Perfect Beef Stew

Last week we had one of those exceptionally cold California evenings. Now I know better than to say it was "cold" in comparison to places with much more extreme seasons but nonetheless it called for something warm in a bowl which could be consumed with copious amounts of wine:) That being said I started to read dozens of stew recipes and even thought about attempting Julia Child's Boeuf Bourguignon. After browsing too many recipes on the old i-phone in the parking lot outside of the grocery store I landed on a great recipe from Tyler Florence for The Ultimate Beef Stew.  Since I can never seem to follow a recipe verbatim the below is an adaptation pretty close to his- but I thought mine was just perfect:)

Melt the butter

Season the beef cubes

Brown in batches

Make/buy a rad bouquet garni

Cooking in wine

Veggies ready for the pot

Everybody in the pool

30 minutes later...

Perfect Beef Stew
Adapted from Tyler Florence, The Ultimate Beef Stew
Ingredients:

·         1/4 cup extra-virgin olive oil, for frying, plus more to drizzle

·         3 tablespoons butter

·         2 cups all-purpose flour

·         2 to 3 pounds beef chuck shoulder roast, cut into 2-inch pieces (I have used Top Round roast)

·         Sea salt and freshly ground black pepper

·         1 bottle good quality dry red wine (I used our ‘09 Tempranillo)

·         8 fresh thyme sprigs

·         6 garlic cloves, smashed

·         1 bouquet garni (I like Albert Menes prepared sachets)

·         2 1/2 cups beef stock

·         9 small new potatoes, scrubbed clean and cut in 1/2

·         1/2 pound carrots, peeled and sliced

·         1 pound white mushrooms, cut in ½ (I used Cremini)

Directions

1. Preheat a large heavy-bottomed saucepan or Dutch oven over medium-high heat with the oil and butter.
2. 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.
3. 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 is hot add the browned meat, thyme, smashed garlic, bouquet garni, freshly ground black pepper and salt, to taste, 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.
4. After 2 hours add halved potatoes, sliced carrots, 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. Season with salt and pepper and remove the thyme sprigs.

To serve, place the stew in a soup bowl, drizzle with olive oil and  serve with a hearty red wine and a nice hot loaf of crusty bread!