Dutch Oven Beef Stew, a slow cooked comfort food, made with fork tender chuck roast and hearty vegetables in a delicious red wine based broth. After a slow and long simmer, the chuck roast becomes tender in a flavorful sauce.
Wash and cut vegetables: Cut onion into large slices, carrots into large chucks, minced garlic cloves. Add cooking oil to dutch oven over medium high heat, add onion and carrots saute for 30 seconds or so, add garlic and saute just until fragrant. Remove from dutch oven and place on clean plate. Set aside.
Wash and pat dry chuck roast with paper towels. Season generously with salt and pepper. Add more cooking oil to dutch oven if necessary and begin to sear chuck roast on both sides until a brown outer coating forms (about 8 minutes per side). Remove seared chuck roast from dutch oven and place on clean plate. Set aside.
Add tomato paste to dutch oven and cook for a minute or so to cook out the rawness of the tomato paste. Deglaze the dutch oven with red wine, add chicken broth and give a big stir. *If not using wine, deglaze with chicken broth.
Add seared chuck roast back to dutch oven and add the sauteed vegetables on top of the chuck roast. Cover with lid and place in oven and allow to cook for 2 hrs and 10 mins to 2 hrs and 30 mins. Oven times may vary. The pan juices will have reduced some and thickened at the end of the cooking time resulting in a rich and flavorful sauce.
Using a fork or other utensil cut chuck roast into chucks. Serve over a bed of mashed potatoes or alongside vegetables.
Notes
**Please note: Nutritional values serve as a guide only as values may vary.
Use a heavy bottom pot if you do not have a dutch oven.
For ultimate flavor, it's important to sear your chuck roast FIRST on both sides before braising.
You will build layers of flavor by seasoning each component of the stew from beginning to end and taste test.
A slow and long simmer will ensure fork tender meat.
Chuck roast is a tough cut of meat; however, when braised properly, you will get delicious fork tender meat that you can literally shred or cut with a fork.
Red meat needs to be seasoned well and chuck roast is no exception be sure to season generously with kosher salt unless you're following a low sodium diet for health reasons or whatever the case may be.
Grape-seed oil is a great option as it has a high smoke point and will not burn (or other cooking oil with a high smoking point).
If you prefer not using wine, feel free to add more chicken broth or beef broth.
Cut the carrots into nice size chucks to prevent them from becoming overcooked and mushy.
When choosing red wine for this recipe, you do not have to pick an expensive bottle, but I do suggest a descent bottle that you would also drink.
Tomato paste adds an extra layer of flavor always saute the tomato paste FIRST to cook out the raw taste and before adding the red wine and chicken or beef broth.