NYT Beef Stew (non-crockpot)

Originally from: https://cooking.nytimes.com/recipes/4735-old-fashioned-beef-stew

Ingredients:

¼ cup all-purpose flour
¼ teaspoon freshly ground pepper
1 pound beef stewing meat, trimmed and cut into inch cubes
5 teaspoons vegetable oil
2 tablespoons red wine vinegar
1 cup red wine
3 ½ cups beef broth, homemade or low-sodium canned
2 bay leaves
1 medium onion, peeled and chopped
5 medium carrots, peeled and cut into 1/4-inch rounds
2 large baking potatoes, peeled and cut into 3/4-inch cubes
2 teaspoons salt

Directions:

1. Combine the flour and pepper in a bowl, add the beef and toss to coat well. Heat 3 teaspoons of the oil in a large pot. Add the beef a few pieces at a time; do not overcrowd. Cook, turning the pieces until beef is browned on all sides, about 5 minutes per batch; add more oil as needed between batches.

2. Remove the beef from the pot and add the vinegar and wine. Cook over medium-high heat, scraping the pan with a wooden spoon to loosen any browned bits. Add the beef, beef broth and bay leaves. Bring to a boil, then reduce to a slow simmer.

3. Cover and cook, skimming broth from time to time, until the beef is tender, about 1 1/2 hours. Add the onions and carrots and simmer, covered, for 10 minutes. Add the potatoes and simmer until vegetables are tender, about 30 minutes more. Add broth or water if the stew is dry. Season with salt and pepper to taste. Ladle among 4 bowls and serve.

Hot Mama Grade: B+

Hot Mama Notes: I needed a non-crockpot recipe for beef stew, since it was 3p when I realized I needed to cook stew meat (oops). This recipe is very highly rated. I have to say, it's rather a lot of work. Much more than I'm used to given that I usual do beef stew in a crockpot. The advantages of this recipe are that vegetables come out much better than in a crockpot (not mushy) and that you don't have to start cooking it in the morning. The disadvantage is that that it is a lot of cooking. Lot of browning of meat (I don't usually do that, and it is messy and takes a while since I used 2 lbs of meat). I had to set timers to remember to put in the different vegetables at different times. I thought it was good, but not fantastic. Some of that probably had to do with me not having the correct ingredients and having to substitute (double oops). But, I needed to cook the stew meat on that day, so I was stuck. I didn't have any red wine (I used a dry white) or beef broth (I used a bit more wine and water instead). That is probably why it didn't taste great, only good. The meat was a little bland, so I needed to use more seasoning. I also didn't directly double the recipe since I didn't have the correct ingredients anyway. I'm not sure I would make this again as I think a crockpot is much easier (set it and forget it!), despite really enjoying the better texture of the vegetables. Still, this recipe helped me out of a bind, and it is tasty despite the lackluster substitutions I had to make!