Homemade Meat Stew
4 servings
300 minutes
Homemade meat stew is a cozy dish of European cuisine that warms the soul and fills the home with the aromas of spices. Its roots go deep into history when peasant families turned simple ingredients into a rich and flavorful treat. Braised beef soaked in the juices of vegetables, red wine, and spices becomes incredibly tender and juicy, while the combination of tomatoes and thyme adds a slight tang and herbal note to the dish. This stew pairs perfectly with mashed potatoes, creating a harmonious and nutritious meal, and adding chipotle pepper can give it a light smoky spiciness. A great choice for a leisurely family dinner when you want to feel the warmth and taste of home cooking.
1
Place the pot on medium heat and add a little vegetable oil to the bottom. Preheat the oven to 160 degrees.
- Olive oil: to taste
2
Dry the beef with a paper towel, cut into 1-2 cm cubes. Transfer to a deep dish, sprinkle with flour, and mix thoroughly.
- Beef: 800 g
- Wheat flour: 2 tablespoons
3
Transfer the beef to a preheated pot and fry over medium or higher heat without a lid until a golden crust forms. It's important that the meat is dry; otherwise, it will release water. If the bottom of the pot is small, it's better to fry the meat in several stages by dividing it into portions. The denser the meat is packed at the bottom, the more likely it is to stew rather than fry.
- Beef: 800 g
4
Chop the garlic finely. Cut the celery and carrot into thick slices about 1–1.5 cm wide. Dice the onion into large cubes.
- Garlic: 2 cloves
- Celery stalk: 2 pieces
- Carrot: 2 pieces
- Shallots: 2 pieces
5
Place the fried meat in any container.
6
In the pot where the meat was fried, add a bit more oil and transfer the chopped celery, carrot, onion, and garlic. Fry for about 10 minutes until softened. After frying the meat, there may be a layer of stuck flour at the bottom — that's okay. The vegetables will release some juice while frying and the flour will loosen up. If things start to burn — add some broth or water and cover with a lid.
- Olive oil: to taste
- Celery stalk: 2 pieces
- Carrot: 2 pieces
- Shallots: 2 pieces
- Garlic: 2 cloves
7
Cut the tomatoes into small cubes, remove the thyme from the stems, leaving only the leaves.
- Tomatoes: 4 pieces
- Thyme: 1 sprig
8
Add the meat, tomatoes, red wine, Worcestershire sauce, broth, thyme, and bay leaf to the vegetables. Let it simmer slowly for 10-15 minutes.
- Beef: 800 g
- Tomatoes: 4 pieces
- Red dry wine: 200 ml
- Worcestershire sauce: 2 tablespoons
- Meat broth: 400 ml
- Thyme: 1 sprig
- Bay leaf: 2 pieces
9
Add salt and pepper. Stir the stew and taste the liquid part. Keep in mind that most of the liquid will evaporate, so it's better to under-season at this stage.
- Salt: to taste
- Crushed black pepper: to taste
10
Transfer the pot to the oven without a lid. Leave it for 2–2.5 hours, checking every hour if the liquid has evaporated. If the liquid level drops below the upper boundary of the thick part, cover it with a lid to avoid burning from the top heating element. Burnt pieces will add bitterness.
11
Take the pot out of the oven, let it cool a bit and taste the dish. You can add more salt or dilute it with a little boiling water if it's too rich. Tomatoes and wine will add acidity to the dish, which needs to be balanced with sugar. Add a few pinches, mix it up and taste. If it's not enough, repeat until the acidity is balanced.
- Sugar: to taste
12
Place the pot on the stove and bring it to a boil again over medium heat.
13
It's better to serve with mashed potatoes. Spicy lovers can add chipotle pepper sauces, which will give the dish a slight smokiness. Parsley also pairs well with the stew.