Rustic Homestyle Beef Stew

Filled with chunks of tender beef and humble vegetables surrounded by a flavorful savory sauce, this oven-cooked Rustic Homestyle Beef Stew is the full meal deal.

Course Main Course

Cuisine Canadian

Keyword beef, beef stew, homemade stew, stew

Servings 6

My Island Bistro Kitchen Barbara99

Ingredients

1½ lb beef chuck roast (with good marbling), trimmed of excess fat and any silver skin, cut into 1¼ “ – 1½“ chunks
Beef seasoning mix (recipe below)
3 - 4 tbsp olive oil
2 tbsp olive oil
1 tbsp butter
½ cup onion, diced into ¼“ pieces
¼ cup celery, diced into ¼“ pieces
¼ cup carrot, diced into ¼“ pieces
4 - 5 garlic cloves, minced
¾ cup dry red wine
1 cup passata (or 1/3 cup tomato paste mixed with a scant 2/3 cup beef or poultry stock)
1½ cups beef or poultry stock (reserve ½ cup for later adding to stew)
1 tbsp Worcestershire sauce
1 tbsp brown sugar
1 teaspoon Herbes de Provence
2 sprigs fresh thyme
1 bay leaf
3 oz parsnip, cut into ½“ chunks
5 oz rutabaga (aka turnip), cut into ½“ chunks
5 oz carrots, sliced into ½“ chunks (or 5 oz petite baby carrots)
5 oz grape or cherry tomatoes
8 oz waxy potatoes (*See Note 1 below) (e.g., Yukon gold, red potatoes), cut into 1” – 1¼“ chunks (or use petite mini potatoes whole or halved, depending on their size)
Fine sea salt and freshly cracked pepper, to taste
½ cup frozen peas (optional)
½ tbsp chopped fresh parsley or sprigs of rosemary (optional for garnish)
Optional:
2 tsp cornstarch
1½ tbsp beef or poultry stock

Instructions

Dice the onion, celery, and carrot. Mince the garlic. Set aside.
Bring beef to room temperature for approximately 30-40 minutes. Trim off any large pieces of excess fat as well as any silver skin that may still be on the beef. Cut beef into 1¼” - 1½“ chunks. Pat beef dry with paper towel.
Position oven rack in lower third of oven and preheat oven to 300°F.
Heat 1½ - 2 tablespoons of olive oil in stainless steel or cast-iron skillet over medium-high heat.
Place approximately 2 tablespoons of the beef stew seasoning mix (recipe below) in a plastic bag. Working in batches, place a few chunks of meat at a time in the bag with the seasoning mix. Close the plastic bag and shake the bag until all sides of the beef chunks are coated. Shake off excess seasoning mix from each piece of meat. Transfer dredged beef to the hot skillet, leaving space between each chunk. Do not crowd meat in the skillet. Sear the meat. Using tongs, turn the meat to brown the beef on all sides, about 45 – 60 seconds per side. Transfer seared meat to a plate. Repeat with remaining beef chunks, adding more seasoning mix as needed to the bag as well as more oil to the skillet, if required.
Pour off any excess fat remaining in the skillet. Reduce heat to medium-low. Remove the skillet from the heat and slowly add the red wine and stir. Return the skillet to the heat and, using a wooden spoon, scrape up any of the caramelized brown bits remaining and stuck to the bottom of the skillet after the meat was seared. Slowly boil the wine gently for 3-4 minutes to burn off the raw alcohol. Once all the brown bits have been loosened and mixed in with the wine and the liquid has reduced to almost half its original amount, remove the skillet from the heat and set aside.
While the skillet mixture is deglazing, heat 2 tablespoons of oil in a 3-quart Dutch oven or other stovetop and ovenproof pot or pan over medium low heat and then add the tablespoon of butter. When the butter has melted, add the carrot and celery and cook for approximately 3-4 minutes then add the onion. Cook, stirring frequently, for 6-8 minutes, until the carrot and celery are slightly softened and the onion has become transparent. Add the minced garlic and, stirring quickly, sauté it for about 20-30 seconds. Do not let the garlic scorch.
Using a rubber or silicone spatula, scrape out the deglazed pan and transfer the reduced wine mixture into the Dutch oven with the mirepoix (sautéed carrot, celery, and onion).
Add the passata (or tomato paste mixture), 1 cup of the poultry or beef stock, Worcestershire sauce, brown sugar, and Herbes de Provence to the Dutch oven. Cook over medium low heat just until the liquid starts to boil. Add the seared beef, parsnip, rutabaga (aka turnip), sprigs of thyme, and bay leaf. Cover Dutch oven and transfer to pre-heated oven for about 45 minutes then stir gently and add the carrots. Reduce the heat to 275°F. and cook the stew for 40 minutes longer. Stir stew and add the potatoes, tomatoes, and remaining half cup of stock along with some fine sea salt and freshly cracked pepper, to taste. Continue cooking the stew until all the vegetables are fork tender, about 45-50 minutes.
If a thicker sauce is desired, whisk 2 teaspoons cornstarch with 1½ tablespoons of stock or water to make a “slurry”. Add some hot stew liquid to temper the slurry and stir into the stew. Cook for 10-15 minutes longer. If desired, add the frozen peas during the last 10 minutes of cooking.
Discard bay leaf and thyme sprigs. Ladle stew into bowls and garnish with fresh chopped parsley and/or a sprig of fresh rosemary, if desired.

Recipe Notes

Yield: Apx. 6 servings

Beef Seasoning Mix

¼ cup cornstarch
½ tbsp paprika
½ tbsp dried basil
½ tbsp dried parsley
1 tsp dried oregano
½ tsp dried thyme
½ tsp crushed rosemary
½ tsp garlic salt
½ tsp onion powder
¼ tsp celery salt
¼ tsp marjoram
1/8 tsp ground fennel
1/16 tsp cayenne
½ tsp fine sea salt
1/16 tsp freshly ground pepper

Mix ingredients together. Store in tightly covered container until needed.

Recipe Notes:

1) If you like an all-in-one stew, add diced potatoes or, if desired, petite mini potatoes either whole or cut in half (depending on their size). Use waxy potatoes like Yukon Gold or a red potato variety as these hold up and retain their shape. This is in contrast to a more starchy and grainy variety of potato (e.g., Russet) that tends to break down and become mushy during long cooking periods as is the case with stews.
2) If you prefer to serve the stew over mashed potatoes or hot buttery noodles, omit the 8 oz of potato called for in the recipe altogether and replace the 8 oz of potato with the same amount of a mix of additional carrot, rutabaga (turnip), and parsnip.
3) If you have a Dutch oven or other casserole or pot that is both stovetop safe at high temperature and oven safe, this stew can entirely be made in the same cooking vessel – i.e., the meat can be seared, the mirepoix sautéed, and the pan deglazed all on the stovetop and then the stew placed in the oven. However, if you have an enameled cast-iron Dutch oven, be sure to check the instructions that came with it to confirm it can sustain being used over medium-high heat on the stovetop. If it cannot safely be used over medium-high heat, it is recommended to sear the meat (which is done over medium-high heat) in a stainless steel or cast-iron skillet and then transfer the seared meat to the Dutch oven for the remainder of the cooking process.
4) The seasoning mix contains the thickening agent, cornstarch, which should thicken the stew nicely. However, if a slightly thicker stew is desired, 2 teaspoons of cornstarch can be whisked with about 1½ tablespoon of stock or water to make a “slurry”, then tempered with some hot stew liquid, and the slurry stirred into the stew in its later stages of cooking. As a word of caution, though, cornstarch will thicken a stew quite quickly to the point of it becoming pasty so only start with a small amount of cornstarch (i.e., 2 teaspoons) and let that cook in the stew for a few minutes before, if necessary, considering the addition of any further thickener.