Tucker

4 Minutes

I had a day off earlier this week, so I decided it was a great time to cook up a nice hearty beef stew in the Le Creuset! I wanted to try and make a stew that had red wine, some more old fashioned traditional vegetables and a great depth of flavour! One of the keys of this stew is that cooking it in the oven makes it nice and easy and saves a lot on time spent watching and monitoring the stew while it cooks. Oven cooking also allows much more even cooking of the dish, as it is heated from all sides rather than just the base.

I started off by marinating the beef overnight in red wine before sautéing the beef in the Le Creuset. It's important to ensure that you get the beef quite browned, as this will add to the flavours building later on in the cooking process.

Le Creuset Beef Stew Dutch Oven Hearty

I then cooked up the onion and garlic in the pan after removing the beef and setting aside. It was then time to add the beef back in, add the red wine back in and also some additional chicken stock, as there wasn't quite enough liquid in the pot!

Le Creuset Dutch Oven Beef Stew

I then covered this and placed in the oven to cook away. Red wine to use when cooking is always something that's highly debated as to whether you should use cheap or good wine. I generally go with a cheaper wine, however don't like to use a wine that has been left open for too long. Because of this I will generally use a cask wine as it is both cheap and also has no concern as to when it will be going off.

After cooking just the meat for about an hour, I then chucked in the vegetables, a combination of carrots, parsnips, swedes, turnips and potatoes. Once these were added in, it was straight back into the oven for about an extra hour and a half.

Red Wine Le Creuset Beef Stew Dutch Oven

After this the vegetables were tender, the sauce was rich in flavour and the meat would just fall apart when eaten! I served the stew with a side of mashed potato, however there's certainly enough to have the stew by itself, or to serve with a side of crusty bread. This is definitely going to be a regular on my winter cooking list!

Red Wine Beef Mashed Potato Dutch Oven Winter Stew

Recipe:

Ingredients:

  • 2kg chuck Beef (or other stewing cut)
  • 2 Onions
  • 2 Carrots
  • 3 cloves Garlic (crushed)
  • 3 Turnips
  • 2 Swedes
  • 2 Potatoes
  • 2 Parsnips
  • 3 cups red wine (dry)
  • 1 Can crushed tomatoes
  • Chicken stock (I used about 500ml, but may need slightly more)
  • Salt and pepper
  • 1 Bouquet Garni (with Parsely, Thyme and Bay Leaf)
  • 3/4 Cup Red Wine Vinegar
  • 4 tablespoons oil

Method:

  1. Start off by cutting up the beef into approximately 1 inch chunks or about bite sized pieces and place into a bowl. Chop up one of the onions and place into the bowl along with the Bouquet Garni. Pour the 3 cups of wine into this bowl and cover. Place into fridge and marinate for about to 24 hours. (The marinating is not essential, so if you don't have the time for this, don't stress as you'll still achieve a great result without!
  2. If you have marinated the beef, remove from the bowl and separate the onion and bouquet garni. Dispose of the onion, however keep the wine and bouquet. Pat the beef dry.
  3. Preheat the oven to 160 degrees Celsius
  4. Heat oil in a oven-proof heavy based pot, a Dutch oven is great for this, before browning the beef in batches in the oil. You want to ensure that you get the beef well browned and that the base of the pot is not over crowded. Set the beef aside in a plate or bowl.
  5. Add some more oil if the pot is looking dry, before adding in the onions and garlic. Saute these for a couple of minutes until turning golden brown.
  6. Pour the red wine and red wine vinegar into the pot and deglaze the base of the pot to get all of the tasty browned pieces of meat of the base!
  7. Once this has been brought to a boil, we will then add the beef back into the pot, along with the bouquet garni. Put the lid on the pot and place the pot in the oven.
  8. After one hour, check on the pot and see how the stew is going, if the meat is looking like it is starting to become more tender, add all of the vegetables in to the pot. Once these have been added, look at home much liquid is in the pot and if it isn't quite enough to cover the vegetables and meat add in the stock and some extra wine. You can also add water as well, but it will reduce the flavour slightly.
  9. Leave in the oven for a further hour and fifteen minutes. After this remove and check the condition of the vegetables. They should be close to being done and the meat will be getting nice and tender. Remove the lid and place back in the oven without the lid for a further 15 minutes. This will help to reduce the sauce somewhat and thicken the stew to a degree.
  10. After this time, check and see the condition of the meat and vegetables. It should be done  by this time, however if you'd like to cook it longer it can certainly stay in to tenderise further and build on flavour! Just make sure you don't let the vegetables get too mushy 🙂
  11. Season with salt and pepper and serve with a side of your choice!

I hope you enjoy cooking this and let me know if you have any questions or recommendations! 🙂

Published by Troopy Travel Tucker

My blog is all about 4wding, Overlanding, Cooking and travel, come check it out and see! View all posts by Troopy Travel Tucker

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