Beef Stew with Carrots and Onions
Tender beef and lardons simmered with sweet carrots and soft onions in a rich sauce. A hearty French-style stew that gets better the longer it sits.
- 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 3 cm cubes and pat dry. Peel and roughly chop the oignons. Peel the carottes and cut into 2 cm rounds.
~15 min
Cutting beef into uniform cubes ensures even cooking, while patting dry helps it brown instead of steaming.
-
Heat the olive oil in a large heavy pot over medium-high heat. Add the lardons and cook until golden and the fat renders, about 5 minutes. Lift them out with a slotted spoon and set aside.
~5 min
Rendering fat from lardons creates a flavorful base and crispy bits, and the fat is used to brown the beef.
Rendering fat Cook lardons slowly over medium heat until the fat melts and they turn golden; rushing can burn them before the fat renders.
-
Brown the boeuf in the hot fat in two batches, about 4 minutes per batch, until deeply browned on all sides. Remove and set aside with the lardons.
~4 min
Browning beef in batches over high heat triggers the Maillard reaction, building deep flavor without overcrowding the pot.
Searing Sear in small batches over high heat to get a deep brown crust; overcrowding 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.
~6 min
Cooking onions until lightly golden develops sweetness through caramelization, and scraping up browned bits incorporates fond into the sauce.
-
Return the boeuf and lardons to the pot. Add the carottes, 500 ml vin rouge, 250 ml water, 1 tsp salt and 0.5 tsp black pepper. Bring to a gentle simmer, cover, and cook on low until the beef is fork-tender, about 45 minutes.
~45 min
Simmering gently with a lid tenderizes the beef by breaking down collagen into gelatin, while the wine and water create a braising liquid.
-
Uncover and simmer until the liquid reduces slightly and coats the back of a spoon, about 10 minutes. Taste and adjust the salt.
~10 min
Uncovering and simmering reduces the liquid, concentrating flavors so the sauce thickens and coats the back of a spoon.