Helpful Tips
If you want to improve the recipe, you can use 1 tbsp tomato paste, for more body and color in the sauce.
Substitutions
You can use chuck, shank, shoulder, brisket, or boneless oxtail as main meat.
If beef broth is not available, you can use water instead.
The recipe
Red Wine Beef Stew
Ingredients
Instructions
- 1
1. Prep the meat.
Trim excess fat and cut the beef into roughly 4 cm (1½ inch) cubes. Season with salt, pepper, cumin, and paprika.
- 2
2. Brown the meat.
Heat the olive oil in a wide pot over medium-high heat. Brown the beef in batches so it doesn't crowd the pot, 2–3 minutes per side, until well browned. Remove and set aside.
- 3
3. Make the sofrito.
In the same pot, add the onion, carrot, and bell pepper. Cook 5–7 minutes, stirring occasionally, until the vegetables start to soften. Add the garlic and cook about 30 seconds.
- 4
4. Add the wine.
If using tomato paste, stir it in now and cook 1 minute. Pour in the red wine and let it boil 3–4 minutes, scraping the bottom of the pot to lift the browned bits.
- 5
5. Cook the stew.
Return the meat to the pot and add the broth, bay leaf, and thyme. The liquid should come about halfway up the meat, not cover it completely. Bring to a boil, then reduce to the lowest simmer.
- 6
6. Slow-cook.
Cover and cook about 1½–2½ hours, depending on the cut, until the meat is very tender and falls apart easily with a fork. Check occasionally and add a little more water or broth if needed. Pressure cooker: cook about 40–50 minutes, depending on the cut and size of the pieces. Let the pressure release naturally before opening.
- 7
7. Reduce the sauce.
If the sauce is too thin once the meat is done, uncover and cook over medium heat a few minutes until it reaches the consistency you like. Taste and adjust salt.
- 8
8. Serve.
Serve the stew piping hot with its sauce, sprinkled with fresh parsley.
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