Beef Stew
 
 
Author:
Yield: 6-8 servings
Ingredients
  • 2lbs Stew Beef (Chuck)
  • 4 strips uncured bacon
  • 1 large onion, chopped
  • 2-4 cloves garlic, chopped
  • 1 package baby portobello or white button mushrooms, sliced thick-ish
  • ½ a bottle good Pinot Noir
  • 3-4 cups beef stock
  • 1lb red skin potatoes, quartered
  • 1lb baby carrots
  • 3-4 sprigs fresh thyme
  • 2 fresh bay leaves
  • 1 tbs Worcestershire sauce
  • 2 tbs Tomato Paste
  • 1 cup Ditalini pasta
  • ½ cup flour
  • black pepper
  • salt
Instructions
  1. In a large dutch oven or other pot cook the bacon slices over medium heat.
  2. While the bacon is cooking, rinse the stew beef in a colander and then pat each piece dry. Sprinkle a bit of flour over the pieces.
  3. When the bacon is finished cooking to the point where you’d eat it, remove the bacon from the pot. (You're done with the bacon and can save it for breakfast tomorrow!).
  4. In a few batches, brown the stew beef in the bacon grease and remove from the pot and set the meat aside as it finishes.
  5. In the pot with the rest of the bacon and beef grease, brown the mushrooms. Remove the browned mushrooms and put aside on a plate.
  6. Add the chopped onion to the pot and cook 5-10 minutes until translucent, then add the garlic and cook for another 1-2 minutes.
  7. Add a couple of glugs of red wine (about ½ cup) to the pot and turn the heat down to low. Deglaze the pot (meaning scrape the bottom of the pot so you loosen everything that has stuck to the bottom throughout the cooking process so far).
  8. Add the meat back in and cover over with about 2 cups of beef stock and about 2 cups of red wine (use about ½ the bottle). The meat should be almost covered over with liquid but not covered completely.
  9. Add the bay leaves, thyme, worcestershire sauce, tomato paste, about a tablespoon of salt, and a generous amount of black pepper.
  10. Bring everything to a boil and then turn down the stove and simmer for about 1-2 hours until the meat is tender and cooked through.
  11. If the liquid reduces too much, add more beef stock to the pot. You can substitute water here too.
  12. Add the potatoes and carrots to the pot and cook for 30 minutes.
  13. Add the ditalini pasta and cook until done.
  14. If you’ve gotten this far and things haven’t unified and turned into a lovely beef stew, cook it all a while longer. You really can’t overcook this. If you want your stew a bit thicker, you can add cornstarch dissolved cold water (start with ¼ - ½ cup starch). Salt and pepper to taste.
Recipe by Oakhurst Kitchen at http://oakhurstkitchen.com/beef-stew/