Credit to Brain Lagerstrom for the original recipe. I modified a few things for my personal taste. I also can’t eat stew without mashed potatoes so I have to add that too.
Makes 8-10 portions
Ingredients
Stew
4lb beef chuck
1 large white onion
4oz baby bella mushrooms
1oz shiitake mushrooms
4c (2 large) carrots
8tbsp (1 stick) unsalted butter
3tbsp ap flour
1/4c merlot wine
3 bay leaves
3 sprigs fresh thyme
1c frozen peas
t.t. refined olive oil
t.t. kosher salt
t.t. ground black pepper
Upgraded Beef Stock
64oz (2 boxes) beef stock
4tbsp beef bouillon
4tbsp tomato paste
4tbsp worchestershire sauce
1oz (4 packets) powdered gelatin
Mashed Potatoes
2lb russet potatoes
6tbsp unsalted butter
1c sour cream
t.t. milk
t.t. kosher salt
Procedure
Prep
Wash and scrub potatoes.
Roughly peel potatoes, leaving a bit of skin on.
Large dice potatoes, mushrooms, and carrots; cut onions into thick crescents.
Large dice chuck, make sure to remove center band of fat and any silverskin present.
For the stock, combine all ingredients and whisk well.
Cook
Toss beef with olive oil and salt to taste. Broil at 450F until they have a good brown color.
Preheat a large oven-safe pot over high heat (a dutch oven would be best but I’ve also used just a $15 walmart pot. Just make sure it is safe up to 300F).
Sweat onions, and carrots with oil. After about 3 min, add mushrooms as well.
Lightly caramelize but do not overcook or brown too much. Once done set aside.
Deglaze the pot with wine and beef stock.
Add beef and also deglaze the cooking sheet with water and add it to the stew pot. Do not add any leftover fat from the cooking sheet though. There will be plenty in the meat.
Simmer uncovered in the oven at 300F for 2 hours. Stir half way through.
Meanwhile, toss the veg in flour and set aside for now.
Bring 1 pot of water to a boil and boil potatoes until tender.
Drain and allow to dry, then return to a pot and add butter, salt, sour cream, and milk. Mash to desired consistency.
After the stew has simmered for 2 hours, add the veg, bay leaves, and thyme. Simmer for 1 more hour at 300F (total 3 hours).
Once veg and meat are tender, remove and skim off excess fat from the top with a spider.
Stir in peas and season with salt and pepper as needed
Enjoy!
