Beef Stew with Tender Vegetables
This is the kind of beef stew that'll have everybody coming back for seconds and thirds. Big chunks of tender beef swimming in rich brown gravy with carrots, potatoes, and onions that just melt in your mouth. It's comfort in a bowl and tastes even better the next day.
Cooking tutorial
Ingredients
- 3 lbs beef chuck roast, cut into 1½-inch cubes
- 1/3 cup all-purpose flour
- 2 tsp seasoned salt
- 1 tsp black pepper
- 1 tsp garlic powder
- 3 tbsp vegetable oil
- 1 large onion, chopped
- 4 cups beef broth
- 2 cups water
- 3 tbsp tomato paste
- 2 bay leaves
- 1 tsp dried thyme
- 1 tsp Worcestershire sauce
- 4 large carrots, peeled and cut into 2-inch pieces
- 4 medium russet potatoes, peeled and cut into chunks
- 3 celery stalks, cut into 1-inch pieces
- Salt and pepper to taste
Instructions
- 1
Pat the beef cubes dry with paper towels. In a big bowl, mix together the flour, seasoned salt, black pepper, and garlic powder, then toss the beef in it until every piece is coated real good.
- 2
Heat the oil in a large heavy pot or Dutch oven over medium-high heat. Working in batches so you don't crowd the pan, brown the beef on all sides until it's got a nice crust, about 3 to 4 minutes per batch. Take the beef out and set it aside.
- 3
In the same pot, add the chopped onion and cook for about 4 minutes until it starts to soften, scraping up all those brown bits from the bottom.
- 4
Stir in the tomato paste and cook for 1 minute, then pour in the beef broth and water. Add the bay leaves, thyme, and Worcestershire sauce, then put all that beef back in the pot.
- 5
Bring it to a boil, then turn the heat down to low, cover the pot, and let it simmer for 1 hour and 30 minutes, stirring every now and then.
- 6
Add the carrots, potatoes, and celery to the pot. Cover again and cook for another 45 minutes to 1 hour, until the vegetables are tender and the beef is fall-apart good.
- 7
Take out those bay leaves, taste the gravy, and add more salt and pepper if you need to. Let it sit for about 10 minutes before serving so all those flavors can get happy together.
- 8
Serve it up in big bowls with some cornbread or crusty bread on the side for sopping up that gravy.
Pro Tips
- ★Don't skip browning the meat — that's where all the deep flavor comes from, and those crusty bits on the bottom of the pot make the gravy rich.
- ★If your gravy's too thin at the end, mix 2 tablespoons of flour with 1/4 cup of cold water and stir it in, then simmer for 10 more minutes to thicken it up.