Red wine beef stew with potato gratin | Bibbyskitchen recipes (2024)

FAQs

What does adding red wine to stew do? ›

The "secret" is the acid from the red wine. It helps to break down the collagen, naturally tenderizing the meat and releasing great flavor! The longer you can marinate the better but a minimum of 3 hours is essential.

Beef stew wine pairings

The dark fruit and rich tannin notes of full-bodied red wines stand up to the strong taste of the beef stew. Malbec and Cabernet Sauvignon are terrific with beef's earthy taste. Punchy and peppery French Bordeaux and Syrah also balance nicely with strong flavours.

If the recipe suggests using a large amount of wine to cook, generally you will still need other ingredients such as stock, light cream, or tomato paste to balance out the flavor of the food.

Ale makes for a heartier stew than does wine, one that's more suited to its original chilly terroir and one that's welcome here while we wait for spring to show up. At its most traditional, the carbonnade pairs beef with slow-cooked, caramelized onions.

Beef Stew with Red Wine. Beef Stew with Red Wine is a slow simmered stew that has tender chunks of beef and vegetables in a savory red wine and beef sauce. This recipe calls for an entire 750 ml bottle of red wine that cooks down and concentrates into the most delicious flavor!

Old unrefrigerated and used red wine is as fine for cooking as it is for drinking. As long as the wine has a stopper in it, no worries. Even without a stopper, as long as very little oxygen gets to it, it's fine.

Best red wine for cooking beef - Merlot

Red wine and beef are a match made in heaven. While most medium-dry red wine varietals work well in beef dishes; a Merlot, with its medium tannins and moderate body is an excellent choice.

According to the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA), baked or simmered dishes that contain alcohol will retain 40% of the original amount after 15 minutes of cooking, 35% after 30 minutes and 25% after an hour. But there's no point at which all of the alcohol disappears.

Washington Cabernet Sauvignon blends.

Yes, you can pair your stew with straight Cabernet, but sometimes blends are more fun. In Washington, winemakers are known for blending the three red grapes that grow best there: Cabernet, Merlot and Syrah, all of which pair nicely with beef stew.

The vinegar will loosen all the brown bits from the bottom of the pan and add flavor. Cook until the vegetables are softened, then add the tomato paste and cook for a minute more. Add the beef back into the pan and sprinkle with the flour. Stir until the flour is dissolved.

How do you thicken red wine stew? ›

Whisk a teaspoon of flour in a little cold water to make a slurry, then stir into the stew as it's cooking. Don't add dry flour directly to the stew as it may clump. After adding the slurry, bring the stew to boil. This will cook out the flour taste and allow the starch to swell.

Mushrooms can work wonders to enhance the taste of red wine due to their umami-rich flavor. The earthier the mushrooms, the better the effect. If your wine's specific problem is a sandpapery mouthfeel, try adding red meat, as the fat and protein both help to neutralize rough tannins.

I almost always add some beef bouillon crystals to my stew, it helps oomph (yes, a technical term) the beefiness of the stock. Sometimes also use a few shots of worcestershire sauce or soy sauce - both will also add some oomph to the flavor.

Go for the chuck

The most common beef used for stew is chuck steak, also known as gravy beef or braising steak. Beef chuck comes from the forequarter of the animal consisting of parts of the neck, shoulder blade and upper arm. It is easy to find and it's affordable, making it a great choice for your stew.

Plus, like high heat or salt, alcohol breaks down proteins in meat, a process known as “denaturing.” So the wine in your marinade helps tenderize the beef. It also helps add some extra flavor. That's because when you cook with wine—or any spirit—it doesn't all disappear.

Wine is basically an acid ingredient (which helps tenderize the outside of the meat) and it has a lot of flavor. The wine-based marinade helps keep meat, poultry, or seafood moist while it cooks, too.

Wine can add great depth of flavor to beef stew, and we've deglazed the pan with a big glug of red wine after sauting the vegetables in the past (and you can too if you want!) but you can still get wonderful flavor without it.