This was hands down the BEST BEEF STEW I've ever made. It is from the Barefoot Contessa's cookbook Back To Basics. Back in the day, I had a huge dinner for neighbors of mine(who were moving) and for having the dinner my neighbors gave me this cookbook, stating that when they came back to town I needed to cook dinner for them. I meet Ina Garten (the barefoot Contessa) years ago and I told her one of my son's first words was "Tessa" because I had her show on so often. She got quite a kick out of that. I will link the cookbook below along with the equipment I used for the recipe.
Ingredients
- 2 1/2 lbs good quality chuck beef, cut into 1 1/4 cubes
- 1 (750-ml ) bottle good red wine, such as a Cabernet Sauvignon
- 3 whole garlic cloves, smashed
- 3 bay leaves
- 6 ounces bacon, cut into 1-inch pieces
- 2 cups plus, 2 tbsp all-purpose flour
- kosher salt
- pepper
- 2 cups chopped yellow onions (2 onions)
- Good Olive Oil
- 2 tbsp minced garlic (6 cloves)
- 1 lb carrots, peeled and cut diagonally into 1 1/2 inch chunks-(I sliced mine thin)
- 1 lb small potatoes, halved and quartered
- 1 14 1/2 ounce can beef stock
- 1 large branch of rosemary
- 1/2 cup sun dried-tomatoes in oil, drained and sliced
- 2 tbsp Worcestershire sauce
- 1 10 ounce bag of frozen peas (I didn't have them for my recipe and I left them out)
Instructions
- Place the beef in a bowl with the red wine, garlic cloves and bay leaves. Cover the bowl and marinate the beef in the refrigerator over night. {Note: I marinated the beef for only an hour and a half and it turn out just as delicious}Brown the bacon in a large (12-inch) sauté pan for 5-7 minutes, over medium-low heat. With a slotted spoon, transfer the bacon to a large dutch oven (which is just a large pot). Combine 2 cups of flour, 1 tsp salt, and 1/2 tsp pepper in a bowl. Mix. Lifting the beef out of the marinated discarding the garlic and the bay leaves, saving the marinated. In batches, dredge the beef in the flour mixture, shaking off the excess. In the same sauté pan, brown half of the beef over medium heat for 5-7 minutes, turning to brown on all sides. Add the second batch to the sauté pan then add all of the beef to the dutch oven. Meanwhile preheat the oven to 300°Now lower the heat on the sauté pan to medium-low, add the onions, and cook for 5 minutes, (adding olive oil if necessary). Add the minced garlic and cook for 1 more minute. Add the carrots and potatoes and cook for 5 more minutes, stirring occasionally. Place all the vegetables in the dutch oven with the beef. Add 2 1/2 cups of the reserved marinade (discard the rest) to the sauté pan and cook over high heat to deglaze the bottom of the pan, scraping up all the brown bits with a wooden spoon. Add the beef stock, rosemary, sun-dried tomatoes, Worcestershire sauce, 1 tbsp of salt, 2 tsp of pepper. Pour the sauce over the beef and vegetables in the dutch oven and bring to a simmer over medium heat. Cover the pot and place in the oven for 2 HOURS, until the meat and vegetables are tender, stirring once during cooking. If the stew is boiling rather than simmering, lower the oven to 275°.When the stew is done and the meat is tender, discard the rosemary branch. Ladle 1 cup of the pot juices into a bowl and whisk in the remaining 2 tbsp of flour. Add that mixture back into the pot and stir gently until thickened. Stir in frozen peas, season to taste and serve with egg noddles. HAPPY EATING!!
Shop the Post
Tap on any picture below and you will be able to purchase the item you want or a similar item.❤️
