Elegant Beef Stew
Ingredients:
4 slices of bacon, diced
1 large onion diced small
2 shallots diced small
6-8 tablespoons of salted butter or as needed
3 pounds of beef chuck or hip cut into 1 inch cubes
3 tablespoons of flour
Salt and freshly ground black pepper
1/2 cup of cognac
1/3 cup of red wine
2 cups of beef stock
1/2 cup of Dijon mustard
1 tablespoon of Grainy mustard
3 large carrots peeled and cut into small dice
1 pound of button mushrooms cut into quarters
1/2 cup of chopped fresh dill
1/4 cup of chopped fresh parsley
Directions:
1. Heat a large heavy pot over medium heat and cook until fat is rendered.
2. Keep heat at medium, add 2 tablespoons of the butter and then add onions and shallots. Cook until softened but not browned, 10-15 minutes. Remove from pot with a slotted spoon to hold in a bowl for use later.
Sautéed Onions
3. If necessary add another 2 tablespoons of butter to the pot to augment fat. Toss beef with the flour and season with salt and pepper. Turn heat up to medium high. Place the beef in the pan and cook until well browned on all sides. Transfer to bowl with onions already in it.
Beef Cubes Tossed in Flour
Browned Beef
4. Turn the heat down to medium. Add Cognac to the empty pan, and cook, stirring, until the bottom is deglazed and the all the crusty stuff softens and comes loose. Add beef stock, Dijon mustard and the grainy mustard. Whisk to blend, then return meat and onions to the pot. Turn the heat down to low, cover the pan and simmer gently until meat is tender, 1 1/2 to 2 hours.
5. Add carrots and continue to simmer for another 20 minutes, or until carrots are tender. As the carrots cook, add remaining butter to a large skillet and bring up to a medium high heat, add cut up mushrooms and cook until browned, 5-8 minutes.
Sautéed Button Mushrooms
6. Add the mushrooms to the stew, along with the 1/3 cup of red wine and the fresh dill and parsley. Simmer 5 minutes, taste and adjust seasoning, you will probably need to add salt. I like serving the stew with mashed potatoes.
