Red Wine Braised Beef served over creamy mashed potatoes is the ultimate winter comfort food.
Served on top of creamy mashed potatoes, Red Wine Braised Beef is the ultimate comfort food!
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Searing the well seasoned meat in my Anolon Braising pan
Cooking the aromatics.
Comfort Food at its best
Even though we have lived in South Florida for almost 38 years, where winters are warm and sunny, I try to cook seasonally. That means occasionally serving winter braises, roasts and soups on those rare days when the temperature dips way down into the 60’s along with the humidity. I know that sounds laughable. But when you are used to 80 and 90 degree temps, the 60’s are really cold.
Everyone’s in the pool. It’s time to just let the stove do its thing.
Cover the braiser and cook for a couple of hours turning the meat every half hour, until it’s tender.
How it’s done
Last week we had a couple of those chilly days and I couldn’t wait to get to braising a gorgeous piece of chuck that I bought at Costco. After seasoning the meat liberally with salt and pepper I seared it to a deep brown in my bright red Anolon Vesta 5-quart Enamel Cast Iron Braiser.(Affiliate Link). Once it was nicely seared on both sides I removed the meat and added my aromatics of garlic, onion, carrots and leeks to the olive oil in the pan. After making sure the vegetables were softened I added the meat back to the pan, poured in a bottle of Cabernet Sauvignon and enough beef stock to just about cover the meat. Then I covered the pot and let the heat do its thing for a couple of hours. I served the Red Wine Braised Beef over creamy mashed potatoes to soak up all the yummy gravy, but you could also use some good crusty bread. The meat was so tender and luscious that Steve and I devoured every morsel in our bowls.
The finished Red Wine Braised Beef is ready to serve.
The Recipe
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Red Wine Braised Beef
A luscious braised beef with rich flavor and fall apart tender meat. The ultimate winter comfort food!
- Total Time: 0 hours
- Yield: 4 servings 1x
Ingredients
One (2 1/2-to 3-pound) boneless chuck roast, well marbled with fat
Kosher salt
Freshly ground black pepper
3 tablespoons olive oil
1 large onion thinly sliced
5–6 large carrots, cut into thick chunks
2 leeks, halved lengthwise, well washed and sliced into thick half moons
3 tablespoons cold butter
4–5 large garlic cloves, peeled
2 to 3 bay leaves
2 tablespoons Italian herb blend
3 bottle dry red wine, such as Cabernet Sauvignon
2 to 4 cups store bought or homemade beef stock, to cover
6–8-ounces sliced mushrooms
1–2 tablespoons flat-leaf Italian parsley, chopped for garnish
Creamy mashed potatoes or crusty bread for serving
Instructions
1. Pat the beef dry and season liberally with salt and pepper on both sides.
2. In a large Braiser (Affiliate Link) or Dutch oven (Affiliate Link) heat the olive oil over medium-high heat. Add the meat and sear on each side until a deep brown crust develops, about 5 minutes per side. Remove the meat from the pot and reduce the heat to medium-low.
3. Toss the onion, carrot, and leeks into the pot, season with salt and pepper along with half of the butter and cook, stirring occasionally, until the vegetables are soft and translucent, about 8 to 10 minutes.
4. Return the meat to the Braiser/Dutch oven on top of the vegetables. Add the garlic cloves, dried herbs and bay leaves. Then pour in the wine and season with salt and pepper. Increase the heat to medium-high, bring the wine to a boil, and let it cook for about 5 minutes.
5. Pour in the enough of the beef stock to cover the meat or almost cover it. Bring the liquid back to a boil and cover with a tight-fitting lid. Reduce the heat and let simmer gently, turning the beef every half hour, until the beef is very tender, 2 1/2 to 3 hours. You can slide the braised beef into an oven preheated to 320°F for the same amount of time, if you prefer.
6. Transfer the meat to a cutting board and let it rest while you finish the sauce. Remove and discard the bay leaves. Remove most of the carrots leaving a few chunks for flavoring the sauce.
7. Using an immersion blender, blend the vegetables and liquid until smooth. If you don’t have and immersion blender, you can carefully transfer the hot liquid and its contents to a blender, blend until smooth, then return to the pot.
8. Add the mushrooms to the pot. Reduce the sauce over medium heat, uncovered, until slightly thickened, about 30 minutes. Add in the remaining butter and stir until the sauce until glossy. Taste for seasoning, adding salt and pepper if needed.
9. Cut the meat into slices or chunks and return to the sauce to heat through.
10. Sprinkle with parsley and serve immediately.
Notes
This dish is delicious served over creamy mashed potatoes or with good crusty bread (Or both!). I highly recommend serving the Red Wine Braised Beef in bowls so you can enjoy all of the luscious gravy.
To make ahead you could let cool and refrigerate overnight or for up to 3 days. Before serving, skim any fat from the surface, bring it back to a simmer on the stovetop, and reheat, uncovered, for about 20 minutes.
- Prep Time: 30 minutes
- Cook Time: 2.5-3 hours
- Category: Dinner
- Method: Braising
- Cuisine: American
