Did you hear the one about the mushroom that walked into the bar? Yeah. The bartender looks at him and says, “We don’t serve your kind here.”
And the mushroom looks at the bartender and says, “Why not? I’m a fun guy!”
Man, do I ever love that joke.
And man, do I ever love this stew, which is chock full of another thing I love: mushrooms, baby. Mushrooms.
Start with stew meat, usually sirloin, and usually sold already cut into cubes and labeled “Stew Meat.”
I love it when life just makes sense.
You’ll also need lots and lots of mushrooms. I like these lovely little brown numbers, which are sometimes called cremini…but are sometimes called baby portabellos.
Did you know cremini and baby portobellos are the same?
I love it when things fall into place.
I also happen to love mushrooms.
As in, love. As in, sometimes I have daydreams about them.
Oh, and you want to know something else? I rinse mushrooms. Yeah. It’s true. I rinse my chicken, I rinse my pork, and for the life of me I will never be able to wipe a mushroom with a damp cloth and feel like they’re clean enough to eat.
I’m Pioneer Woman. And I rinse mushrooms in a colander.
And I don’t care who knows it!
Shallots. I rarely have them, but when I do I love them.
You can use onions instead. But try shallots sometime! The flavor is so deep. So wonderful.
Just peel the outer layer of paper/skin from the shallots. Most are the light purple shade (left), but some are white like onions (right.)
Then dice them up pretty finely.
I wanted some garlic, too. And when I want garlic, I get garlic.
I get garlic, or things get broken.
And this is but one of 3,675 reasons I’m glad Pam came into my life. Peel the clove, then slice the clove…
Then *whack*—smash each slice with the side of the knife.
It moves so fast, and…before you…know it…you’re surrounded by perfectly minced garlic.
Throw the meat into a bowl…
And sprinkle on some flour.
Toss the meat a little so it all has a nice, light coating of flour.
Throw some butter in a heavy dutch oven or pot over high heat. High, because we want to sear the stew meat and get a little color on the outside.
Pour in a little olive oil, too.
When it’s very hot, throw in the meat. Do a couple of batches so the meat won’t be crammed in there. You want it to be in a single layer.
Let it sit without stirring on the first side for several seconds, then flip the meat over to the other side to get it nice and brown.
Remove the meat to a plate while you do the other batch. Remove it from the pan when it’s done.
Look at the bottom of that pan! Gorgeous. Now throw in the shallots (or onions) and garlic.
But you might want to remember to turn down the heat first, or things will start to turn black really quick.
Oops.
Now throw in the mushrooms.
And stir them around for a couple of minutes to coat them with yummy stuff and start the cooking process.
Now pour in about 1/3 to 1/2 cup red wine.
It makes everything good.
Grab a can of beef consomme, which can be found right near the beef broth in the soup aisle. I use beef consomme in my beef brisket recipe, so I always have a can handy. But you can certainly substitute broth if you’d like.
Generally speaking, consomme is a little richer than broth. Also, it’s slightly more gelatinous than broth…and it’s perfectly clear. I’m a consomme freakazoid. I love the stuff, and use it in a lot of beef dishes.
Pour in about half the can (save the other half in a clean container in the fridge), and add an equal amount of water.
Seriously, I could just slurp this up right now and be as happy as a clam.
Bring it to a rolling boil, adding in some salt…
And plenty of freshly ground black pepper.
When the mushrooms are nice and bubbly…
Dump in all the meat (and the juice, too!)
Stir to combine.
Throw in a couple of sprigs of thyme…or rosemary…or both!
Then turn the heat to a simmer, cover the pot, and walk away, baby! It’s best that way. Cook it for at least 30 minutes.
After about 30 minutes, mix about 2 tablespoons of flour with twice that amount of water and pour it into the pot to thicken the mix a little. Let it cook another ten minutes to thicken.
And here’s a tip: Let the stew sit for awhile before serving. The meat just gets more and more tender. Yum!
To serve, I broke some fettuccine noodles in half and put them to work! Egg noodles are good, as are a big bunch of mashed potatoes.
And spoon the magic—sauce and all—over the top of the noodles.
Oh dear. Check it out.
Delicious!
I love you, Beef Stew with Mushrooms. I love you for who you are, and I’m so glad you’re not fiddling around with carrots and potatoes and all that nonsense, and that I can just enjoy you in your stripped-down glory.
A little fresh parsley never hurt anyone—sprinkle it on!
Enjoy this warm, hearty, winter-friendly stew…it’s just divine.
Lots of Love,
Pioneer Woman
Here’s the printable:
