Beef Stew Worth the Chopping

Most beef stew goes wrong at the shop, when someone grabs a tray of pre cut stew meat. Those cubes come from whatever was left over, so half go tender and half stay chewy. Buy a chuck roast, cube it yourself, and this easy beef stew comes out soft and even every time.

The knife for this job

One blade does everything here. The Kermode 7" Serbian Chef Knife is a chef cleaver, so it has the weight to push through a dense chuck roast and the broad, flat face to slice carrots and onions and carry them to the pot. It is a chopping knife with enough mass to handle meat, which is exactly the job a stew asks for. If you want a wider kit for this kind of cooking, the Wolfpack 4 piece chef knife and cleaver set includes it.

A flimsy knife on a chuck roast does a lot of sawing and very little cutting. You will feel it in your wrist by the third slice.

Why beef stew with chuck roast

Chuck comes from the shoulder. It is full of fat and connective tissue, which is bad news for a quick steak and perfect for a long braise. After a couple of hours of gentle heat that tissue turns to gelatin, the meat goes soft, and the liquid gets body without much help. Look for a roast of about 3 lb (1.4 kg) with plenty of white marbling running through it.

Cubing the chuck by hand

1. Pat the roast dry. Look at it for the natural seams, the lines of fat and silverskin that divide the muscles.
2. Use the Kermode to split the roast along those seams into a few smaller pieces. Cutting along the seams is easier than cutting across them and shows you where the gristle sits.
3. Trim off any thick hard fat and the tough silverskin. Leave the soft fat inside the meat, that is flavour.
4. Cut each piece into slabs about 1.5 inches (4 cm) thick, then into cubes. Use long, firm strokes rather than chopping down. Aim for even sizes so they finish together.

Do not go smaller than 1.5 inches. Little cubes dry out and turn to string long before the big ones are tender, which is how pre cut stew meat earns its reputation.

Prep the vegetables

Keep the board going with the same knife. The flat face of the cleaver is handy for crushing garlic and scooping everything into bowls.

1. Dice two onions into rough 1/2 inch (1 cm) pieces. They melt into the sauce, so they do not need to be pretty.
2. Peel the carrots and cut them on an angle into chunks about 1 inch (2.5 cm) long.
3. Cut two celery sticks into similar chunks.
4. Peel the potatoes and cut them into 1.5 inch (4 cm) pieces, about the same size as the beef. Keep them in a bowl of cold water until needed.
5. Crush and roughly chop the garlic.

Sear the beef

This is the step people rush, and it shows. Season the cubes all over with salt and pepper and toss them in a little flour if you want a slightly thicker stew. Heat a splash of oil in a heavy Dutch oven over medium high heat until it shimmers.

Sear the beef in batches, with space between each cube. Crowd the pot and the meat steams grey in its own juice instead of browning. Give each side 2 to 3 minutes without poking it, until it has a deep brown crust, then move it to a plate. Add a little more oil between batches if the pot looks dry. The brown layer stuck to the bottom of the pot is not burnt. It is the best part of the sauce.

Build the braise

1. Turn the heat to medium. Add the onions and a pinch of salt and cook for 5 minutes, scraping up the brown bits as they soften.
2. Stir in the garlic and the tomato paste and cook for 2 minutes until the paste darkens.
3. Pour in 1 cup (250 ml) of red wine and scrape the bottom clean. Let it bubble for a few minutes until reduced by about half.
4. Add 4 cups (1 litre) of beef stock, a tablespoon of Worcestershire sauce, the thyme and the bay leaves. Return the beef and any juice from the plate.
5. Bring it to a bare simmer, cover with the lid slightly ajar, and turn the heat down low. You want the odd lazy bubble, not a rolling boil. Boiling tightens the meat however long you cook it.

Add the vegetables later

Cook the beef alone for about 1 1/2 hours. Then add the carrots, celery and drained potatoes, stir, and cook for another 45 minutes to 1 hour until the vegetables are tender and the beef breaks apart with a spoon. Put the vegetables in at the start and you get beef stew with a side of carrot mush.

When is it done

The USDA minimum for whole cuts of beef is 145°F (63°C) with a 3 minute rest, and a stew passes that early. Tenderness is the real target. Chuck goes soft somewhere around 195 to 205°F (90 to 96°C), but you do not need a thermometer for this one. Press a cube against the side of the pot with a spoon. If it gives way, it is ready. If it fights back, give it 15 more minutes.

Fish out the bay leaves and thyme stems. Taste and adjust the salt. If the sauce is thin, simmer it uncovered for 10 minutes. Stir in a handful of chopped parsley just before serving. Like most braises it tastes even better the next day, once the flavours have had a night to sort themselves out.

Serving

Ladle it into deep bowls with crusty bread or over buttery mash. It keeps for 3 to 4 days in the fridge and freezes well for up to 3 months.

For more on handling a heavier blade on the board, read our guide on how to use a meat cleaver, and see the full range of chef knives.