Title: Basic Beef Stew
Categories: Stew Beef Meat Vegetable Main
Yield: 6 Servings
| 2 | lb | Boneless chuck 1 1/2" thick |
| 4 | | Thick bacon slices |
| 2 | lg | Yellow onions |
| 2 | lg | Cloves of garlic |
| 3 | tb | Flour |
| 3/4 | ts | Salt |
| 1/2 | ts | Pepper |
| 2 | c | Beef broth |
| 1/2 | c | Red wine, beer, more broth |
| 2 | | Parsley sprigs |
| 2 | ts | Fresh tyme or 1/2 ts. dried |
| 6 | lg | Carrots |
| 2 | lg | Baking potatoes |
| 8 | oz | Frozen pearl onions |
| | | Chopped parsley for garnish |
| | | Cooked egg noodles or rice |
Trim of all fat from beef chuck. Cut into 1 1/2 inch pieces. Pat meat dry
with toweling. Cut bacon into 1/4 wide strips. Cut large onions into 1/4
inch wide wedges. Mince garlic. Cook bacon in a heavy bottomed 4 1/2 quart
dutch oven, until crisp. Remove pieces with sloted spoon. Pour bacon fat
into a bowl. Return 1 tbsp fat to pan. Heat over medium-high heat. Add
enough beef cubes to cover bottom of pan. Cook, turning cubes with tongs,
until browned on all sides. As beef cubes brown remove from pan and add
uncooked beef until all pieces are done. Add bacon fat as needed to keep
meat from sticking. Remove all meat from pan. Add 1 tbsp bacon fat. Add
onion wedges and cook until onion wilts and is golden brown. Add garlic and
cook and stir for one minute. Return meat to pan. Add salt, pepper, and
flour. Cook and stirover medium heat to brown the flour slightly, about
three minutes. Pour broth and wine, if used, into pan so meat is barely
covered. Stir well to scrape browned bits from bottom of pan. Stir in
parsley and thyme. Bring mixture to a boil. Reduce heat to very low. Cover
pan and let simmer for until meat is almost tender, about 1 1/2 hours.
Shortly before meat is tender, peel carrots, and potatoes. Cut into pieces.
Stir into meat mixture. Continue cooking until carrots and potatoes are
tender but not mushy, about 20 minutes. Heat any remaining bacon fat in a
large skillet, add pearl onions and cook, stirring, until onions are golden
on all sides. Stir onions into stew. Cook five minutes. Sprinkle stew with
crisp bacon pieces and chopped parsley. Sevre over cooked noodles or rice.