This beef stew is hearty, earthy and stick to your bones goodness and very, very beefy. Hand cut chuck roast, slowly simmered in a rich stock along side mushrooms and potatoes. Rustic and not overcrowded with vegetables, the beef will melt in your mouth...serve this over rice or grits or ladled right over some biscuits. Seriously comforting.
Trim fat and silver skin from chuck roast, cut into 1" cubes against the grain. Place the cubes in a bowl and sprinkle with kosher salt, fresh ground black pepper and creole seasoning; mix well and set aside.
Prepare the remaining ingredients and set aside.
In a Dutch Oven heat about 2 Tbs of vegetable oil over high heat. Sear the cubed beef in batches (see Notes); remove from the pot and set aside.
Depending how much oil and fat has been rendered from the beef, add a little more oil-up to 2 Tbs; when it is heated up add the flour and stir constantly to make a medium roux. Scrape as much fond off the bottom as you can.
Add onions and saute over medium high heat until starting to clear.
Add garlic and about half of the Herb and Spice Blend (less the Bay Leaves), stir together until aromatic-a minute or two.
Add the mushrooms and continue to saute until starting to brown.
Deglaze the Dutch Oven with a little of the wine.
Add back the beef cubes and add the remaining Herb and Spice Blend plus the Bay Leaves; mix well.
Add the wine and stir all together.
At this point add about 2 cups of the stock-enough to just cover the beef (reserve the rest); bring to a boil. Stir well making sure everything is mixed together; lower the heat to a simmer and cover the pot.
Let simmer for 30 minutes, stirring occasionally. Don't let it stick to the bottom of the pot.
Add carrots and mix well; return to a simmer; cover pot and simmer for 30 minutes, stirring occasionally. Add more stock if needed just to keep the beef covered.
Add the potatoes and mix well; cover pot and return to a simmer for about 20 minutes, stirring occasionally. Add more stock if needed.
Uncover pot and stir well; continue to simmer uncovered until it reaches your desired thickness and the vegetables are tender.
Serve over rice, grits or biscuits.
Notes
When searing the beef cubes, make sure to use a high heat and add the beef cubes in batches so you don't over load the dutch oven. If you have too much beef in at one time, it has the tendency to steam the beef and not sear it.The secret is to keep it simple-not too many ingredients. If you like more vegetables in your stews, serve them on the side. Also, cutting up a chuck roast yourself against the grain and the long simmer time will make the meat very tender. You may be tempted to add more red wine but just a little will gives the stew just the right hint of wine flavor but not overwhelming.Most commercial creole seasoning contains salt, so keep that in mind when using it. This recipe was developed with salt free creole seasoning, so you may not need as much salt depending on your creole seasoning.