Spiced Beef in Red Wine

Name: Spiced Beef in Red Wine
Total time: 2 h 30 min
Yield: 6 servings
Ingredients: 2 slices bacon, roughly chopped; 2 large onions, roughly chopped; 2 large leeks, white and light-green parts only, roughly chopped; 3 medium carrots, peeled and roughly chopped; 1/2 cup fresh parsley; 1/3 cup flour; Salt and freshly ground black pepper; 2 1/2 pounds chuck steak in 2-inch cubes; 2 tablespoons vegetable oil, or more as needed; Pinch ground cloves; 1 1/2 cups red wine; 2 cups beef stock or canned beef broth; 2 tablespoons Worcestershire sauce; 3 star anise; 1 tablespoon light brown sugar

By Nigella Lawson

Total Time: 2 hours 30 minutes
Rating: 4(332)
Comments: Read comments

There is nothing to stop you from serving spiced beef in red wine at a dinner party, but proper cooking should not be undertaken only for company. I make a batch of the beef and, when it is cool, bag it up in single portions and put it in the freezer. It makes a great warming supper for nights when you are lazing on a sofa watching television. Just because it's Wednesday, you need not have to resort to a bagel or grilled cheese for dinner.

Featured in: AT MY TABLE; When Wednesday Is Just Too Late

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Ingredients

Yield:6 servings

2slices bacon, roughly chopped
2large onions, roughly chopped
2large leeks, white and light-green parts only, roughly chopped
3medium carrots, peeled and roughly chopped
½cup fresh parsley
⅓cup flour
Salt and freshly ground black pepper
2½pounds chuck steak in 2-inch cubes
2tablespoons vegetable oil, or more as needed
Pinch ground cloves
1½cups red wine
2cups beef stock or canned beef broth
2tablespoons Worcestershire sauce
3star anise
1tablespoon light brown sugar

Ingredient Substitution Guide

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Preparation

Step 1
Working in batches in a food processor, process bacon, onions, leeks, carrots and parsley until finely chopped. Transfer mixture to a large bowl, and set aside. Place flour in a freezer bag or other plastic bag. Season with salt and pepper. Add steak cubes, seal bag, and shake until cubes are well coated.
Step 2
Place a flameproof casserole dish over medium heat, and add 2 tablespoons oil. When hot, add beef in batches, turning until well seared on all sides. As beef is browned, transfer to a plate, and set aside.
Step 3
If casserole dish is dry, add 1 tablespoon oil. Place over medium heat, and add bacon and vegetable mixture and ground cloves. Sauté until softened, about 10 minutes. Meanwhile, in a medium saucepan, combine wine, beef stock, Worcestershire sauce, star anise and brown sugar. Place over medium-high heat, and bring to a boil. When vegetables have softened, pour liquid over vegetables.
Step 4
Return beef to pan, and stir well. Bring to a boil, partly cover, and reduce heat to low. Simmer gently until beef is tender, about 2 hours. Serve hot. If desired, stew may be cooked and then covered and refrigerated for up to 2 days or frozen for a month.

Ratings

4 out of 5

332 user ratings

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Comments

Andreas Duess7 years ago

There's a very good reason for this. Boiling off the alcohol before the liquid comes into contact with the beef helps preserve the integrity of the cell structure of the beef, making for a less mushy stew. Wolfgang Keller teaches this, as a result I have been boiling all of my wine based marinades before using them.

Florence7 years ago

Step 3 seems unnecessarily complicated. After sautéing the vegetables, just add the beef stock, wine, Worcestershire sauce, star anise, brown sugar and stir. Then go to step 4. Save a pan clean up and no multi-tasking.

Mike7 years ago

How is it that the picture shows lots of chunks of veggies, yet the recipe calls for putting them in a food processor? Who would want the veggies processed anyway? Just cut them into pieces that make them an attractive part of the stew!

Kels2 years ago

Was in a bind and ended up making a delicious dinner, no less. No leeks, bacon, or flour. Brown beef, set aside, soften onions and scrape pot with wine (montepulciano). Add bay leaves, cloves, and a star anise. Return beef, and cook for 1.5 hrs, then add carrots and chopped parsley, cooking 30 mins more. Gloriously tender meat and still-orange, tender carrots.

Carolyn3 years ago

Fabulous recipe I adapted to the Instant Pot, especially over orzo on a cold winter’s night with a green salad or vegetable on the side. Used a bit of Red Boat fish sauce for added unami, then pressure cooked the beef chunks for 20 minutes after browning them, followed by a 10-minute release. Tip: if you don’t like cooked carrots (and my family doesn’t) but want to retain their lovely flavor in the sauce, grate them finely and add them in after the onions. They melt right into the sauce!

Nancy3 years ago

I'm actually not sure about this recipe. A lot of work for not really that much gain. It was just okay. Agree with a lot of comments about the food processor... I did them one by one: leeks, onions, carrots etc. and still ended up with kind of mush. And spiced? hmmm.... Overall, not a keeper.

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