Fragrant mushrooms and tender meat are combined with fresh herbs to give this classic beef stew a gourmet twist.
I grew up in Russia (technically Moldova, but we will leave the technicalities be for now). The winters were frigid. And sometimes a bit depressing, as winters tend to be. Food was used to comfort the grumbling bellies and laughter was used to warm up from the inside out.
In Chi-town our winters have always reminded me of Russia. Lot's of snowy days with frosted windows and red noses. One day last year as I walked down my driveway and the snow crunched under my feet, I was reminded of cold winters as a little girl. I was always comforted to smell the savory scents of a stew slowly cooking away on the stove top as I ran into the house after playing all day in the snow. My mom, made the best stews and pot roasts. She used fresh ingredients and simple flavors. And was always able to make an amazing dish out of practically nothing.
On one of these very snowy days last year, during a very long and dreary winter, hubs decided to give me the task of a mushroom stew. I just so happened to have bought some really nice mushrooms that I had no plans for. I went out and bought my favorite piece of beef cut, a nice cut of chuck that has lots of marbling. And went to work.
The result was an incredibly comforting stew with layers of simple flavors. I served it over my skinny smashers and felt a little better about my indulgence.
At the end of a few days, when I still had some of the stew left, I placed it in a ziplock bag and froze it for another day.
The Technique
This stew recipe is not really a recipe but more of a technique. This is the typical braising technique. Get this down and you can use this in hundreds of different recipes.
We begin by cutting up our meat into medium bite size cubes and seasoning well with salt and pepper on both sides. Preheat a Dutch oven or a thick bottomed pot with vegetable oil until it starts to smoke.
While you are at it, preheat the oven to 325-degrees.
2. Place the beef into the pot, making sure not to overcrowd the pan. Allow to brown on all sides.
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3. In the meantime, wash and roughly chop your mushrooms. I used button, cremini, shitake and oyster mushrooms in this dish. If you use shitake mushrooms, make sure you remove and discard the stems as they are very woodsy and tough.
Dice up an onion while you are at it as well.
4. Check on the meat and remove once nice and brown. Set aside. You will have some fat and yummy bits on the bottom of the pot. Let it be. This is your flavor.
5. Add in the onions, a few cloves of garlic, a few stems of thyme, a bay leaf and mushrooms and toss to cover with the fat in the pot. Sautee for about 10 minutes.
6. Add the meat back into the pot and sprinkle evenly with one tablespoon of flour. Mix to combine until none of the flour remains.
7. Take about 1 cup of cognac and pour into the pot. NEVER POUR OUT OF THE BOTTLE! A flame can catch onto the bottle while pouring and the bottle will explode. I have seen this happen, it's not a pretty site. Pour into a cup first then pour into the pot. You can either let it cook out as it or light the cognac on fire with a long match or if the pot is shallow enough, tilt it towards the flame so it will catch on fire. Flambeing it is a neat party trick 🙂 Lifting up those little bits from the bottom with liquid is also called, deglazing.
8. Once all the alcohol has cooked out, about 3 minutes, you will be left with a beautiful glazed meat.
9. Pour in enough beef stock to cover the meat and mushrooms almost all the way. Adjust seasoning and cover with tightly fitting lid. Place into the oven for 30 minutes.
***Crock pot option: If you want to make this in a crock pot, you can at this point, cook on low for 4 hours. Make sure you check the broth levels to make sure they do not cook out during the cooking process.***
10. After 30 minutes, turn the heat down to 275-degrees and allow to cook for another 90 minutes or until meat is nice and tender.
If you like this recipe you are going to LOVE my Crockpot Beef Pot Pies that I made with this very recipe!!! So simple it's a sin not to make!
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Description
Fragrant mushrooms and tender meat are combine with fresh herbs to give this classic beef stew a gourmet twist.
2 pounds of chuck (cut up into bite size cubes)
1 large onion (chopped)
1 pound of a variety of mushrooms (roughly chopped)
1 bay leaf
5 cloves of garlic
6 sprigs of thyme
1 cup Cognac
olive oil
salt and pepper to taste
about 1 quart beef stock
Cut up the meat into medium bite size cubes and season with salt and pepper on both sides. Preheat a Dutch oven or a thick bottomed pot with vegetable oil until it starts to smoke.
Preheat the oven to 325-degrees.
Place the beef into the pot, making sure not to overcrowd the pan. Allow to brown on all sides.
In the meantime, wash and roughly chop your mushrooms.
Check on the meat and remove once nice and brown. Set aside. You will have some fat and bits on the bottom of the pot. Let it be. This is your flavor.
Add in the onions, a few cloves of garlic, a few stems of thyme, a bay leaf and mushrooms and toss to cover with the fat in the pot. Sautee for about 10 minutes.
Add the meat back into the pot and sprinkle evenly with one tablespoon of flour. Mix to combine until none of the flour remains.
Take about 1 cup of cognac and pour into the pot. NEVER POUR OUT OF THE BOTTLE! I flame can catch onto the bottle while pouring and the bottle will explode. You can either let it cook out as it or light the cognac on fire with a long match or if the pot is shallow enough, tilt it towards the flame so it will catch on fire. This is also called, deglazing.
Once all the alcohol has cooked out, about 3 minutes, you will be left with a beautiful glazed meat.
Pour in enough beef stock to cover the meat and mushrooms almost all the way. Adjust seasoning and cover with tightly fitting lid. Place into the oven for 30 minutes.
After 30 minutes, turn the heat down to 275-degrees and allow to cook for another 90 minutes or until meat is nice and tender.
Notes
1. For the CROCKPOT option: After deglazing the pan with the cognac go ahead and add the beef stock to the crock pot and cook on low for 4 hours. Make sure you check the broth levels to make sure they do not cook out during the cooking process. 2. I love this crockpot because it has all the options I could ever need but most importantly it goes from the stove to the crockpot and to the oven if I need it to.
3. I used button, cremini, shitake and oyster mushrooms in this dish. If you use shitake mushrooms, make sure you remove and discard the stems as they are very woodsy and tough.
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