Name: Italian Beef Stew
Prep time: 20 min
Cook time: 150 min
Total time: 170 min
Ingredients: 4 lbs. Beef Cubes; 2 tbsp. Extra Virgin Olive Oil; 1/4 c. All-Purpose Flour; 2 Cloves Garlic, minced; 1/2 Red Onion, large dice; 3 Celery Stalks, rinsed and chopped; 2 Plum Tomatoes, diced; 2 c. Carrots, peeled and sliced; 1/2 c. Italian Red Wine; 32 oz. Beef Broth; 2 tsp. Fresh Rosemary, chopped; 1 Bay Leaf; 3 Large Red Potatoes, skins washed and cut into 2" cubes; Kosher Salt and Pepper, to taste

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Hearty Italian Beef Stew made with slowly simmered beef, vegetables, potatoes and red wine is comfort food at its best. Serve alone or over egg noodles.

I couldn’t believe that I had never posted a beef stew recipe here on the site until I decided to make it last week. It’s one of those recipes I don’t make very often, maybe 1-2 times per year, but is a wonderful one-pot meal that my family loves, especially in the winter.

I also prefer to make my stew on top of the stove, so I have to plan on being home for several hours when I decide to prepare it, but you can also make this in a crock pot if you prefer cooking it that way.

When making a stew, you want to choose a tougher cut of beef so that your meat doesn’t fall apart during the long cooking process. I look for what happens to be on sale that particular week.

Most of the time, it actually works out to be less expensive if you purchase a bottom round (like I did here) and cut it down yourself, then buying the prepackaged beef cubes.

Also be careful not to cut the pieces too small or they will simply fall apart and turn your stew to mush. You want to be able to see whole pieces and by cooking this low and slow for several hours, the meat just melts in your mouth.

I like to add potatoes to my stew and eat this ‘as is’; however, you can also omit the potatoes and serve this over egg noodles or rice if that’s your preference.

What is the proper way to clean celery?

It is very important to clean celery to avoid harmful bacteria to grow and come in contact with your food. Back in my commercial kitchen days, the food inspector would head directly to the tuna or chicken salads first to test for bacteria, as celery was the usually the main culprit for higher counts.

Trim the top and bottom of the stalk and rinse under tap water.
Chop your celery. If you’re using it in a stew like this, the pieces should be about 1/4″ thick. If you’re using celery with a dip, a good size would be approximately 3″ or the size of your middle finger.
Boil a pot of water, add your celery to a small strainer and dip the celery into the water (this is called blanching) leaving it in there for approximately 2 minutes.
Remove the celery and then shock it in a bowl of cold water and ice (this is called an ice bath) to stop the heating process and return the celery to it’s crunchy state.

How do you make Italian Beef Stew?

For this recipe you’ll need beef cubes, EVOO, all purpose flour, garlic, onion, celery, tomatoes, carrots, Italian red wine, beef broth, fresh rosemary, a bay leaf and red potatoes.

Start by heating the oil in a Dutch oven or a large pot; then add the garlic, onion, celery, tomatoes, and carrots and sauté until they start to soften. Remove from the pan and set aside.

Next, dredge the meat in the flour; then add to the pot. Allow the meat to brown on all sides; then remove the meat and set aside. You may have to do this in two batches to avoid overcrowding. Deglaze the pot with the red wine, scraping the bits from the bottom of the pan; then add the beef broth, rosemary and bay leaf.

Add the vegetables and meat back to the pot, mix; then bring to a boil. Reduce heat to low and simmer for 2 hours; then add the potatoes, cover pot and simmer for an additional 1/2 hour.

This recipe for Italian Beef Stew does take a bit longer to cook, but my family loves this recipe and it’s perfect for those cold Winter days. ~Enjoy!

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