dutch oven over medium heat. Season steak with 1 teaspoon salt and 1/2 teaspoon pepper. Working in batches, add steak to the stockpot and cook, stirring occasionally, until evenly browned, about 6-8 minutes; set aside. Add onion, carrots and celery. Cook, stirring occasionally, until tender, about 3-4 minutes. Add garlic and mushrooms, and cook, stirring occasionally, until tender and browned, about 3-4 minutes. Whisk in flour and tomato paste until lightly browned, about 1 minute. Stir in wine, scraping any browned bits from the bottom of the stockpot. Stir in beef stock, thyme, bay leaves and steak. Bring to a boil; reduce heat and simmer until beef is very tender, about 30 minutes. Stir in potato; simmer until potatoes are just tender and stew has thickened, about 20 minutes. Remove and discard thyme sprigs and bay leaves. Stir in parsley; season with salt and pepper, to taste.* Serve immediately.

THE BEST BEEF STEW EVER

Steps:

• Heat oil and brown meat well.
• Add garlic and saute lightly and then add wine, beer, broth, tomato paste, sugar, thyme, bay leaves and Worcestershire sauce.
• Bring to a boil. At this step you have a choice. You can dump the contents in a crock-pot to slow-cook for about 5-6 hours before you add the veggies, or you can reduce the heat and simmer for about an hour stirring occasionally -(I've even done this step in a pressure cooker). Either way, this brings us to the next step.
• Melt butter and add onion, potatoes and carrots. Saute until golden. ** If using russet potatoes see my tip at the bottom and then proceed with the sauteing.** If using any additional veggies, you can add this to the saute mix as well.
• Add sauteed veggies to the stew and let slow-cook for another two hours or so, or if cooking this stove-top let simmer for about another 40 minutes.
• Taste for salt and pepper and garnish with the green herbs.
• **Thickening: If you like a thicker pot liquor, then there are a few ways to do this. You can make a flour and butter roux and add it to the stew. Now a roux-thickened liquid must boil to become thick, so if using a crock pot you'll have to remove liquid out of the crock and boil it with the roux to make a thick gravy and then add that back to the crock pot. Another method is to mix some cornstarch in a 1:2 cornstarch to liquid ratio. You could use the pot liquor for the liquid but you would want to cool it off a bit to avoid lumps. Then boil it all before adding it back to the stew. If you're cooking this stove-top you can just add the cornstarch slurry to the pot and then simmer the whole thing. Two other thickening tricks are to add a bit of oatmeal or tapioca to the mix. Oatmeal does add it's own flavor and texture if you've got thick cut oats, the quick-cook oats will completely dissolve. Instant tapioca pearls dissolve away and about 1.5 tablespoons should do it.
• **Tip for Russet Potatoes**.
• 1/3 c water.
• 1 T. sea salt.
• Peel and chop potatoes. Dissolve the salt in the water and pour over the potatoes in a microwave-safe dish. Microwave, covered, on high for six minutes. This is not intended to cook the potatoes, but they are now ready to use in your recipe. This process really changes the texture and flavor of the potatoes from same-old, same-old into WOW!