Slow-Cooked Classic Hearty Beef Stew
Enjoy coming home to this delicious, traditional hearty beef stew!
When I was younger, my mother made the best beef stew in the whole world. She did not make it often; it was a special treat, but it was so, so good. There was this perfect ratio of thick sauce and chewy meat. Although I’ve tried replicating it, I‘ve never been able to. Instead, I have come up with my own versions!
Now that the weather has changed, I feel like I can bring out the soups and stews again. I have also been working very hard to have my suppers ready when my girls come home so I am not busy in the kitchen and can focus on them. I love being able to put up a stew in the morning and let it cook all day.
If you’re making your stew in a Dutch oven, like I do, you can do the first steps of sautéing the onions and browning the meat in the pot earlier in the day and then transfer it into the oven to cook it. Dutch ovens are great for this kind of cooking, as they are high-quality, heavy pots that retain heat well for low-and-slow cooking and they can go directly from the fire to the oven. If you want to make the beef stew in a slow-cooker, you can do that as well. Just skip the sautéing and dump everything in the Crock-Pot instead. This is a great option if you work all day. Put it up in the morning and come home to a delicious, hot supper after a long day of work!
This recipe is a basic, classic beef stew. There are hundreds of variations of stews out there; I myself have plenty on my Instagram page. I have a delicious lamb stew, I once made a stew using marrow bones…but, truth be told, while it’s fun to diversify, I keep coming back to this one—you just can’t go wrong with it!
I keep the vegetables to a minimum here, but if there is something you would like to add or swap out, feel free!
Let’s talk Dutch ovens for a minute: I have a Le Creuset, which is the creme de la creme of Dutch ovens. It is mighty expensive, but I love my little baby and use it often. (I also got it as a birthday present from my siblings, so I didn’t pay for it!) You certainly can find cheaper options (see link above) that will do the job, and often you can find good, inexpensive ones in stores like Home Goods as well.
Go the extra mile and make a loaf of fresh crusty bread to go with your beef stew!
Classic Hearty Beef Stew
Ingredients
- 3 Tbsp oil
- 2 medium onions, diced
- 2 Tbsp flour
- 2 lbs. (approx.) beef stew (stew meat)
- 5 medium potatoes, peeled and cubed
- 2 medium carrots, peeled and cut into chunks
- 2 cups beef stock, or 1 Tbsp beef consomme powder dissolved in 2 cups hot water
- 1 12-oz. can beer
Instructions
- In a pot or Dutch oven, heat oil over medium flame. Add onions and sauté for about 10 minutes.
- Add flour; mix well.
- Add beef and mix until browned.
- Add remaining ingredients. Bring to a boil and simmer over a low flame for 3-4 hours. If you’re using a Dutch oven, cover and transfer the pot directly to the oven and bake at 300℉ for 4 hours or at 200℉ if it’s going to be more time until you eat.
Notes
Recipe by Faigy Murray | https://mykitchenmystudio.com/classic-hearty-beef-stew/
