Make A Beef Stew That Even Grandma Will Love! | Beef Stew Recipe

Source video by Smokin' & Grillin with AB on YouTube. This recipe was adapted with strict source-fidelity rules and is marked for human review.

This is a classic slow cooker beef stew built on browned cubes of chuck roast, soft onions, garlic, carrots and celery in a savoury, wine-laced broth. The beef is dredged in seasoned flour and seared first to build colour and flavour, then everything goes into the slow cooker to gently tenderise. A cornstarch slurry and a knob of cold butter at the end give the gravy a silky finish. Frozen peas are stirred through right at the end so they keep their colour and bite.

Ingredients

• 1.2 kgbeef chuck roast, trimmed of heavy fat and cut into 2.5cm (1 inch) cubes
• 2 tbspbeef seasoning
• 3 tbspplain flour
• 2 tbspolive oil

• 25 gbutter
• 1 largeonion, diced
• 4 clovesgarlic, minced or pressed

• 4 mediumcarrots, peeled and chunked
• 3 stickscelery, sliced
• 2 tbsptomato paste
• 150 mlred wine
• 500 mlbeef stock
• 2 leavesbay leaves
• 1 sprigfresh rosemary

• 150 gfrozen peas, kept frozen until use (add late)
• 2 tbspcornstarch, mixed with equal parts cold water to make a slurry (add late)
• 2 tbspcold water (add late)
• 25 gcold butter (add late)
• salt (add late)

Method

1. Cut the chuck roast into uniform 2.5cm (1 inch) cubes, trimming away any heavy fat. Place in a large bowl.

   ~10 min

2. Season the beef well with the beef seasoning (or a mix of celery seed, garlic powder, black pepper and salt) and toss to coat every piece.

   ~2 min

3. Sprinkle the flour over the beef and stir with a wooden spoon until each cube is lightly coated. The flour adds colour during searing and helps thicken the stew later.

   ~2 min

4. Heat the olive oil in a large frying pan over medium-high heat. Brown the beef in two batches, spacing the pieces out so they colour rather than steam. You only want a brown crust, not to cook them through. Transfer the browned beef into the slow cooker pot.

   ~10 min

5. Reduce the heat slightly and add the butter to the same pan. Once melted, add the diced onion and cook for about 1 minute, stirring through the leftover fond.

   ~2 min

6. Add the minced garlic and cook for a further 35 to 40 seconds until fragrant, then tip the onion and garlic mixture into the slow cooker with the beef.

   ~1 min

7. Add the carrots, celery, tomato paste, red wine, beef stock, bay leaves and rosemary to the slow cooker. Stir to combine.

   ~3 min

8. Cover and cook on High for 4 hours or Low for 8 hours, until the beef is fork tender. Try not to lift the lid during cooking. If you do, add 30 minutes to the cook time.

   ~240 min

9. Once tender, fish out and discard the bay leaves and rosemary stem. Stir in the frozen peas, cover and cook for a further 15 minutes.

   ~15 min

10. Mix the cornstarch with equal parts cold water until smooth, then stir into the stew. Add the cold butter and stir through until the gravy thickens to a silky, coating consistency.

    ~3 min

11. Taste and adjust with a couple of pinches of salt if needed. Serve hot, straight from the slow cooker.

    ~1 min

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