Hearty Beef Stew Recipe

Hearty Beef Stew

Originally published October 14, 2013. Updated on 7/1/2021

When the weather cools, this Hearty Beef Stew really hits the spot. Big chunks of meat and veggies in a flavourful stew = deeply satisfying!

I haven't made - or had - Hearty Beef Stew in a very long time... probably 7 years or so. I kind of wrecked myself for it, and nothing's seemed good enough, since.

You see, I've always loved stew. My grandmother's homemade stuff, the stew they'd sell at the Irish Pavilion at Folklorama every year.. hell, I'd even snarf the Puritan brand canned stuff. (Shh! I KNOW!)

Then, I moved out east and got into game meats. I discovered that I make *the best* moose stew, and life was good. So, SOOO good.

Eventually, I moved to Minnesota and found no way to get my hands on moose meat. One of these days, I WILL find a moose hunter to bribe... but I digress.

Beef stew can never live up to that moose stew, so I just ... haven't had stew.

Hearty Beef Stew

That ended this weekend, when I finally gave in and decided to make a beef stew. Ah... I missed this.

This is NOT high cuisine, it's not in any way gourmet... just a good, solid, basic stew - probably pretty similar to what my grandmother used to make.

It's a bit lighter on the Brussels sprouts than I like, as a compromise for my husband. (He's not as wild about them as I am.) This is hearty, root-y, thick and wonderful comfort food. Yum!

Enjoy!

PS: This makes a TON of stew. It freezes well, but I like to basically live off it for a week 🙂 Feel free to cut the recipe in half, though!

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5 from 1 vote

Hearty Beef Stew

When the weather cools down, this Hearty Beef Stew recipe really hits the spot. Big chunks of meat and veggies in a flavourful stew = deeply satisfying!

Prep Time15 minutes mins

Cook Time4 hours hrs 30 minutes mins

Total Time4 hours hrs 45 minutes mins

Course: Main Course

Cuisine: American, British

Servings: 12 Servings

Calories: 804kcal

Author: Marie Porter

Ingredients

• 4 lbs Stewing Beef cut up into chunks
• 2 tablespoon Vegetable Oil
• 3 Onions chopped
• 12 cups Beef Broth
• 1 bottle Dry Red Wine 750 ml
• 4-6 Celery Ribs
• 1 Tbsp+ Dried Summer Savoury
• 1 Tbsp+ Ground Pepper
• Salt
• 1 Rutabaga peeled and chopped
• 5 Parsnips peeled and sliced into large chunks
• 6 Carrots peeled and sliced into chunks
• 1 ½ lbs Mushrooms cut in large chunks
• 3-4 lbs Red Potatoes cut into large chunks
• 2-3 lbs Fresh Brussels Sprouts halved
• 2 tablespoon Vegetable Oil
• ½ cup Butter
• ¾ cup All-Purpose Flour
• 1 bunch Fresh Parsley chopped

Instructions

• In a very large, heavy pot, brown meat in oil. Add onions, continue to cook until translucent.
• Add beef broth, red wine, celery, 1 tablespoon each of dried savoury and black pepper, and 2 teaspoon salt. Bring up to almost a boil, reduce heat and simmer – covered – for two hours.
• Remove celery from the stew, discard. Add rutabaga, parsnips, carrots, and mushrooms, continue simmering for another hour.
• Add potatoes and Brussels sprouts. Cover and simmer for another hour or so.
• While the stew simmers, prepare your roux:
• In a large heavy pot, combine vegetable oil and butter. Heat over medium until the butter melts, stir in the flour.
• Without leaving your stove (Seriously!), stir the mixture constantly over medium heat until it gets quite dark – I like to get it to a reddish brown colour. It’ll take time, but it’s worth it – this great flavour to the stew … just don’t burn it!
• Stir a ladle worth of stew stock into the roux – it’ll boil up and steam, don’t worry. Whisk it till smooth, then add another ladle worth of stew liquid. Continue until you have a decent amount of smooth gravy.
• Add the gravy into the stew, stirring well to fully distribute. Stir in fresh parsley, season with salt, pepper, and additional savoury to taste.

Nutrition

Calories: 804kcal | Carbohydrates: 56g | Protein: 38g | Fat: 44g | Saturated Fat: 21g | Cholesterol: 128mg | Sodium: 1141mg | Potassium: 2074mg | Fiber: 12g | Sugar: 11g | Vitamin A: 6386IU | Vitamin C: 105mg | Calcium: 182mg | Iron: 7mg

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