Whether it’s Boeuf Bourguignon or Hayashi Rice, practically every culture around the world has their version of beef stew. While I love these ethnic stews, when someone says “Beef Stew” to me, it conjures an image of supper in a frontier cabin. A half-day trek from nearest town, these settlers are self-sufficient, growing their own vegetables and raising their own meat, and for this particular meal, the meat comes courtesy of Buck, a trusted oxen, who has outlived his usefulness tilling the fertile land.
Sinewy, yet full of flavor, the big hunks of meat get braised for hours in a cast-iron dutch-oven hung over a smouldering fire. With time, the toughness gives way and the beef turns to melt-in-your-mouth tender strands of meat that are loosely held together with rich collagen. Paired with a few root vegetables from the cellar and some foraged herbs, this beef stew is a rare treat that nourishes these hard-working pioneers while taking the chill off the evening air.
Inspired by this rustic daydream, I mostly kept to the basics of a classic beef stew, while incorporating some modern culinary techniques to take it from modest to marvelous.
As with any great stew, the core of a flavorful beef stew starts with the Maillard reaction. This is the chemical reaction that occurs when reducing sugars react with amino acids to produce thousands of new flavor compounds. Put another way, the Maillard reaction is the reason why a seared steak always tastes better then boiled one.
By salting the beef to coax out some of the beef’s natural juices, and then giving the meat space to breath in a hot pan, the juices caramelize into a thick mahogany layer of “fond” at the bottom of the pot. This coating is what gives our stew it’s complex savory flavor. That’s why it’s important to use a heavy bottomed pot (so the fond doesn’t burn), and why you don’t want to use a pot with a non-stick coating (you want stuff to stick to the pot)
The next layer of flavor comes from caramelized aromatics such as onions and garlic. After adding them to the pot, I cover it with a lid and let them steam before removing the lid to let the onions caramelize. The steaming not only speeds things up, it also releases the thick layer of fond on the bottom of the pan so it doesn’t burn as the onions caramelize.
For the liquid, instead of using water or something fancy like wine, I like to use a combination of stock and stout. Since the malt in stouts is roasted first, it’s undergone the Maillard reaction as well, imbuing the dark beer with deep earthy flavors that pairs beautifully with the beef.
Finally, to finish off the stew, I make a simple roux by mixing some beef fat with flour to subtly thicken the stew without turning it into a cloying gravy.
Units
Ingredients
- 675 grams beef chuck
- 1 teaspoon salt
- ½ teaspoon black pepper
- 1 tablespoon vegetable oil
- 14 grams garlic (~2 large cloves sliced thin)
- 300 grams onions (~2 medium sliced as thin as possible)
- 2 cups low sodium chicken stock
- 1 cup stout
- 1 tablespoon soy sauce
- 1 tablespoon tomato paste
- 2 bay leaves
- 1 sprig rosemary
- 5 juniper berries
- 350 grams carrots (~3 cut into large chunks)
- 350 grams potatoes (peeled and cut into large chunks)
- 1 ½ tablespoons all-purpose flour
- ¾ cup green peas
Instructions
- Cut the beef into 1 1/2 -inch (4 centimeter) chunks and season with 1 teaspoon of salt and 1/2 teaspoon of pepper.
- Heat a dutch oven over medium-high heat until hot and then add the oil, swirling to coat the pan. Add the beef leaving about 1/2-inch between each piece of meat. Depending on how large your pot is, you may need to do this in two batches.
- Fry the beef undisturbed until you see it start seeing a dark brown crust forming around the edges. Flip the beef and brown the other side in the same way. If the oil starts to smoke, or the fond accumulating on the bottom of the pan starts to burn, turn down the heat and add a tablespoon of water. Transfer the browned beef to a bowl and repeat until all the beef is browned.
- Add the onions and garlic to the pot, turn down the heat to medium low and cover the pot with a lid. Let this steam for 10 minutes.
- Remove the lid and turn up the heat to medium high. Allow the onions to fully caramelize while stirring constantly to prevent burning. This should take about 15-20 minutes.
- Add the chicken stock, stout, soy sauce, tomato paste, bay leaves, juniper berries, and carrots and then return the beef to the pot. Stir to combine and then bring the mixture to a simmer.
- Cover with a lid and place in a 300 degree F (150 degrees C) oven until the beef is tender (about 1- 1 1/2 hours).
- When the meat is tender, remove the pot from the oven and skim off 1 tablespoon of fat to set aside and then skim off any additional fat and discard.
- To the fat you saved, add 1 1/2 tablespoons of all-purpose flour and stir until a smooth paste forms.
- Add a ladle full of liquid from the stew to the flour mixture and whisk until smooth. Pour this mixture back into the pot and stir until it's evenly incorporated.
- Remove the rosemary and add the potatoes, cover and return to the oven for an additional 20-30 minutes, or until the potatoes are tender.
- The stew will most likely need more salt, so adjust the salt to suit your tastes and then add the peas and cook for another few minutes on the stove to heat the peas through.
- Serve with crusty bread.
Esther Crocker says
Sounds wonderful, Marc! A very pretty picture to paint too. My mum is English and makes very good beef stews in the pressure cooker, and thank goodness she taught me how to also! Beef stew is certainly found all over the world – my most recent favourite rendition being Vietnamese Bo Kho, talk about umami!
Mum always uses shin beef (gravy beef here in oz), as do I, sometimes a mix of shin and oxtail, or osso bucco cut for the marrow. One trick she taught me – and I think this may be similar to your use of stout and soy sauce – always add a tablespoon of Vegemite/Marmite/Bovril (or more) if you don’t have stock or don’t want to use stock cubes. I guess the yeastyness of vegemite/marmite is similar to the hoppiness of stout. Again, thanks for the awesome recipe, and a quick question – have you explored cooking with pressure cooker, Marc? I’d like to know your thoughts on pressure cook vs slow oven braise.
Marc Matsumoto says
Hi AussieOsita, thanks for the nice note and for sharing your way of making stew. If there isn’t one already somebody ought to make a book on all the world’s beef stews. Great idea on using vegemite/marmite/bovril, I’m not a fan of the spreads or the beverage, but I do love adding a dollop of vegemite into stir fries and soups as a flavor enhancer.
As for using a pressure cooker, I have some recipes here that use one, but I mainly use them for stocks, beans, and cuts of meat (like pork belly, and beef shank) that have a ridiculous amount of fat and connective tissue. For most other things like beef stew (made with chuck), I find that pressure cookers are overkill and tend to dry out the meat as well as render it a bit flavorless.
joyceperdue says
Can you substitute gin for the juniper berries?
Marc Matsumoto says
Hi JoyDon, I actually sometimes add a little cognac or bourbon to this, so gin might be a great way to infuse some juniper flavor if you don’t have any.
joyceperdue says
Thanks. This is what I read on line about the production of gin. Here in Western NY I have never seen juniper berries available.
“The flavouring ingredients are all natural and are referred to as ‘botanicals’. The type and quantity of each producer’s botanicals vary according to their own closely guarded recipes; all are carefully selected and tested for purity and quality. All gins include “Juniper” as an ingredient: other botanicals used are coriander, angelica, orange peel, lemon peel, cardomom, cinnamon, grains of paradise, cubeb berries and nutmeg. Typically a fine gin contains six to ten botanicals. Like all gins, London gin should have a predominant “juniper” flavour.”
Ling Wang says
Hi Marc, do you have any recommendations on what I can substitute for the stout & flour for the roux? I’m thinking of making this for some out-of-town guests but one of them is gluten intolerant. Thanks for another great recipe =)
Marc Matsumoto says
Hi Ling, for the flour, you could use just about any other kind of flavorless flour such as rice flour, potato flour, or masa marina. The amount you need to add will vary by flour, so add a bit at a time and use your best judgement. I’d avoid starches (corn, tapioca, potato etc) as these tend to thicken a little differently than flours. As for the stout, you could substitute extra stock and extra soy sauce (be sure the soy sauce is gluten-free, as most aren’t). I sometimes add a splash of cognac or bourbon towards the end as well.
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KimNB says
A nice recipe as always Marc. Why chicken stock instead of beef stock? I would have thought a beef stew was one dish where you would want to use beef stock.
Marc Matsumoto says
Hi Kim, mainly because I always have chicken stock on hand but rarely have beef stock. I also find that chicken stock when combined with other meats adds more complexity to a dish than one stock alone. This is why I use both chicken and pork bones for my ramen stock. That being said, if you happen to have beef stock available, then that will work as well.
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Ann says
Hi Marc! This was a great recipe and I loved the step with the onions since it was key to developing that extra layer of flavor that isn’t in other beef stew recipes. Thank you so much for posting this! I can’t wait to make this again!
Marc Matsumoto says
HI Ann, I’m so glad to hear you enjoyed this. Caramelizing onions is a great way boost flavor not just in this dish but any dish that calls for onions. Happy Holidays!
Esther Crocker says
I agree that chuck can be treated harshly in a pressure cooker. If you ever do feel like it, please try shin as a substitute in this recipe, even as an oven braise. The beef shin mostly holds together, but is easily shredded and boosts the liquor of the stew with the strands of meat. It’s such a shame it’s summer here in Australia because now I very much want beef stew!
Also forgot to mention – PARSNIPS go so well in stew, the are just amazing. Thank you for this blog, Marc, I love reading your wisdom and knowledge.
eng ting ting says
Hi Marc, I’m planning to cook this for a party next week as my friends love beef! The thing is, I don’t have a dutch oven which I can stick in the oven. Would it still be as nice if I cook it over the stove?
Marc Matsumoto says
Hi Eng, yep, you could do this on the stove, just set the stove to low and let the stew simmer until the beef is tender.
Carl Johnson says
My advice: Get a dutch oven. It will be the most versatile piece of cook wear you will own. Stews, chili, soups, roasts, just about anything….