Homemade Beef Stew Recipe (2024)

FAQs

What is the secret to good stew? ›

"Soups and stews really need to simmer for long periods to allow the ingredients to meld together. Taking that a step further, most soups and stews are better if you prepare them the day before serving. Allowing them to cool and then reheating them really helps bring out the flavors and textures."

You can go a couple of ways. For more umami, I like dried porcini mushrooms, crumbled, but you can also use anchovy fillets as Doug suggests, or parmesan rind. For some herbal notes, you can try thyme, basil or even tarragon. Beef stew can be heavy, so some fragrant herbs can fill out the flavor profile.

If you are making a slow-cooked recipe that calls for ground beef, like chili, beef stew, or meat sauce, browning the meat beforehand makes a huge difference. Ground meat should always be browned in a skillet and drained before adding it to the slow cooker with the other ingredients.

Her recipe uses bacon, red wine, tomato paste & beef broth to enhance the yummy beef flavors! But I believe the secret to the tender beef is… slow roasting the stew in a covered pot in the oven! That's it!

Laurence further reveals that "adding wine or other alcohol brings out different flavors (those that are alcohol-soluble) that wouldn't otherwise be expressed in the dish. There are flavors in tomatoes that are alcohol-soluble, so adding red wine along with tomato paste also helps to enhance beef stew."

Short rib is one of the best stew meats for rich and hearty stews because of its robust flavor and large surface area that absorbs the sauce during the long cooking time. These short ribs also contain a great deal of connective tissue, which breaks down in the slow cooker to produce a very soft and succulent meat.

Although I added carrots, little red potatoes, rutabaga and cremini mushrooms, you have plenty of options. Parsnip, turnip, pearl onions, squash and fennel will also work. Stir them in gently and immediately return the pot to the oven for the final hour of cooking.

The flour helps to thicken a stew as it cooks. Whisk a teaspoon of flour in a little cold water to make a slurry, then stir into the stew as it's cooking. Don't add dry flour directly to the stew as it may clump. After adding the slurry, bring the stew to boil.

Your onions will be fine, but mushy potatoes and carrots are a no-no. Instead, add them about 20 minutes before the end of cooking. When they're tender, the stew is done.

What will likely happen is, it'll turn out just fine, but you'll get a less flavorful outcome. Sure, the meat will be tender. Browning doesn't affect tenderness. Cooking “all day” doesn't improve flavor, or achieve the goal of tenderness, any more more than cooking the stew 3–4 hours.

Should I flour stew meat before browning? ›

Tossing the raw meat in a starch, like flour, will increase the rate of browning, but browned flour just doesn't taste as good as browned beef. Eventually, that liquid will evaporate again, and your meat will start browning, but the problem is that the entire time the liquid is steaming, your meat continues to cook.

Heat a drizzle of oil in the pan over medium heat and brown the meat on all sides, and drain (unless your recipe says to leave the drippings).

The choice becomes easier when you realize that simple baking soda can be an ideal meat tenderizer that helps to bring out all the aromas and flavors in every sizzling beef stew or charburger.

If you want super tender beef, you'll need to cook it on a low heat in a Dutch oven on the stove or a slow cooker for at least a few hours. Chuck meat is your best bet for beef stew, but it's also a pretty tough cut so it needs time to break down and become tender.

After about 1 1/2 hours of cooking, add roasted veggies and potatoes to the pot and finish cooking. Remove thyme and rosemary bundle and bay leaves, discard. Bring stew to the stovetop if you cooked it in the oven.