I'm a Costco member and thus I get the Costco Connections magazine. The February 2011 "creative cooking" section featured Chef Bruce Aidells, the same guy who produces the various sausages I've grown to love. As a beef stew was the primary of the presented recipes, I had to give it a spin. A dude that makes sausage I'll eat has to have one kick-ass recipe for beef stew, right?
Intending to prepare the stew exactly as the recipe specified, I shopped like crazy for coppa only to find that it is not readily available as "coppa" in the Costa Mesa area. Butchers at The Meat House, Ralph's, Stater's, and Promelis Market all scratched their heads. I called Claro's over in Tustin to find that they offer coppa but were at closing time. The guy at Ralph's, after describing what I was looking for, recommended that I use pancetta for the entire quantity of Italian meats as the subtleties would not likely be missed.
Ok, I have a dumb palate, I can roll with that. And, I'd already purchased double the quantity of pancetta called for in the recipe. Done deal.
adapted from Costco Connection Feb 2011
Herb and Paprika Rub for Beef
1 tbsp kosher salt
1 tbsp smoked paprika
2 tsp freshly ground course black pepper
1 tsp dried thyme
1 tbsp fresh rosemary, chopped
3.5 lbs boneless beef chuck roast, cut into 2" pieces
2 tbsp olive oil
1/2 lb pancetta, cut into 1/2" dice
1/2 c flour
2 c chopped onions
1 tbsp garlic, minced
3 c (about 700 mL) California Zinfandel, such as Barefoot
1 14.5-oz can chopped canned Italian-style tomatoes
1 c beef stock or broth
1 bay leaf salt and pepper to taste
Combine all rub ingredients. Toss the mixture with the beef cubes, cover and marinate overnight in the refrigerator.
In batches, brown the meat on all sides over medium-high heat, then transfer it to a platter.
After browning the first batch, I was glad I hadn't reserved the pancetta on paper towel as I needed the fat accumulated in the bowl plus some additional olive oil to finish browning the beef.
Pour off all but 2 tablespoons of the fat from the pot. Or if your pot is bone dry like mine was, return the pancetta to the pot and render additional fat.
1/2 lb pancetta, cut into 1/2" dice
1/2 c flour
2 c chopped onions
1 tbsp garlic, minced
3 c (about 700 mL) California Zinfandel, such as Barefoot
1 14.5-oz can chopped canned Italian-style tomatoes
1 c beef stock or broth
1 bay leaf salt and pepper to taste
Combine all rub ingredients. Toss the mixture with the beef cubes, cover and marinate overnight in the refrigerator.
Toss the seasoned beef with the flour in a large dish, shaking off excess flour.
Preheat the oven to 325°F. In a large Dutch oven, heat olive oil over medium heat.
Cook the pancetta until the fat is rendered and pancetta is golden, about 5 minutes, stirring often. Remove the pancetta with a slotted spoon;drain on paper towel place in a small bowl.
I stuck with the 5 minute rendering time, but turns out I could've/should've gone up to possibly 10. And it was sheer luck I didn't place the pancetta on paper towel as I needed more fat later.
Preheat the oven to 325°F. In a large Dutch oven, heat olive oil over medium heat.
Cook the pancetta until the fat is rendered and pancetta is golden, about 5 minutes, stirring often. Remove the pancetta with a slotted spoon;
In batches, brown the meat on all sides over medium-high heat, then transfer it to a platter.
After browning the first batch, I was glad I hadn't reserved the pancetta on paper towel as I needed the fat accumulated in the bowl plus some additional olive oil to finish browning the beef.
Pour off all but 2 tablespoons of the fat from the pot. Or if your pot is bone dry like mine was, return the pancetta to the pot and render additional fat.
Quite a bit more fat came off.
Add the onions and garlic, reduce heat to medium and cover pot. Cook and stir until onions are soft and beginning to color, about 5 minutes. Scrape up any browned bits from the pot.
Add the wine to the pot and bring to a boil; scrape up any more browned bits from the bottom of the pot.
Return the beef and pancetta to the pot along with the tomatoes, beef stock and bay leaf. Bring to a simmer, stirring well.
Cover the pot, put the stew in the oven and bake until the beef is fork-tender, about 2-2.5 hours. Remove from the pot from oven.
Mine was in the oven 2 hours.
The original recipe says to degrease the stew and taste it and reduce it if necessary. I skipped all that and simply stirred it. Then I covered it, allowed it to stand for an hour while I roasted my side dish, and took another look at it to determine if it was indeed fork-tender.
Add the onions and garlic, reduce heat to medium and cover pot. Cook and stir until onions are soft and beginning to color, about 5 minutes. Scrape up any browned bits from the pot.
Add the wine to the pot and bring to a boil; scrape up any more browned bits from the bottom of the pot.
Return the beef and pancetta to the pot along with the tomatoes, beef stock and bay leaf. Bring to a simmer, stirring well.
Cover the pot, put the stew in the oven and bake until the beef is fork-tender, about 2-2.5 hours. Remove from the pot from oven.
Mine was in the oven 2 hours.
The original recipe says to degrease the stew and taste it and reduce it if necessary. I skipped all that and simply stirred it. Then I covered it, allowed it to stand for an hour while I roasted my side dish, and took another look at it to determine if it was indeed fork-tender.
Yep, I'd say that's fork-tender as this hunk came off easily from a beef cube.
I plated the beef stew with roast vegetables on the side before poking a beef cube with my fork. And then, with my fork, I cut a portion of the beef from the cube and tasted.
California Beef Stew with Zinfandel is easily, I mean no two-ways about it, hands-down, the best beef stew I've ever had in my life. I can't believe I made it here in my kitchen. Stunned. Speechless. It's magical beef!
First of all, it's easy. Dry-rub some beef, throw it in the fridge, do some simple mise en place, do some cooking for a few minutes, throw it in the oven, and blammo, a couple hours later, a stew worthy of making a bathtub full in order to do some open-mouthed head-under-water bathing. Again, this is the best beef stew I've ever experienced in LIFE!
Second of all, the recipe is tip-top, allowing for deviation. Coppa? What's that? Who cares?! Degrease? Not necessary! Reducing and adding salt or pepper? Uh, what for, the flavors were fantastic! Even while cooking, the smells translated into succulent flavors causing my tongue to do it's damndest to reach my nostrils in order to have a taste of what my nose was smellin'. Previous beef stew experience incorporating wine resulted in a near-headache on my part. This time, I was ready to lap up the beefy wine as it was boiling in hopes for an off-chance with a piece of beef.
I'm tellin' ya, it's that good! You'll even put your grandma in a full nelson if she gets between you and this stew.
Cost:
This is so good, it's worthy of doing it even when none of the items are on sale. At times like this, I look back toward the beginning of this blog and am amazed at the flavors I've produced in my kitchen and am astounded by how I used to think this beef stew was good enough to have repeatedly. It's really true that the more you learn you realize how little you know.
Click for the printable
I plated the beef stew with roast vegetables on the side before poking a beef cube with my fork. And then, with my fork, I cut a portion of the beef from the cube and tasted.
California Beef Stew with Zinfandel is easily, I mean no two-ways about it, hands-down, the best beef stew I've ever had in my life. I can't believe I made it here in my kitchen. Stunned. Speechless. It's magical beef!
First of all, it's easy. Dry-rub some beef, throw it in the fridge, do some simple mise en place, do some cooking for a few minutes, throw it in the oven, and blammo, a couple hours later, a stew worthy of making a bathtub full in order to do some open-mouthed head-under-water bathing. Again, this is the best beef stew I've ever experienced in LIFE!
Second of all, the recipe is tip-top, allowing for deviation. Coppa? What's that? Who cares?! Degrease? Not necessary! Reducing and adding salt or pepper? Uh, what for, the flavors were fantastic! Even while cooking, the smells translated into succulent flavors causing my tongue to do it's damndest to reach my nostrils in order to have a taste of what my nose was smellin'. Previous beef stew experience incorporating wine resulted in a near-headache on my part. This time, I was ready to lap up the beefy wine as it was boiling in hopes for an off-chance with a piece of beef.
I'm tellin' ya, it's that good! You'll even put your grandma in a full nelson if she gets between you and this stew.
Cost:
- rub: $1
- chuck roast: $10.47
- pancetta: $6.21
- onion: $0.40
- garlic: $0.35
- CA Zinfandel: $5.99
- Italian-style tomatoes: $0.88
- beef stock: $0.16
This is so good, it's worthy of doing it even when none of the items are on sale. At times like this, I look back toward the beginning of this blog and am amazed at the flavors I've produced in my kitchen and am astounded by how I used to think this beef stew was good enough to have repeatedly. It's really true that the more you learn you realize how little you know.
Click for the printable
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