Old-Fashioned Beef Stew Recipe

Beef stews of a sort exist in many cultures and cuisines around the world, from the Guinness-spiked stews of Ireland to ropa vieja, Cuba's national dish. Since recipe developer Molly Madigan Pisula of Vanilla Bean Cuisine has been living in France for the past few years, she adds a few local touches borrowed from beef bourguignon to an otherwise wholly American version of the classic.

In France, she notes, "many recipes start with bacon." And since, she says, the smoky pork fat "adds a layer of flavor that I love," she set out to create "a traditional American type beef stew, but add that little tweak of a bit of bacon for flavor!"

It's no surprise, given her surroundings, that Pisula also adds some red wine for depth and flavor.

"I'd recommend a medium-bodied red wine, like a merlot or a pinot noir," she says. "You don't need to splurge on an expensive bottle, but buy something that you'd want to drink (since you won't use all of the bottle for the stew anyway!)"

Before you even start cooking, you'll want to prepare all of your mise en place ... which is just a fancy French word for ensuring that your ingredients are sliced, diced, or otherwise prepped and ready to go into the pot.

Start by cutting the beef chuck into 2-inch cubes, and then dice the onion and finely chop the garlic. Peel the carrots and potatoes, cutting the carrots into bite-sized chunks and the potatoes into slightly larger pieces, so they won't fall apart in the stew.

Finally, cut the bacon lardons by stacking the thick-cut bacon slices one on top of the other and cutting them into ½-inch matchsticks.

Now that all of the ingredients are prepped for this beef stew, it's time to cook!

To begin, heat a Dutch oven or other heavy-bottomed pot over medium heat. Add the bacon and sauté until browned and crispy, about 7 minutes. Use a spider or slotted spoon to remove the bacon from the pan and drain on paper towel so that it remains crisp, leaving the rest of the fat behind — it's the perfect base for sautéing the aromatics.

Now, add the onion to the fat and cook until softened, about 3 minutes. Next, add the garlic and cook just 1 minute more — garlic has a tendency to burn, so don't overdo it!

Remove the aromatics from the pan and set aside while you turn your attention to the beef.

Over the course of cooking the bacon, aromatics, and beef, a lovely layer of fond will have developed on the bottom of the pan. It's richly flavored, and we definitely want to take advantage of it!

To do so, remove the beef from the pot and add a few ounces of the red wine to the pot. Then, use a wooden spoon (not metal!) to carefully scrape up what's stuck to the bottom and dissolve it into the liquid.

Once you've completed this step, referred to in cheffy circles as "bringing up the fond," you can add everyone back to the party: the onion, garlic, beef, and bacon. Finish with the remaining wine and beef stock, stirring to ensure the beef is almost fully covered with liquid. Add the bay and thyme, then bring to a boil. Reduce the heat to medium, cover partway, and simmer 1 ½ hours, stirring occasionally.