Beef and Carrot Stew with Lardons
Beef browned with lardons and onions, then gently braised in vin rouge until tender, with sweet carrots soaking up the sauce. A hearty French-style stew made on the stovetop.
- Total
- 90 min
- Prep 20 · Cook 70
- Serves
- 1
- Difficulty
- Medium
You'll practice: Searing · Rendering fat
- Savory
- No rush
- French
- Stovetop
Instructions
-
Cut the boeuf into 4 cm cubes and pat dry. Peel the oignons and cut into 1 cm dice. Peel the carottes and cut into 2 cm thick rounds.
~15 min
Cutting beef into uniform cubes ensures even cooking, while patting dry helps it brown rather than steam.
-
Heat the oil in a large heavy pot over medium-high heat. Add the lardons and cook until golden and their fat renders, about 5 minutes. Lift them out with a slotted spoon and set aside.
~5 min
Rendering lardons slowly melts their fat, which provides flavorful fat for browning the beef.
Rendering fat Cook lardons over medium heat until golden and their fat has melted out. Rushing with high heat burns the fat before it renders.
-
Brown the boeuf in the hot fat in two batches, about 4 minutes per batch, until deeply browned on all sides. Do not crowd the pot. Transfer each batch to a plate.
~4 min
Browning in batches without crowding allows the beef to sear and develop deep flavor through the Maillard reaction.
Brown the beef in batches without crowding so it sears rather than steams, which builds the deep flavor the sauce needs.
Searing Sear beef in a hot pot without crowding; it should be deeply browned, not gray. Crowding steams the meat and prevents browning.
-
Lower the heat to medium. Add the oignons and cook until softened and lightly golden, about 6 minutes, scraping up the browned bits. Season with 0.5 tsp salt and 0.25 tsp black pepper.
~6 min
Scraping up the browned bits (fond) dissolves them into the onions, adding concentrated flavor to the stew.
-
Return the boeuf and lardons to the pot. Pour in the 500 ml vin rouge and 250 ml water, and add the carottes. Bring to a gentle simmer, cover, and cook on low until the beef is fork-tender, about 45 minutes.
~45 min
A gentle simmer braises the beef, breaking down collagen into gelatin for tender meat and a rich sauce.
-
Uncover and simmer until the sauce reduces and coats the back of a spoon, about 8 minutes. Season with the remaining 1 tsp salt and 0.25 tsp black pepper. Serve hot.
~8 min
Uncovered simmering evaporates water, concentrating the sauce so it thickens and clings to the meat.
If the sauce is still thin after reducing, mash a few carrot rounds against the side of the pot to thicken it naturally.