Don’t let the length of this recipe scare you! this heady beef stew is somehow worth the effort. A family favorite recipe.
Ingredients
1/4 c. Butter (1/2 stick)
20 small onions (1 jar)
1 t. salt to taste
3 T. butter
1 # fresh mushrooms
3 # lean beef from a good cut – arm or rump roast
1 T. parsley
1 bay leaf
1 carrot, very finely chopped (I use small bag of small carrots)
4 finely shopped shallots or 1 green onion finely chopped
1/4 c. flour
1 c. beef stock or consommé (soup)
2 1/2 c. Burgundy or good dry red wine
1 T. tomato paste
4 cloves garlic, minced
3 t. thyme
black pepper
parsley
Directions
Heat the butter in a large, heavy skillet. Brown onions until uniformly browned, seasoning with salt and stirring frequently. Place on a pie plate in 350 degree oven for about 30 minutes.
Add the additional 3 T. butter to the same skillet and set aside while cleaning mushrooms. Heat the butter over medium heat and saute the mushrooms until lightly golden, seasoning with salt and a few grinds of black pepper. Remove mushrooms and set aside.
Pour remaining butter into a cup, leaving just a thin film in the skillet. Cut up the meat into bite size pieces. Brown the beef, a few cubes at a time, browning evenly on all sides. Place browned beef cubes in a heavy baking casserole, 4-6 quart capacity. Continue browning beef cubes until all are done, adding more butter as needed.
Add the T. of parsley and bay leaf, pushing into beef cubes. Cook the carrots and shallots/green onion lightly in the remaining butter. Add the flour and stir constantly over medium heat until the flour and vegetables become lightly browned. Pour in the beef stock and deglaze the pan, stirring constantly until thick and smooth.
Stir in the wine, tomato paste, garlic, thyme, several grinds of pepper and about 1 t. salt. When well blended, pour over beef. Sauce should almost cover beef – if not, add more beef stock and wine using one part stock to two parts wine. Stir to moisten beef uniformly.
Bring mixture to a bubble on high heat on surface of range. Place in oven covered. Cook for 2-3 hours or until beef is very tender when forked.
Add onions and mushrooms and any drippings in the pan or bowl they’ve been waiting in and return to oven for about 15 minutes. Serve at this point, or chill for serving in a day or two, or freeze.