French Beef Stew- The Best Stew Ever!

Oh, if only the picture could do it justice- this is the best stew you'll ever have, honest! If you always thought, "What's the big deal about stew?" then this is for you. (Please, please ignore the bad photography, really- it's a great stew).

I serve this for company all the time in the winter- it's that good.

And like any stew, easy.




Start by cooking some bacon until crisp. It needs to be crisp so you can crumble it on top later, so no limp bacon!

Remove the bacon to a lined plate and set it aside, leaving all that good bacon fat in the pan to brown the beef.




Cut some beef into cubes, and toss them in flour seasoned with salt and pepper.

I find it's cheaper to buy a cut and then cube it myself- stew meat is not cheap anymore! I bought this roast at a Buy-One-Get-One sale, so the 2 lbs. was less than $5 for top round.

This is way more than I normally spend for one meal (my goal is $5 for the whole meal), but I've compensated on my menu by having a soup made with a leftover frozen ham bone and beans the day after this. This is another way that menu planning can help you save- you're able to plan the less expensive meals to balance out any splurge meals you want to make.




Brown the beef in the bacon fat, then remove to a large baking pan.

I don't know why I always make this in a 13x9 or bigger Pyrex baking pan other than the lady I learned this recipe from (more than 20 years ago!) did it that way. I think its to make the stew less runny- the shallow pan allows for more evaporation, allowing all the flavors to concentrate into a wonderful whole.

Or that's what I tell myself.

I sure hope it's not like that story where all the women in the family cut the ends off the ham because their grandma did and when they finally asked her she said it was because she didn't have a pan big enough to fit.

That would be silly.

No, I'm sure it allows the liquid to evaporate and make it more flavorful.

I think.




Pour a mixture of beef broth, red wine, garlic, thyme, and parsley over the meat.




Cover with foil and bake in a 350 degree oven for about an hour.




Meanwhile, prepare the vegetables: Cut up some potatoes, onions, and carrots (or use whole mini carrots as I did here) and some mushrooms if you've got them. I didn't this night, but they are fabulous in this, so I was missing them for sure.




After an hour, the meat will look nicely cooked and ready for the vegetables.




Add them in and mix well, coating all the vegetables with the juice as much as possible.

Increase the oven temperature to 450 degrees, replace foil and return the pan to the oven for another hour.

I have rushed this along (I know you're shocked), giving each cooking only 45 minutes, and it's been fine, though I prefer to give it the whole two hours ideally.

I like to add the sliced mushrooms (when I have them) at the last 10 minutes of cooking, stirring them in and continuing to cook. I often find the stew needs a bit more liquid at this point, so I will add about 1/2 cup of broth or water.

To serve, stir well and sprinkle a bit of the crumbled bacon over each serving.

French Beef Stew (aka, The Best Stew Ever!)

• 6 slices bacon
• 1 lb. beef chuck, cubed
• 1/2 c. flour
• salt and pepper
• 1/2 c. dry red wine
• 1-1/2 c. beef broth
• 2 Tb. parsley
• 1/2 tsp. thyme
• 3 cloves garlic, minced
• 6 medium potatoes, quartered (Update fall 2011: I now leave out the potatoes and add more vegetables like celery and peppers so I can serve this over sour cream & garlic mashed potatoes. It is SOOO good this way.)
• 1 large onion, peeled and cut
• 3 large carrots, sliced lengthwise (or mini carrots)
• 1 cup sliced mushrooms

1. Heat oven to 350 degrees. Cook bacon until crisp; remove to a plate and set aside.
2. Mix flour, salt and pepper. Coat beef cubes in flour mixture and brown in bacon drippings; remove to a 3-quart casserole.
3. Mix wine, broth, garlic, thyme, and parsley and pour over meat in casserole.
4. Cover and bake for 1 hour. Remove from oven and increase oven temperature to 450 degrees.
5. Stir in potatoes, onions, and carrots; replace cover and bake for another hour.
6. Stir in the mushrooms about 10 minutes before taking the pan out of the oven and add any additional broth or water if needed before continuing to cook.
7. Serve with bacon crumbled on top.

Makes 4-6 servings

-Jami