We finally got a chilly, gray, wet day here in Phoenix that feels like winter. Now I have an excuse to make a delicious, hearty beef stew.
I did a quick Google search and found a recipe on Forno Bravo’s website for a red wine beef stew that sounded easy. “Sounded easy” were the key words in that sentence…it took a lot longer to prepare than I expected. There was a lot of chopping and browning before it went into the wood fired oven.
It started with chopped veggies…celery, carrots, onion and bell pepper. Everything coarsely chopped, not too big, not too small. I chose to hold off on chopping the potatoes until after other ingredients had been prepped to avoid them turning color before being added to the stew.
Then came the beef. Three pounds of beef to be exact. I trimmed and cut the beef into bite size pieces.
The beef was tossed in seasoned flour. The flour will act as a thickening agent in the stew as it cooks. I wasn’t sure what flavors were appropriate for stew so I again asked my old friend, Google. I chose basil flakes, oregano, cayenne, paprika, salt and a ton of freshly ground black pepper. The coated beef was tossed in a skillet to brown.
Meanwhile, I sliced two 6 inch andouille sausages into rounds. The beef was transferred to an enameled cast iron pot. Sausage went into the skillet to get a little char and flavor. This order of browning ingredients worked out well because I could use the sausage grease to brown the vegetables.
After the sausage had been removed, the veggies went right into that greasy skillet to gather flavor and soften slightly. And you guessed it, they went to join the meat in the big pot. Finally, the potatoes got just a little browning love in that hot skillet.
When all of the meat and vegetables were in the pot, more seasoning was added. I added more oregano, black pepper and salt. I also added a large sprig of rosemary, unchopped so it could be removed after cooking and two large whole cloves of garlic.
The cooking liquid was a combination of beef broth and red wine. We used a 32-ounce box of beef broth and about a third of a bottle of wine. Any wine that you would drink, would be appropriate in this application. Stir everything together.
My lid was not very tight fitting (it got warped in an oven that was too hot) so I covered the pot with foil and then put the lid on top of that. It worked perfectly. The house was smelling great, but it was time to move this stew outside to cook in the wood fired oven. The recipe we adapted didn’t specify an oven temperature range. We had the oven at low temperature around 500 degrees with a small flame to continue the convection property of the oven. The 2 hour cooking time was just about perfect. Mr. Fanatic pulled the pot from the oven at about 90 minutes and we decided to add a bit more broth to the stew along with an ingredient I had forgotten. I add a few dashes of Asian fish sauce to most all of my savory dishes including soups, stews and even my bolognese. This adds just a little rich saltiness that no one will be able to identify but just makes the dish extra tasty. We did use the extra 15 minutes of uncovered cooking time to thicken the stew.
The end result was thick, hearty and delicious. The rosemary definitely stood out and there was some kick from the various peppers that were used. The beef was so tender you could cut it with your spoon. Although all tastes are different, we would have like the beef to be cubed slightly smaller and for there to be more carrots. However, this dish got great reviews from both of us. Definitely hit the spot on this damp, chilly day in what is usually sunny Phoenix.
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- 3 lbs. bottom round roast, cut into bite-sized pieces
- 1 lb. sausage, cut into coins (Italian, Chorizo, Andouille, your choice)
- 1 large sweet onion or red onion, coarsely chopped
- 2 celery stalks, coarsely chopped
- 2 large carrots, coarsely chopped
- 1.5 lbs. potatoes, firm-fleshed, skin on, coarsely chopped
- 1 red bell pepper, cut in strips
- 2-3 cloves garlic, smashed
- 2 cups tomatoes, unpeeled, cored, seeded, coarsely chopped
- 1 tsp. oregano (or thyme)
- 1 tsp. sea salt
- 1 sprig rosemary
- Put about a cup of flour into a plastic bag. Spice the flour with seasoning of your choice…I chose sea salt, fresh cracked pepper, paprika, oregano, basil flakes, cayenne and a little red pepper flake. Toss the beef chunks in the bag in small batches. Shake off excess flour, and then brown well in a pan using olive oil. Don’t crowd the pan to make sure the beef browns, not steams.
- Place the browned meat in a large, enameled cast iron pot with a tight fitting lid. Brown the sausage rounds in the same frying pan; add to pot. Then brown the onions, celery, carrots and pepper in the same pan, adding olive oil if necessary. Add to the pot. Brown the potatoes. Add them, too.
- Stir in the tomatoes and spices. Bury the garlic and rosemary sprig among the ingredients.
- Deglaze the pan with beef stock or wine, scraping up the brown bits as the liquid comes to the boil. Pour into pot.
- Pour beef stock and red wine into the pot to almost cover the meat. Sprinkle the salt over the liquid.
- Cook, covered, in a low and slow oven with a small flame to maintain convection for about two hours. Timing will depend on the heat of the oven. Take it out after 90 minutes to check the amount of liquid in remaining the pan. Add liquid in the form of broth or wine if needed. After 2 hours you may cook uncovered for 15 minutes to thicken the sauce.
Angela Barnes wants to educate fellow wood fired fanatics on cooking and technical aspects of wood fired ovens. 
Amazing job as always. Looks so yummy and I bet it tasted great. Thanks for sharing.