This is a great Sunday afternoon stew that smells great as it simmers and slowly cooks on the stove top. Served with some crusty french bread to sop up the gravy based from a roux and it’s complete.
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French Country Beef Stew
Prep Time15 mins
Cook Time3 hrs 15 mins
Total Time3 hrs 30 mins
Servings: 6
Ingredients
- 10 pieces of bacon rendered and crumbled (reserve bacon grease)
- 3 1/2 tablespoons olive oil
- 3 tablespoons flour
- salt and freshly ground black pepper
- 3 pounds lean stewing beef cut into 1-inch cubes
- 2 carrot peeled and sliced
- 1 large onion chopped
- 2 ribs of celery chopped
- 1 tbsp butter
- 3 tablespoons flour
- 2 cups burgundy wine
- 3 cups beef stock
- 2 cloves chopped garlic
- 1 bunch thyme
- 3-4 bay leaves
- 2 large red potatoes cut into 1 inch cubes
- 2 cups fresh cut green beans
- fresh chopped parsley to garnish
Instructions
- Fry the bacon until crisp. Set aside to cool, then crumble.
- In the same frying pan add the oil to the bacon grease and brown the beef that has been seasoned with salt and freshly ground black pepper and dusted with the flour. Brown the meat in batches so it does not steam and gets crispy brown on all sides. Place the browned beef on a plate and keep warm.
- Deglaze the pan with beef broth, scrape the bits from the frying pan and add that to a large stock pot unless already in one like my trusty Le Crusset, which can go from stove top to oven.
- Add the butter, mirepoix of onions, celery and carrots and cook over medium heat, stirring to keep from sticking. Sprinkle this aromatic vegetable mixture with the flour and stir to coat and brown for a few minutes to initiate a roux base.
- Next add the burgundy, beef stock, garlic, thyme bunch wrapped in twine, bay leaves and potatoes, return the beef to the pot and stir to incorporate completely. Cover and simmer on low for 3 hours.
- To the pot add the crumbled bacon and the cut green beans, stir. Cook for 15 more minutes uncovered to reduce and thicken the gravy if too thin, cover if thick. Remove the bay leaf and serve in individual bowls garnished with freshly chopped parsley.
Loved this recipe! I liked making a “roux” with the sautéed mirepoix – much easier than making one by itself! I didn’t have burgundy so I used 1/2 a bottle of petite sirah, and I was out of potatoes (😱) so I threw in some sliced parsnips toward the end instead. Fun recipe to try and, yes, the house smelled great!
So happy you enjoyed this one Suzanne. Thanks!