When you live in New England or any other region that has some crazy seasonal and temperature changes, you know that when it is cold outside, comfort foods are going to come into play at some point. Because, let’s face it:When Old-Man Winter gets testy outside, comfort foods warm you up from the toes to the nose. You work hard all day or you spent all day outside clearing snow. When you come home, you still want to have a good meal on the table and might only have a few hours left before you are back to bed and doing it all over again.
This is how I get a great beef stew going in a reasonable amount of time. I am NOT a fan of crockpot cooking. I don’t want baby food textures and I certainly don’t want to ‘floss’ my teeth on stringy meats from a crockpot. So, if you don’t have time for slow-braising in the oven (which is a far superior cooking technique for stews), this is a great way to have a delicious stew. Oh, “cabby” is cabernet sauvignon. Just getting a little cheeky on the recipe name. 😊
PLEASE NOTE: If you take the wine out of the recipe, you ruin the original flavor that was developed for this stew. There are no exact substitutions to give you the same exact flavor. Jarred garlic is going to ruin the flavor profile of this dish as it will not react well with the wine. To create the same exact flavors/flavor profiles, always use fresh garlic.
The video for this is on my Youtube channel.
INGREDIENTS:
1lb Chuck Roast, cleaned/trimmed, cut into bite-sized tips
8oz Yukon Potatoes – small diced6oz Carrots – small diced
6oz Onions – small diced
4oz Zucchini – quarter sliced
2oz Celery – finely diced1oz Garlic, freshly chopped
1 Cup Cabernet Sauvignon
1-1 ½ QT Beef Stock (homemade is the best for a proper stew)
6oz Tomato Paste
3-4 TB Flour
Olive Oil
Herbs De Provence – to your liking
White Pepper – to your liking
Kosher Salt – to your liking
1.) Start prep-work on all of your ingredients ahead of time. This recipe is designed to be cooked on-the-fly so you can get dinner on the table faster. Add your vegetables into a bowl.
2.) Garlic should be finely minced. Do not use jarred garlic for this recipe as the processed chemicals will mess with the flavor of the wine.
3.) Trim and clean your chuck roast of any silver skin, tendon, and hard fat. You can save those for rendering down if you want.
4.) Each chuck tip should be a reasonable bite-sized tip – set aside in its own container.
5.) In a medium pot or brazier pan on medium heat, add your olive oil and spices.
6.) Begin sautéing your vegetables, being sure to toss periodically for about five to seven minutes.
7.) Do not overcook the vegetables but be sure to re-season and toss again.
8.) Once you notice the color of the onions losing their white color, remove your vegetables into a bowl.
9.) In the same pan, add your chuck tips and re-season again with your spices. Toss well for a couple of minutes.
10.) Add your garlic and tomato paste to the pan and toss well. We want to bring that tomato paste up to temperature and toss to coat for about three minutes. You should start to smell that wonderful tomato aroma and the beef will show some light browning.
11.) Add your flour evenly and toss to coat – approximately one minute.
12.) Add your wine to the pan and mix well to help dissolve the tomato paste. The sauce will thicken in just a few minutes.
13.) Add your par-cooked vegetables to the pan and mix evenly. This will gel up a bit so mix this well. Cook for another minute or so.
14.) Add your one quart of beef stock and mix well. Adjust to add more to your own liking. Stir for about five minutes. Be sure to taste test this to determine if you need more seasonings.
15.) After about three minutes of boiling, reduce to a simmer for another three to five minutes. Remove from heat and serve.
Grab some fresh bread and butter for your sopping pleasure.
