Beef Stew with Wine, Carrots and Glazed Onions – Mais Oui!

I hope that this drop-dead delicious stew, which uses your homemade brown sauce,  will become a favorite at your house as it is at ours. Choose a high-quality piece of beef–I use chuck or rump roast. I like to make this for my husband’s December birthday and serve it along with some potatoes, a green salad with a vinaigrette dressing and a crispy baguette. It is worth every minute of work for the result–sheer French perfection in taste.

Marinade

1 Tbsp salt

1 tsp freshly ground pepper

3 garlic cloves, chopped

1 1/2 Tbsp choppedfresh  parsley or 1 Tbsp dried

1/2 cup brandy or cognac

Stew

3 lbs of chuck or rump roast

Ghee or clarified butter

1 medium onion, chopped

3 large shallots, finely chopped

1/12/ cups white wine

1 1/2 cups brown sauce 

1 bay leaf

1/2 tsp thyme

1 1/2 lbs carrots, scraped and cut into 1-inch pieces

Glazed onions (recipe below)

1. Sprinkle salt and pepper on the meat then rub in garlic and parsley. Place in a glass bowl. Add the brandy/cognac and place in refrigerator, turning occasionally over the next 2-3 hours. 
2. Dry the meat using paper towels and heat ghee/clarified butter in a dutch oven. Brown the  meat evenly on all sides.
3. Remove browned meat from dutch oven and set aside. Add chopped onions and shallots and stir until golden. Add wine, brown sauce, marinade, bay leaf, and thyme. Add meat. Bring to a boil, cover tightly with aluminum foil and place in 325 degree oven for 4 hours.
4. Add the carrots an hour before the meat is done.
5. To make glazed onions: 2 cups pearl onions, 3 Tbsp butter, water, 1 tsp sugar, salt and pepper. Parboil the onions for several minutes then drain and peel. (Note: To make peeling these tiny onions easier, using a paring knife, remove the bottoms of the onions, where the roots are and parboil. Remove from boiling water and plunge into cold water bath with ice. Squeeze onion from its jacket from the top.)
6. Melt butter in saute pan and add onions to cover bottom of pan. Over low heat, cook the onions, shaking the pan frequently, until the onions are golden.
7. Almost cover the onions with water and season with sugar, salt and pepper.
8. Simmer uncovered until all the liquid is gone and the onions are golden brown and glazed.
9. Add glazed onions to beef stew 5 minutes before the stew is done.Serve stew with potatoes or buttered noodles.

I think you’ll really enjoy this recipe. It is one of my most treasured and favorites and will make your dinner a HUGE success!

Thanks for reading!

Cooky