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. Kind of like Crockpot French Dip Sandwiches or Instant Pot Pork Chili, there really just is something about the smell of comfort food!
One of the great things about stew is that after prepping and putting your stew together, all that’s left is to 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!
How to make Red Wine Beef Stew with Mushrooms and Carrots
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.
If you are a fan of curing your own bacon, my Homemade Hickory Smoked Bacon is seriously awesome in stew!
Dust large chunks of chuck roast, cut into two inch cubes, with flour. Season with salt and pepper before browning 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 cast iron dutch oven that has a lid for stew. Cast iron is my preferred choice because of how well it browns meats and vegetables.
While the meat is browning, make sure to have all your vegetables cut up, prepped, 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 caramelize much better than 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. Burgundy 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.
Which is better, stock or broth?
I prefer stock. 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 buttered 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:
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Red Wine Beef Stew with Mushrooms and Carrots
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
- 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.
- Cut roast into 2" chucks and then dust all sides with flour. Sprinkle with salt and pepper.
- In two batches, brown the beef pieces in the bacon drippings on a medium to medium high temperature, turning occasionally to cook all sides.
- Remove the beef to the bacon plate when browned.
- 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.
- Add the butter to the pan and when it starts to bubble, add the carrots and onions with a pinch of salt.
- Cook until the onions are translucent and start to brown.
- 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.
- 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.
- Add the beef stock, beef, mushrooms, and bacon and bring to a gentle simmer. Cook covered with a lid for 2.5 hours.
- 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.
- 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.
- Stew may be served by itself or with mashed potatoes, noodles, or rice.
Video
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Mother, Gardener, Book Devourer, and Food Obsessor. I love being inspired with fresh, seasonal ingredients and relish every opportunity to elevate my home cooking. Join me!
Lisa | Garlic & Zest
Your beef stew looks so savory and rich. I just want to grab a hunk of bread and dunk it in that luscious sauce.
Jennifer Grissom
Crusty bread is a MUST for this recipe! Thanks Lisa
Mindy Fewless
This is the perfect fall comfort food!! I can’t wait to make it!
Jennifer Grissom
Thanks Mindy!
Mary Bostow
Wow, I want to eat it every day! I’m sure this is very tasty. This is a great recipe for me.
Priya Shiva
I have rarely used wine in cooking! Now I have a recipe to try cooking something with wine..
Jennifer Grissom
You have been missing out! I love the depth of flavor wine brings to dishes. I hope you enjoy it!
Gabi
That’s exactly the stew for my beef loving brother. I love to cook with red wine and can imagine that it’s a perfect match for this fall inspired meal.
Jennifer Grissom
Thanks Gabi. I hope he enjoys it:)
Erin
Yum! I’m definitely going to be trying this!!
Jennifer Grissom
Let me know how this turns out for you, Erin!
Gretchen
At what point do you put the meat and mushrooms back in the pot? The recipe doesn’t say. Is it with the stock?
Jennifer Grissom
Yes, thanks for noticing this Gretchen! I hope you try it and report back!