Recipes

Red Wine Beef Stew

If you’re looking for an easy recipe for Red Wine Beef Stew, this is one of the fastest, simplest, most flavorful recipes. My problem with most recipes for Red Wine Beef Stew is they are way too fussy.

I have stripped this recipe down to its most basic elements, removing any extraneous and unnecessary steps and ingredients. And I have to tell you, this is one of the most delicious things I have ever cooked.

The other day it was rainy and cold and I got a craving for short ribs braised in red wine from my trusty Balthazar Restaurant cookbook. If you don’t own this cookbook, buy it immediately. I have had mine for over 20 years and I swear, every single recipe I cook from this cookbook — from the short ribs to the French fries to the French onion soup and crème brûlée — comes out perfect. And yes, you will look like a total rock star when you effortlessly whip out perfect steak frites and pots de crème.

Anyway, they never seem to have beef short ribs at Trader Joe’s or Sprouts… and I didn’t want to make a special trip to Whole Foods for short ribs… so I decided to make Red Wine Beef Stew. All the same flavors of the French short ribs braised in red wine that I love so much… but simpler and easier.

There are a lot of great Red Wine Beef Stew recipes online (Jacques Pepin and Epicurious, for example) but they are fussy and complicated. So I developed this simplified recipe. I think you’ll be surprised at how easy it is to make.

Even better, you’ll be impressed by how it tastes. So unbelievably delicious. The umami flavor is off the charts! Umami is the savory flavor that makes broth or really good aged cheese taste so yummy. It is the combination of broth, red wine, tomato paste and soy sauce that boosts the umami.

All you need is some bacon, a couple pounds of sirloin or stew meat, a little flour (can be gluten free), a bottle of good red (I used a Bordeaux) wine (1/3 for the stew, 1/3 to drink while cooking and 1/3 to drink while eating), some beef or chicken broth, tomato paste, a little soy sauce (to boost the umami), russet potatoes, carrots, and salt and pepper to taste.

A very simple, easy recipe and just takes a few hours in the oven. And ya’ll, it makes the whole house smell divine. Perfect on a cold and rainy night like tonight. Great with a baguette, butter and yeah… that red wine… 🍷 You may need 2 bottles…