Rustic Beef Stew with Red Wine and Rosemary

This dish is an homage to the iconic Gallic comfort food, Beef Bourguignon—a rich stew that comes from the Burgundy region of France. Traditionally, well-marbled chuck is slowly braised in the oven at a low temperature in a savory bath of beef bone broth, dry red wine, lardons (bacon), onions, carrots, mushrooms, thyme and sometimes potatoes. This stew makes the perfect Sunday or game-night dinner, and will fill the house with an incredible aroma as it’s cooking. Although this easy recipe is a hands-off dish once in the oven and could be served after 4 hours of cooking time, its flavor is best after a 24-hour rest in the fridge, which allows its rich and complex flavors to fully develop.

There are four culinary tricks with this recipe: use a good-quality (i.e., good enough to drink) dry red wine, a low oven temperature, a well-marbled cut of beef chuck and allow a medium-brown brown crust to emerge on the meat before adding the red wine, stock and sautéed veggies. Regarding the red wine, I recommend a Burgundy, Boudreaux Superior, Napa Cab or Cote De Rhone. The second crucial step is using a consistent low-oven temperature—225º F. I don’t recommend using the stove top for this dish since low temperatures, such as this, are very difficult to maintain. This low temperature is geared to melting the collagen and connective tissues in otherwise tough meats to make them melt-in-your-mouth, fork-tender (The “melting” point happens at around 180º F or a bit lower). Resist the temptation to use this recipe in a crock pot set on low (190-200º F) for 6-8 hours— braising in an oven works best. And, do not try to “hurry-up” this dish by using a higher oven temperature, although many beef stew recipes tout using a temperature of 350º F; this makes the chuck as tough as shoe leather. Look for well-marbled chuck, with visible white fat streaks in the meat, rather that choosing lean “stew meat”, which rarely gets fork tender no matter how longs it cooks!

Pairs well with a crusty French bread, buttered egg noodles, a fresh green salad with a sherry vinaigrette, or sautéed green beans with toasted sliced almonds.

Rustic Beef Stew with Red Wine and Rosemary
Serves: 2 as a main; 3-4 as an appetizer

Ingredients
1 1/2 lbs. well-marbled beef chuck, cut into 2-inch x 2-inch cubes
1 tsp. sea salt
½ tsp. black pepper
1 cup cornstarch
1/3 cup extra virgin olive oil
2 tbs. organic beef tallow
1 large yellow onion, peeled and finely diced
5 garlic cloves, peeled and smashed
3 large carrots, peeled and sliced into 1/3-inch rounds
1 tbsp. double-concentrated tomato paste
3 cups red wine
1 bay leaf
1 large smoked ham hock
¼ lb. mushrooms, quartered
2 large Yukon gold potatoes, cut into 1-inch cubes
1 5-inch sprig rosemary, leaves removed from stem
4-5 sprigs fresh thyme, leaves removed from stem
2 tbsp. chopped flat-leaf parsley (optional)

Preparation

Preheat oven to 225º F. Pat dry beef cubes with a paper towel and lightly dust with salt and pepper. Let sit for at least 30 minutes.

Place cornstarch on a piece of foil and roll beef cubes around, several times, until fully coated on all sides, and set aside.

Add olive oil and beef tallow to a Dutch oven and heat on medium-high until melted and combined. Add beef, in a single layer, and sauté; turning with tongs until brown on all sides—about 15 minutes. Remove meat to a plate and set aside. Repeat process with second batch.

Add rosemary, thyme, carrots, onions and mushrooms to the Dutch oven and stir with a wooden spoon, several times, to release the fond (savory brown bits that hold flavor) at the bottom of the pot. Reduce heat to medium and sauté veggie mixture until al dente. Add tomato paste and stir—cooking for about 1 minute to remove the “raw flavor”. Add the beef broth, wine and smoked ham hock. Bring up to a boil and stir. Add browned beef, stir, and then cover with a tight-fitting lid. Place pot in the lower one-third of the oven, and cook for 3 1/2 - 4 hours, or until the meat is fork tender. I recommend using a Le Creuset enameled Dutch oven, and checking the stew midway to see if it needs more liquid.

Remove stew from oven and allow to cool to room temperature. Place in the refrigerator for 24 hours to allow the flavors to fully develop. Remove ham hock and bay leaf. Reheat on stove until warm, and top with minced flat-leaf parsley.