Beef Stew 2.0

The original beef stew was a hit, so we decided to serve it for a dinner guest.  After our first attempt, as per usual we said, “When we serve this at our restaurant we will…”

The verdict was to go saucier.  We’re a sauce family.

We did our research in the process of developing this new and improved recipe.  We were, in part, looking for the Brisket experience, while maintaining the stew experience and developing the complexity of the flavor.

We started by asking the amazing cooks in the family about how to make brisket.  They said a true Brisket requires the Brisket cut, obvious, we suppose, but not a satisfying answer.  We wanted to continue to use the beef chunks of the original recipe.

Then there’s Beef Bourguignon.  Made frequently by our friend for his wife (though, maybe it comes naturally because he’s French) and made particularly impressive by the protagonist in Julie and Julia.  After reading a number of Brisket, stew and Beef Bourguignon recipes, including Julia Child’s of course, we came up with this.  Our guest liked it.  Let us know what you think.

Lazy (Stove-Top) Beef Bourguignon

(Serves 4)

1 ½ tbsp butter

1 ½ tbsp olive oil

1 ½ lb cubed beef

1 ½ cup beef broth

2 cups medium bodied red wine

2 bay leaves

1 onion

1 tsp Thyme

10 leaves of Sage

8 cloves of garlic

3 carrots in thick rounds

½ cup Brandy

We cooked this recipe in its entirety in our 3 Qt saucepan that has a lid.  That’s part of what makes this lazy.

Chop an onion and set aside.

Then wash and dry the beef.  Heat up 1 ½ tablespoons of olive oil and 1 tbsp of butter.  Add the beef once the olive and butter are nice and hot.  Brown it on all sides.  We browned only half the beef at a time, so that the pan wouldn’t be too crowded.

Once all the beef is browned put it back in the saucepan.  Add the onion, 1 cup of red wine, 1 cup of beef broth and the 2 bay leaves.   Save the other liquids to add later.

We cooked this for a total of five hours.  This is another reason the recipe is a lazy one.  After you add all the first ingredients you can read your book, watch TV, enjoy a glass of wine (or a few).  The goal for the long cook time is not that we are lazy boozers, but because we were going for that melt-in-your-mouth quality of Brisket.

Return to the beef after 3 hours of relaxing.  Now add the Thyme, Sage, carrots and half the garlic.

Then, start making your side dishes or go back to your previous activity for an hour.

In the final hour we added the last cup of red wine, the remaining ½ cup of beef broth, the ½ cup of Brandy, the ½ tbsp of butter, and the 4 remaining cloves of garlic.

We didn’t serve it in a bowl like you might for beef stew, but the plate did get good and saucy.  The beef was accompanied by a side of sautéed whole mushrooms (sautéed in butter and olive oil and with salt and pepper).  Finally, the vegetarian component, and carb side dish for the meat-eaters, was a delicious pea pesto that we found on Smitten Kitchen.

3 photos lost when the old site was hacked. Newer posts will have photos.

Again, we realize this isn’t the most typical summer fare.  It would make a hearty dinner on a cold January night, a solid entrée on the winter menu at our restaurant, or a delicious meal anytime you’ve got a lot to do, but still want to impress the company.  Our guest did not believe us when we said it was easy and that’s the way we like it.