Red Wine Beef Stew with Mushrooms and Carrots

Red Wine Beef Stew with Mushrooms and Carrots is the ultimate cool weather comfort food.

Red Wine Beef Stew with Mushrooms and Carrots has fall-apart pieces of hearty beef, caramelized mushrooms, tender carrots and onions, all brought together in a mouth-watering wine and bacon infused sauce flavored with garlic and thyme.

When the weather turns crisp, I love to have a stew simmering away in the kitchen.  It’s just so cozy and I adore how fragrant and homey the house smells.

One of the great things about stew is that after prepping and putting your stew together, all that’s left is to just patiently wait for it to simmer away into fabulousness.  Serve it up with a crusty loaf of bread and dinner can be ready whenever you like and it’s usually even better the next day.

To make this stew, start by cooking bacon.  The bacon crumbles in the stew really add a nice depth of flavor and the drippings do the same to the beef that you will brown for the next step.

Dust large chunks of chuck cut into two inch cubes with flour.  Season with salt and pepper, and brown them in the bacon drippings.  Cook them in two batches at a medium high temperature so that they are not crowded and will brown as opposed to steaming in the pan.

I like to use a dutch oven that has a lid for stew, usually my favorite is my cast iron because it browns meats and veggies so well.

While the meat is browning, make sure to have all your vegetables cut up and ready.

After the meat has browned, remove it to the plate with the bacon crumbles.  Add the mushrooms and a sprinkle of salt and cook them until they begin to brown.  Dry mushrooms carmelize much better then damp ones, so if you washed as opposed to wiping them, make sure they are dry.

Remove the mushrooms to the meat and bacon plate.  Add the carrots and onions and another pinch of salt.  Cook until they start to brown.

I like my stew vegetables tender but not mushy, so I cut them larger since they will be cooking for an extended length of time.

Why do I add salt when I cook the mushrooms and then again with the carrots and onions?  It helps to draw the moisture out so that they will sweat and brown better.  It also has the added advantage of seasoning the dish.

Add the garlic and tomato paste.  Cook for a minute to brown the tomato paste and then add the wine to deglaze the pot along with the herbs, scraping up all the yummy bits of flavor from the bottom of the pot.  Simmer until the wine has reduced by half.

Make sure to use a full bodied, dry red wine without too much oak.  Burgandy is the traditional French wine of choice, but choose the one you would like to drink with your finished stew.  Do not use red cooking wine from the baking aisle of the grocery store.  The idea of this hurts my heart and will not do your stew justice.

Next, add the beef, mushrooms, and bacon back into the pot.  Add beef stock and bring to a gentle simmer.  Cover and cook for about two and a half hours until the beef is the perfect fork tender consistency.

Stock over broth?  Yes!  Stock has a deeper depth a flavor due to how long it is cooked for and the fact that it is cooked with the bones and marrow.  Also stock is not salted as opposed to a broth or bouillon which usually is.

Next, remove the lid and raise the heat until you have a gentle boil, simmering for about 15 minutes to thicken the sauce.  Skim any fat if needed.

If the sauce is not as thick as desired, whisk a 1/2 cup of cold stock or water with 2 tablespoons of flour.  Add to the stew, while using the tines of a fork to strain for lumps.  Continue to cook for 5 minutes until the stew reaches the desired consistency.  It will also thicken as it cools.

Serve Red Wine Beef Stew with Mushrooms and Carrots over butter noodles, whipped mashed potatoes, seasoned rice, or by itself.  A loaf of crusty bread is a must to wipe up every last scrumptious smear of sauce.

Other cozy, cool weather recipes to try are my Herb Butter Spatchcock Chicken and Crispy Roasted Chicken with Mushrooms and Cream.

5 from 5 votes

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Red Wine Beef Stew with Mushrooms and Carrots

Red Wine Beef Stew with Mushrooms and Carrots has fall-apart pieces of chuck roast, caramelized mushrooms, tender carrots and onions, all brought together in a mouth watering wine and bacon infused sauce flavored with garlic and thyme.

Course Main Course

Cuisine American, French

Keyword Red Wine Beef Stew with Mushrooms and Carrots

Prep Time 20 minutes

Cook Time 3 hours

Total Time 3 hours 20 minutes

Servings 8

Author Jennifer Grissom

Ingredients

• 1/4 pound bacon cut into 1/2" pieces
• 3 pounds chuck roast cut into 2" cubes
• 2 tablespoon flour
• 1 teaspoon kosher or sea salt
• 1/2 teaspoon ground black pepper
• 8 ounces mushrooms cut in half
• 2 tablespoons butter
• 1 pound carrots peeled and cut into1"-2" pieces
• 2 onions diced to about 1" pieces
• 4 cloves garlic minced
• 2 tablespoons tomato paste
• 1/4 cup fresh thyme
• 1/2 cup flat leaf parsley roughly chopped
• 2 bay leaves
• 1 cup red wine
• 3 cups beef stock
• salt and pepper to taste

Instructions

1. Cook bacon until crisp in a large stewpot/stockpot/dutch oven.  Remove from pot to a large plate, leaving all the drippings in the pot.
   

2. Cut roast into 2" chucks and then dust all sides with flour.  Sprinkle with salt and pepper.
   

3. In two batches, brown the beef pieces in the bacon drippings on a medium to medium high temperature, turning occasionally to cook all sides.
   

4. Remove the beef to the bacon plate when browned.
   

5. Add the dry mushrooms to the pot and a sprinkle of salt.  Cook, stiring occasionally until the mushrooms have released their moisture and have started to brown.  Then, add them to the bacon and meat plate.
   

6. Add the butter to the pan and when it starts to bubble, add the carrots and onions with a pinch of salt.
   

7. Cook until the onions are translucent and start to brown.
   

8. Move the vegetables to the outside edges and add the tomato paste and minced garlic to the center of the pan.  Let it cook and start to brown for one minute.
   

9. Add the thyme, parsley, bay leaves, and wine.  Cook at a gentle simmer, scrapping the bottom the pan, until the wine is reduced by half.
   

10. Add the beef stock and bring to a gentle simmer.  Cook covered with a lid for 2.5 hours.
    

11. Remove the lid and raise the heat until you have a gentle boil, simmering for 15 minutes to thicken the sauce. Skim any fat if needed.

12. If the sauce is not as thick as desired, whisk a 1/2 cup of cold stock or water with 2 tablespoons of flour. Add to the stew, while using the tines of a fork to strain for lumps. Continue to cook for 5 minutes until the stew reaches the desired consistency. The stew will also thicken as it cools.

13. Stew may be served by itself or with mashed potatoes, noodles, or rice.
    

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