Beef Stew
Difficulty:
Beef stew
serves 8
- 3 pounds of stew beef - cut into 1 and 1/2 inch cubes
- 1 large onion - diced
- 4 tomatoes - cut into wedges
- 1/2 pound of baby carrots
- 1 red pepper - cut into 1/2 inch strips
- 1 pound of small mushrooms - cleaned
- 2 small turnips - cut into chunks
- 2 tablespoons of instant tapioca
- 1/2 cup of dry bread crumbs
- 2 cups of red wine
- 1 teaspoon of salt
- 1/2 teaspoon of black pepper
- 1/2 pound of frozen small pearl onion
Put all the ingredients except the pearl onions in a Dutch oven with a tight-fitting lid.
Bake in a preheated 325 degree oven for 3 1/2 hours. Don’t peek!
Add the pearl onions after the stew is removed from the oven.
Serve with crusty bread.
Adapted from: Fete Accomplie, Washington, DC
Beef stew
serves 8
- 3 pounds of stew beef - cut into 1 and 1/2 inch cubes
- 1 large onion - diced
- 4 tomatoes - cut into wedges
- 1/2 pound of baby carrots
- 1 red pepper - cut into 1/2 inch strips
- 1 pound of small mushrooms - cleaned
- 2 small turnips - cut into chunks
- 2 tablespoons of instant tapioca
- 1/2 cup of dry bread crumbs
- 2 cups of red wine
- 1 teaspoon of salt
- 1/2 teaspoon of black pepper
- 1/2 pound of frozen small pearl onion
Put all the ingredients except the pearl onions in a Dutch oven with a tight-fitting lid.
Bake in a preheated 325 degree oven for 3 1/2 hours. Don’t peek!
Add the pearl onions after the stew is removed from the oven.
Serve with crusty bread.
Adapted from: Fete Accomplie, Washington, DC
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26 Comments
Kathy Maister said:
One more thing…a general rule when buying stew beef is that for recipes with a cooking time of 2 hours and under, buy “round” beef. For recipes with cooking times over 2 hours, “chuck”, a slightly less expensive cut of beef, will work just fine.
Cheers!
will said:
Can this recipe be done on a stovetop in some way?
Jay said:
Cuteness.
I like to make stew in the crockpot. MMm, smells so good on a winter day.
Kathy Maister said:
Will, there are tons of stews cooked on the stove top, but not this one. I think after 4 hours without peeking (or stirring) the bottom would get burnt. This particular one really should be done in the oven. I have tried cooking this recipe for only 2 and a half hours and it was good but not as good as leaving it in the oven for the full four hours. If you take it out too soon it does not get a chance to develop that lovely rich, dark gravy.
Jay, some one of these days I am going to buy a crock pot! Either that or a rice cooker.
Jeff said:
I cook mine on the stove top with little to no burning on the bottom. There are different stages that do different things and allow you to get a thick rich sauce without it all ending up on the bottom.
If your curious, you can see my recipe here.
Kathy Maister said:
Hi Jeff, thanks for sharing your beef stew recipe. (With 7 1/2 cups of liquid, and a lot more complicated preparation steps, I’m sure your stew cooks beautifully on the stove top.) I love making stews and soups on a cold winter’s day. Talk about comfort food!
Jennifer said:
This is a wonderful healthy and easy recipe!!
Cooking with wine adds so much flavor (sans fat) and I LOVE using tapioca- how clever Kathy
Kathy Maister said:
Thanks Jen! I was delighted to get permission to reproduce this recipe in its original form from Fete Accomplie. It is one of our favorite winter meals!
Rick said:
Hi Kathy,
I really appreciate all your work on this wonderful site. I’m a rookie cook and it’s been soooo helpful. For rhis stew receipe – what can I use instead of the wine. We are an alcohol free house. How about beef broth? Thanks again for myour help
Kathy Maister said:
Hi Rick! Thanks for all your kind words! Beef broth is a perfect substitution for the wine. Be sure to let me know how it turns out.
Kieran said:
Cool….
Rick said:
Hi Kathy,
The beef broth is working great, but I have another question. I am finding a couple “glops” of what I am pretty sure is some of the tapioca. I believe it is forming “glops” instead of disolving uniformally and acting as a thickening agent. How about if I try mixing each tablespoon of tapioca with each cup of beef broth.
Thanks again for all your help.
Kathy Maister said:
Hi Rick, It might be because of the type of tapioca you are using. I have been doing a lot of reading about tapioca since you posted this question. I doubled checked the recipe, from Fete Accomplie, and it specifically says “instant” tapioca. That is a really important distinction. Be sure to sprinkle the tapioca evenly, the way you would sprinkle salt, over the vegetables.
(Traditional tapioca, often found in health food stores, has a small pearl shape, and can actually loose its thickening capacity when stored longer than a few months. There is no way of telling by looking at it. This form of tapioca is a very different product from the “instant” tapioca.)
Rick said:
Kathy – Thanks for your quick response. I double checked the tapioca and it is the “Minute” tapioca identical to the stuff in the video, and I did remember to shake it before I used it. What I believe I didn’t do was to sprinkle it all around as you suggested. I’ll be sure and spread it all around next time.
Thanks again for your help!
Kathy Maister said:
My Pleasure!
Steve said:
Hi Kathy;
My family aren’t big fans of turnips. How would potatos do instead? Would they get overcooked & mushy?
Kathy Maister said:
Hi Steve,
Turnips are an acquired taste! I often serve this with boiled or mashed potatoes which I cook separately from the stew so they don’t get mushy or over cooked!
Jason Stiebs said:
Hi Kathy,
Thanks for the site and if I do not have a dutch oven can I use a crock pot?
Thanks!
Jason Stiebs
Kathy Maister said:
Hi Jason, I do not own a crock pot, but my guess would be that this recipe would work just fine in one. Be sure to check the temperature settings and let me know how it turns out!
Cheers!
Jane said:
Hi Kathy,
If I were to substitute potatoes for the turnips, or beef broth for the wine, how much would I use and would the cooking time change?
How does the taste/texture of the stew change when using beef broth vs. wine? Which one is healthier?
Thanks for putting up all these simple (and delicious) recipes!
Sincerely,
Jane
Kathy Maister said:
Hi Jane, great questions!
The beef broth will work perfectly fine with this recipe BUT be sure to use low sodium so that the stew doesn’t end up too salty.
Generally speaking I find yellow turnip to be slightly bitter. The small white turnips that I used in this recipe are not at all bitter and add a nice texture to the stew.
My husband is a big potato eater so when I make this stew I usually boil some potatoes separately, rather than adding them to the pot. (That’s the way my mom always did it when she made her fabulous beef stew!) The starch in the potatoes may well throw off the texture of the stew, so it is best to cook them separately.
Cheers!
Kathy
Kathleen said:
I’m just learning how to cook, and this recipe was so easy.The stew turned out delicious! I love this website!
startcooking said:
Hi Kathleen,
It’s great to hear that the recipe worked for you. Hope you enjoy the leftovers!
Cheers!
Jillian said:
I cooked this stew in the crock pot on low for about 7-8 hours and it tasted AMAZING! It is melt-in-your-mouth delicious. Thanks for the recipe!
startcooking said:
Hi Jillian, I am delighted to hear that this recipe works for a crock pot! I have only ever cooked it in the oven.
Thanks for sharing!
Samantha said:
I am loving your website!
Can I take out the tomatoes in this recipe? My mom had a great Beef Stew Recipe that I can’t find anywhere (I don’t think she ever wrote it down for me) so I am on the quest for an easy, rich and tasty beef stew.
I don’t own a Dutch Oven (though, I have asked for one for my anniversary), so I am going to do this in the crock pot. I will let you know how it turns out! I am going to add frozen peas near the end and I haven’t decided if I am going to use beef broth or wine yet–I will decide when it gets to be that time I guess! I also am going to boil some potatoes on the stove to add. My mom’s recipe always had: beef, carrots, peas, turnips, potatoes and pearl onions.