Beef Stew with Tomatoes, Cinnamon, and Cloves

By xraydj

Our goal in developing this beef stew recipe was to keep the cooking process simple without compromising the stew's deep, complex flavor. We chose chuck for its great flavor and abundance of intramuscular fat and connective tissue, which makes it well-suited for long, slow, moist cooking. To make our beef stew recipe easy, we opted for thickening the stew with flour at the beginning—stirring it into the sautéing onions and garlic, right before adding the liquid. We preferred the consistent, enveloping heat of the oven to the inconsistent heat of the burner for cooking the stew.

Make this stew in a large, heavy-bottomed soup kettle measuring at least ten inches in diameter. If the kettle is any smaller, you may need to cook the meat in three batches rather than two.

Ingredients

• 3 pounds chuck-eye roast , cut into 1 1/2-inch cubes
• 1 1/2 teaspoons table salt
• 1 teaspoon ground black pepper
• 3 tablespoons vegetable oil
• 2 medium onions , chopped coarse (about 2 cups)
• 3 medium cloves garlic , minced
• 3 tablespoons unbleached all-purpose flour
• 1 tablespoon tomato paste
• 1 cup red wine (preferably full-bodied)
• 1 cup low-sodium chicken broth
• 1 cup canned chopped tomatoes with their juice
• 2 bay leaves
• 1 teaspoon dried thyme
• 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
• 1/8 teaspoon ground cloves
• 1 cup frozen pearl onions , cooked according to package directions
• 1/3 cup dried currants
• 1/4 cup minced fresh parsley leaves

Details

Servings 6
Adapted from cooksillustrated.com

Preparation

Step 1

INSTRUCTIONS
1. Heat oven to 300 degrees. Place beef cubes in large bowl. Sprinkle with salt and pepper; toss to coat. Heat 2 tablespoons of the oil over medium-high heat in large nonreactive soup kettle; add beef to kettle in two separate batches. Brown meat on all sides, about 5 minutes per batch, adding remaining tablespoon of oil if needed. Remove meat and set aside. Add onions to now empty kettle; sauté until almost softened, 4 to 5 minutes. Reduce heat to medium and add garlic; continue to sauté about 30 seconds longer. Stir in flour; cook until lightly colored, 1 to 2 minutes. Add tomato paste. Add wine, scraping up any browned bits that may have stuck to kettle. Add stock, canned tomatoes, bay leaves, thyme and spices; bring to simmer. Add meat; return to simmer. Cover and place in oven.

2. Heat 1 tablespoon oil in medium skillet; add frozen pearl onions, and sauté until lightly browned, 2 to 3 minutes. When meat is almost tender, about 1 1/2 hours, add pearl onions and currants to stew. Cover and return to oven. Cook until meat and pearl onions are tender, 20 to 30 minutes longer.

3. Stir in parsley, adjust seasonings, and serve.