Your Best Beef Stew Ever

Beef stew is one of those recipes every home chef should know.Yet, how to make the perfect one is somewhat of a conundrum. Should wine be added? Or tomato sauce? Slow cooker or oven? Luckily there is a recipe that can lead to stew nirvana. One taste and it will be your go to recipe.

Of course it was the famed Julia Moskin who tackled this in yesterday's New York Times Food section.Ms. Moskin has made her fair share of the dish as well as its' French and Italian cousins. bouef bourguignon, daube and peposo. Am American beef stew doesn't have the sophistication of red wine. Onions and water first flavored our earliest versions, later it was beef broth and tomato sauce. These are good  and do give the meat and vegetables a certain flavor. however they don;t add any oomph.If you are making yours with a Pinot Noir or a Cote du Rhone, remember that it has to be cooked slowly.  The alcohol, acidity and fruitiness have to be tamed so they leave a tangy, syrupy taste that pairs well with the red meat. Remember too , red meat needs slow cooking too. It helps breaking down the collagen and, muscle fibrils. You could make stew in a slow cooker. The meat does have to be well browned before putting in in.A crockpot stew is a wonderful meal to come home to but the beef doesn't have  that caramelized , textured  quality an oven cooked stew would have. Ms. Moskin prefers an oven over a stove top any day. Bake it at 300 degrees Farenheit or even lower at 275 degrees. The meat softens while the liquids and aromatics blend into a rich complex sauce.

Funny enough Ms. Moskin doesn't write about what kind of meat to use in her article. It is mentioned in the recipe , though. Home chefs should use well marbled beef stew meat, namely chuck. No other cut will work. She also adds juniper berries is part of the traditional French recipe. Where to get them? Not surprisingly Target and Wal-mart sell the dried variety. You'll only need a dozen along with two bay leaves.As for the wine, a red non -sweet one (Ina Garten's bouef bourguignon calls for  Pinot Noir or a Cote du Rhone.),preferably from the Burgundy province but Chianti can also be used.Let the meat marinate in the wine , juniper berries and bay leaves for at least two hours  and less than a day. The vegetables used are also the ones used in the traditional recipe.It's a blend of carrots, onions and a large starchy potato, preferably an Idaho. More wine is also added, usually half a bottle along with three tablespoons of tomato paste and chicken broth.Many home chefs may be put off at the idea of adding bouquet garni but this is a simple mix of thyme, rosemary, more juniper berries and whole cloves. Orange peel is also in the mix to give the dish a fresh brightness. These are wrapped in a cheesecloth and dropped in. You can also toss in cubed panecetta or ventreche, a kind of French bacon.

This is the best stew recipe out there. It's also a relatively easy one that any home chef can make.Try it and enjoy the delicious meld of flavors form aromatics, to meat to a good Burgundy.