Best Aunt Helens Beef Stew Recipes

CLASSIC, HEARTY BEEF STEW

Steps:

• Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C).
• Place beef cubes into a large bowl. Season with kosher salt and black pepper. Add flour and paprika and toss until evenly coated.
• Heat oil in an oven-safe Dutch oven over medium-high heat. Sear the beef cubes in batches until dark brown, about 4 minutes per side. Flip or stir gently with a wooden spoon until all edges are dark brown, 2 to 3 minutes more. Remove beef and set aside.
• Add onions to the beef fat with more salt and pepper; cook and stir until they begin to caramelize, about 10 minutes. Add garlic and stir until aromatic and soft, about 30 seconds. Stir in tomato paste and cook until it turns brown and begins to caramelize and stick to the bottom of the pan. Deglaze with red wine, scraping up the flavorful browned bits on the bottom. Let the wine reduce until almost dry again, about 3 minutes.
• Add dried thyme, dried rosemary, herbes de Provence, and bay leaves. Add 2 cups beef broth and Worcestershire, stir, and bring to a boil. Add the seared beef cubes back into the stew liquid. Remove from heat and cover the pot.
• Braise in the preheated oven until meat is almost tender, about 1 1/2 hours. Remove from the oven. Add carrots, potatoes, and more beef broth if needed. Cover and return to the oven to braise until meat and vegetables are tender, about 30 minutes longer.
• Discard bay leaves. Stir in peas, fresh rosemary, and fresh thyme. Serve hot.

OLD-FASHIONED BEEF STEW

Steps:

• Coat beef with flour, shaking off excess. In a large nonstick stock pot, heat oil over medium-high heat, add beef and saute until brown, approximately 6 minutes. Remove beef from stock pot and set aside.
• Add onions and mushrooms to stock pot and saute for 6 minutes. Add garlic and saute for 1 minute, continually stirring.
• Skim off fat any fat from the stock pot and return cooked beef to pot; stir in tomato paste and broth. Add enough water to just cover ingredients and bring to a boil. Reduce heat to low and simmer until beef is tender, about 1 hour and 15 minutes.
• Skim off any foam that has accumulated on the surface of stew and add carrots, potatoes and green beans. Cover partially and simmer for 15 minutes.
• In a small mixing bowl, mix cornstarch and cold water. Stir mixture into stew. Increase heat and boil uncovered for 1 minute. Sprinkle with parsley and serve.

OLD-TIME BEEF STEW (PAULA DEEN)

Steps:

• Brown meat in hot oil. Add water, Worcestershire sauce, garlic, bay leaves, onion, salt, sugar, pepper, paprika, and allspice. Cover and simmer 1-1/2 hours.
• Remove bay leaves. Add carrots, potatoes, and celery. Cover and cook 20-30 minutes longer or until vegetables are cooked.
• To thicken gravy, remove 2 cups hot liquid. Using seperate bowl, combine 1/4 cup water and cornstarch until smooth. Mix with hot liquid and return mixture to pot. Stir and cook until bubbly and thickened. Enjoy!

AUNT HELEN'S BEEF STEW

Steps:

• 1. Preheat oven to 250 degrees.
• 2. In a large roaster, combine all ingredients except peas. Cover tightly with foil and bake at 250 degrees for 5 hours.
• 3. Before serving, stir in the peas. (The peas are my own addition because I like them -- they were not in Aunt Helen's original recipe. Feel free to omit them if you don't like them.)