The French know how to do flavor, and they definitely know how to do beef stew. In this dish—which I am shamelessly unable to spell, much less pronounce—layers of flavor are built with bacon, beef and red wine. And if the resulting stew doesn’t just sound good enough to drink with a straw … well, it is. Except that, unfortunately, all those chunks of veggies might get in the way. So be all civilized and French-like by eating it with a spoon and doing your best not to slurp, even though that’s a tall order when something is this delicious. Also, be sure to use a decent wine as it’s an important flavor in the final dish, and complete your meal with roasted or mashed potatoes and a big green salad!
YIELD: 6 SERVINGS
¾ cup (90 g) all-purpose flour
1 ½ tsp (9 g) salt, divided, plus more to taste
Freshly ground black pepper, to taste
2 ½ to 3 lb (1.1 to 1.4 kg) boneless beef chuck roast, trimmed and cut into 1 ½-inch (4-cm) cubes
8 slices bacon, cut into ½-inch (13-mm) pieces (about 8 oz [227 g])
1 tbsp (15 ml) vegetable oil, plus more as needed
2 ½ cups (600 ml) dry red wine (such as Burgundy, Côtes du Rhône, Beaujolais or Pinot Noir)
1 cup (240 ml) low-sodium beef broth
6 medium carrots, peeled and cut diagonally into 1-inch (2.5-cm) thick slices
8 oz (227 g) white mushrooms, cleaned and cut into ¼-inch (6-mm) thick slices
6 cloves garlic, minced
1 tbsp (2 g) dried parsley
½ tsp dried thyme
1 dried bay leaf
2 tbsp (16 g) cornstarch plus 2 tbsp (30 ml) water
8 oz (225 g) frozen pearl onions, thawed
In a large plastic zip-top bag, combine the flour, 1 teaspoon (6 g) of the salt and a generous amount of black pepper. Add the beef cubes to the bag and shake to coat them with the flour mixture and set aside. In a large pot or Dutch oven, cook the chopped bacon over medium-high heat until it is crispy. With a slotted spoon, transfer the bacon to a paper towel–lined plate to drain, leaving the remaining bacon grease in the pot.
Scoop the beef out of the bag, shaking off any excess flour and transfer the beef to the pot in a single layer. Working in batches so as not to crowd the pot, cook the beef until it is browned on all sides. If the meat absorbs all of the bacon grease at any point, add the vegetable oil to the pot to finish browning the beef, repeating as necessary. Use a slotted spoon to transfer the browned beef to the slow cooker.
Remove the pot from the heat and add the red wine and beef broth. Return the pot to the stove and bring the wine-broth mixture to a boil over medium-high heat for about 1 minute, scraping the bottom of the pot with a wooden spoon to deglaze the brown bits. Remove the pot from the heat and set aside to slightly cool.
Add the bacon, carrots, mushrooms, garlic, parsley and thyme to the slow cooker. Pour in the wine-broth mixture. Stir in the remaining ½ teaspoon salt, a generous amount of freshly ground black pepper and the bay leaf. Cover the slow cooker and cook on low for 7 to 9 hours, or on high for 3 ½ to 4 ½ hours, until the beef is tender.
Discard the bay leaf. In a small bowl, mix the cornstarch and the water until smooth, then slowly stir the cornstarch slurry into the slow cooker. Stir in the pearl onions, cover the slow cooker, and cook on high for 30 minutes, until the stew is thickened and heated through. Season the dish to taste with additional salt and pepper and serve immediately.