Stracotto Italian Beef Stew Recipes

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 180 degrees celsius.
• In a saucepan over high heat boil the red wine for 15 minutes. Set aside.
• Season the beef with salt and pepper.
• In a casserole dish over high heat brown the beef in the olive oil.
• Add red wine, stock and remaining ingredients.
• Bring to a simmer, then cover and place in the oven.
• Turn the heat down to 160 degrees celsius and cook for 2 hours.
• Take beef and pork out of the pan and set aside.
• Strain liquid into a bowl and cool slightly.
• Discard herbs. Place carrot, celery and garlic in a blender and puree until smooth, adding enough of the reserved liquid to make a smooth sauce. Return to the pan with the beef.
• Return the pan to the oven for a further 45 minutes or until the meat has fallen apart into the sauce.

Steps:

• Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.
• Pat the beef dry with paper towels and season with salt and pepper. In a heavy 6-quart pot or Dutch oven, heat 2 tablespoons of oil over medium-high heat. Add the beef and cook until browned on all sides, about 12 minutes. Remove the beef and set aside.
• Reduce the heat to medium. Add the remaining oil and the onions. Cook, stirring frequently, until tender, about 8 minutes. Add the garlic and cook for 1 minute until aromatic. Add the wine and scrape up the brown bits that cling to the bottom of the pan with a wooden spoon. Stir in the broth and mushrooms. Return the beef to the pot and bring the liquid to a boil. Cover the pot and transfer to the oven. Cook until the beef is fork-tender, about 3 hours, turning the beef over halfway through and adding more beef broth, as needed.
• Transfer the beef to a cutting board. Tent with foil and let stand for 15 minutes. Meanwhile, spoon any excess fat off the top of the pan juices. Using an immersion blender, blend the pan juices and vegetables until smooth. Add the rosemary and thyme. Bring to sauce to a simmer and simmer for 5 minutes. Season with salt and pepper, to taste.
• Cut the beef into 1-inch pieces and place on a platter. Spoon some of the sauce over the meat and serve the remaining sauce on the side.

Steps:

• Heat olive oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat. Cook beef in batches in hot oil until browned completely, about 5 minutes per batch. Remove browned beef cubes to a plate lined with paper towels, keeping skillet over heat and retaining the beef drippings.
• Cook and stir onion, celery, and carrots in the retained beef drippings until just softened, 2 to 3 minutes. Stir mushrooms and garlic into the onion mixture.
• Pour red wine into the pan; bring to a boil while scraping the browned bits of food off the bottom of the pan with a wooden spoon. Continue cooking the mixture until the wine evaporates, 7 to 10 minutes. Stir tomatoes into the mixture.
• Return beef to skillet with potatoes, basil, thyme, marjoram, and sage. Pour beef stock and tomato sauce over the mixture. Bring the liquid to a simmer.
• Reduce heat to low and simmer until the beef is very tender and the sauce is thick, 4 to 6 hours.

Steps:

• Cut the garlic into thin slivers. Pierce the meat in many places with the point of a knife and insert the garlic slivers into the holes.
• Heat 2 tablespoons of the oil in a heavy 3- to 4-quart heatproof casserole. Add the meat and brown it well over medium heat. Remove it from the casserole. Add the remaining oil and the onions, carrots and celery. Saute them until moderately brown.
• Stir in the wine and cook for a few minutes, scraping the casserole. Add the tomatoes, tomato paste and basil. Season the mixture with salt and pepper and return the meat to the casserole.
• Cover tightly and cook over very low heat for at least three hours, until the meat is very tender. Turn the meat a few times during cooking.
• Remove the meat from the casserole. To serve immediately, skim the fat from the surface of the sauce, then puree the sauce in a food processor and reheat. Otherwise, refrigerate the meat and sauce overnight. Remove any congealed fat from the sauce and puree the sauce in a food processor. Reheat the meat in the sauce before serving.