Winter's Favorite Pal: Stew

Good evening everyone!  Currently, we are caught in the deepest part of winter.  While we don't have a lot of snow, the temperatures and wind remind us that we finishing out January in Iowa.  This kind of weather entices all sorts of recipes, including numerous soups, stews, and chilis.  It's easy to pan off these broth-based dishes as an easy fix, but to get a delicious end result, a fair amount of work has to go into building flavors.  Tonight, I'm highlighting a flavorful stew that will warm the coldest night.

The Recipe:  Hearty Beef and Stout Stew
Original Recipe Found In: Cooking Light, January 2014 Issue

What You'll Need:
12 Ounces boneless Beef Chuck, trimmed and thinly sliced
1/4 Teaspoon Salt
1/4 Teaspoon Black Pepper
5 Teaspoons Olive Oil, divided
2 Cups finely chopped White Onion
1 1/2 Cups (1/4 inch thick) diagonally cut Carrot
6 Ounces pre-sliced Cremini Mushrooms
3 Thyme sprigs
1 Tablespoons Tomato Paste
2 Teaspoons minced Garlic
3/4 Cup Stout Beer
1 1/2 Cups unsalted Beef Stock
1 Tablespoon All-Purpose Flour
1 1/2 Teaspoons lower-sodium Soy Sauce

To start, heat one tablespoon of olive oil in a large nonstick skillet over medium-high heat.  While the pan is heating, sprinkle the beef with the salt and pepper.  Once the pan is heated, swirl the oil to coat and add the beef to the pan.  Cook for three minutes or until all sides are browned.  Remove the beef from the pan onto a clean plate and cover with other plate to keep warm.  

Next, add the remaining two teaspoons of oil to the pan and swirl to coat once more.  Add the chopped onion, carrots, mushrooms, and thyme sprigs and sauté for four minutes or until the onions have become translucent.  Next, add the tomato paste and minced garlic and cook until the garlic becomes fragrant, about one minute.  Slowly pour the beer in the skillet and cook for one minute, scraping the the pan to loosen any browned bits.  Finally, add the beef stock and the flour and stir until everything is well combined.

Add the beef back to the skillet and cover.  Reduce the heat of the skillet to simmer and cook for 15 minutes.  Once everything has cooked, stir in the soy sauce and discard the thyme sprigs.  Serve in soup bowls and enjoy!

The End Result:

The beef is perfectly cooked and seasoned and adding it back to the skillet to cook soaks up the other ingredients.  While most of the alcohol is cooked out, the stout flavor remaining and adds a heartiness that you won't get from most stews.  It almost tasted like a French Onion soup, without the hassle of cooking onions down for hours on end.  The carrots are also a nice touch, but some pieces are still kinda crunchy, but other pieces aren't, but adds something different to the stew.  Overall, another great stew recipe to share with you and yours in the middle of winter!

Thanks for joining us tonight, check back as Tyler presents a brand new recipe.  Until then,

~Cheers!