- 8
Ingredients
- •4 slices thick sliced bacon, diced
- •2 1/2 pounds chuck beef cut into 1-inch cubes
- •Kosher salt
- •Freshly ground black pepper
- •2 large carrots, sliced into bite-size pieces
- •2 celery ribs, sliced into bite-sized pieces
- •1 cup yellow onion, chopped into large chunks
- •2 teaspoons chopped garlic (2 cloves)
- •1/3 cup good dry red wine
- •4 cups beef stock
- •1 tablespoon tomato paste
- •1 teaspoon fresh thyme leaves (1/2 teaspoon dried)
- •4 tablespoons unsalted butter at room temperature, divided
- •3 tablespoons all-purpose flour
- •1/2 pound fresh Crimini mushrooms, thickly sliced
Preparation
Step 1
Heat a large stainless steel pan over medium-high heat. Add the bacon and cook over medium heat for 10 minutes, stirring occasionally, until the bacon is lightly browned. Remove the bacon with a slotted spoon to the slow cooker.
Dry the beef cubes with paper towels and then sprinkle them with salt and pepper. In batches in single layers, sear the beef in the hot bacon grease for 3 to 5 minutes, turning to brown on all sides. Do not force the issue, but let the meat tell you when it is ready to be turned. Remove the seared cubes to the slow cooker with the bacon and continue searing until all the beef is browned.
Toss the carrots, celery and onions, ½ tablespoon of salt and 2 teaspoons of pepper in the fat in the pan and cook for 5 to 10 minutes, stirring occasionally, until the onions are lightly browned. Add the garlic and cook for 1 more minute. Add the wine plus enough beef broth to allow the fond to be scraped from the bottom of the pan.
Carefully pour the contents of the pan into the slow cooker. Add the tomato paste and thyme. Cook over medium heat for about 6 hours.
Sauté the mushrooms in 2 tablespoons of butter for 10 minutes until lightly browned and then add to the stew.
Combine 2 tablespoons of butter and the flour with a fork. Add about a cup of the liquid from the stew in the slow cooker to the hot pan and stir the beurre manie (butter and flour mixture) into the stock. Bring to a boil and then add this back to the slow cooker, stirring in to combine. Season to taste. Allow to cook for another hour or so.