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Best Beef Stew

Source of Recipe

From "Cook's Illustrated Revolutionary Recipes"


Recipe Introduction

"Use a good-quality medium-bodied wine, such as Côtes du Rhône or Pinot Noir, for this stew. Try to find beef that is well marbled with white veins of fat. Meat that is too lean will come out slightly dry. Four pounds of blade steaks, trimmed of gristle and silverskin, can be substituted for the chuck-eye roast. While the blade steak will yield slightly thinner pieces after trimming, it should still be cut into 1 ½-inch pieces. Look for salt pork that is roughly 75 percent lean."

List of Ingredients

â—¦ 2 cloves garlic, minced
â—¦ 4 anchovy fillets, rinsed and minced
â—¦ 1 tablespoon tomato paste
â—¦ 4 pounds boneless beef chuck-eye roast, pulled apart at seams, trimmed, and cut into 1 ½-inch pieces
â—¦ 2 tablespoons vegetable oil
â—¦ 1 large onion, sliced thin
â—¦ 4 carrots, peeled and cut into 1-inch pieces
â—¦ ¼ cup all-purpose flour
â—¦ 2 cups red wine
â—¦ 2 cups chicken broth
â—¦ 4 ounces salt pork, rinsed
â—¦ 2 bay leaves
â—¦ 4 sprigs fresh thyme
â—¦ 1 pound Yukon Gold potatoes, unpeeled, cut into 1-inch pieces
â—¦ 1 ½ cups frozen pearl onions, thawed
â—¦ 2 teaspoons unflavored gelatin
â—¦ ½ cup water
â—¦ 1 cup frozen peas, thawed
â—¦ Salt and pepper


Recipe

Adjust oven rack to lower-middle position and heat oven to 300 degrees. Mash garlic and anchovies in bowl to paste, then stir in tomato paste.

Pat beef dry with paper towels. Heat 1 tablespoon oil in Dutch oven over medium-high heat until just smoking. Add half of beef and brown on all sides, 7 to 10 minutes; transfer to bowl. Repeat with remaining 1 tablespoon oil and remaining beef, then return first batch of beef to pot. Reduce heat and stir in onion and carrots. Cook, scraping up any browned bits, until onion is softened, 1 to 2 minutes. Stir in garlic mixture and cook until fragrant, about 30 seconds. Stir in flour and cook for 30 seconds.

Slowly stir in wine, scraping up any browned bits and smoothing out any lumps. Increase heat to high and simmer until thickened and slightly reduced, about 2 minutes. Stir in broth, salt pork, bay leaves, and thyme sprigs and bring to simmer. Cover, transfer pot to oven, and cook for 1 ½ hours. Remove pot from oven. Discard salt pork and bay leaves and stir in potatoes. Cover, return pot to oven, and cook until potatoes are nearly tender, about 45 minutes.

Using large spoon, skim any fat from surface of stew and discard thyme sprigs. Stir in pearl onions and cook on stovetop over medium heat until potatoes and onions are tender and meat offers little resistance when poked with fork, about 15 minutes. Meanwhile, sprinkle gelatin over water in bowl and let sit until gelatin softens, about 5 minutes.

Increase heat to high, stir in peas and gelatin mixture, and simmer until gelatin is fully dissolved and stew is thickened, about 3 minutes. Season with salt and pepper to taste, and serve. (Stew can be refrigerated for up to 2 days; adjust consistency with extra broth as needed when reheating.)

Serves 6 to 8