Good beef stew can be one of the most homey and comforting dishes to enjoy on a chilly winter night. But making good beef stew can be a challenge. Somehow, it seems no matter what you do, the stew tastes pretty much the same. Like beef, carrots and brown gravy. This recipe solves that issue. A bottle of inexpensive rich, tangy balsamic vinegar adds such snap to the finished product that it seems like a very complicated, many-ingredient dish with lengthy preparation and complicated technique. The end result is hearty, sweet and flavorful – the perfect beef stew with a little twist.
Don’t worry about the balsamic – this calls for the supermarket salad dressing aisle inexpensive variety, not the gourmet shop aged expensive stuff. I use pre-cut beef labeled “trim cut”, but you can trim your own, which can be more cost effective. Frozen pearl onions make this stew extra easy, but feel free to peel fresh ones. You could also use peeled shallots or cipolline onions if you find them. There is the added bonus that this stew makes the house smell fantastic while cooking.
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this sounds amazing! got the grocery list ready. yum.
I usually cook beef stew with carrots but marinated in red wine and it’s not easily digestible for some of my friends. To replace wine with balsamic vinegar should be an interesting experiment!