Name: Old-Fashioned Beef Stew (The First Frost Stew, Meat Browned First)
Prep time: 25 min
Cook time: 2 h 40 min
Total time: 3 h 15 min
Yield: 8 servings
Cuisine: American
Ingredients: 3 pounds boneless beef chuck (1.35kg), cut into 2-inch pieces; 1 1/2 teaspoons fine salt, plus more to taste; 1 teaspoon black pepper; 1/3 cup all-purpose flour; 3 tablespoons vegetable oil (45ml), plus more if needed; 1 large yellow onion, chopped; 3 cloves garlic, chopped; 2 tablespoons tomato paste; 4 cups beef broth; 1 bay leaf; 1 teaspoon dried thyme; 4 medium carrots (about 1 pound, 450g), peeled and cut into 1 1/2 inch chunks; 1 1/2 pounds potatoes (680g), Yukon gold or russet, peeled and cut into 1 1/2 inch chunks; Sliced bread and soft butter, for the table

In this article

Why this beef stew works
Ingredients
How to make beef stew
Tips that make the difference
Variations
Storage and make-ahead
Frequently asked questions

The first frost is not a date. It is a morning when the grass is white and the windshield needs scraping, and in our house it meant beef stew for supper. My mother made it every year on that night: big pieces of chuck, carrots, potatoes and onion in a gravy so thick it held a spoon up, with bread and butter to clean the bowl.

Her rule was that the flour went on the meat first. Every piece was patted dry, salted, rolled in flour, and browned in the big pot in a little oil, hard, in batches, so each piece had room and went dark on every side. She said the browning was the whole flavor, and that people who dumped everything in raw were making hot water with vegetables in it. The flour on the meat is also what thickens the gravy later.

Then the onion, scraped up with the brown bits, a little tomato paste, broth, a bay leaf, and the lid on but cracked, never sealed, over the lowest heat the stove had. The carrots and potatoes went in for the last 45 minutes, so they cooked through and held their shape. That is the whole recipe, and most of it is waiting.

Why this beef stew works

Flour on the meat before browning. The coating browns into a crust that flavors the pot, then dissolves into the broth to thicken the gravy without any slurry at the end.
Browned hard, in batches. Meat with room in the pot sears dark. Crowded meat steams grey, and grey meat makes thin, flat stew.
The lid cracked. A sealed lid traps steam and the stew boils. A cracked lid keeps the heat gentle and lets the gravy thicken slowly.
Vegetables in for the last 45 minutes. Carrots and potatoes cook through in that time and hold their shape. Put in at the start, they turn to mush.

Ingredients

Serves 8 in deep bowls, with bread. The measurements are in US cups with grams in brackets.

3 pounds boneless beef chuck (1.35kg), cut into 2-inch pieces
1 1/2 teaspoons fine salt, plus more to taste
1 teaspoon black pepper
1/3 cup all-purpose flour (42g)
3 tablespoons vegetable oil (45ml), plus more if needed
1 large yellow onion, chopped
3 cloves garlic, chopped
2 tablespoons tomato paste
4 cups beef broth (960ml)
1 bay leaf
1 teaspoon dried thyme
4 medium carrots (about 1 pound, 450g), peeled and cut into 1 1/2 inch chunks
1 1/2 pounds potatoes (680g), Yukon gold or russet, peeled and cut into 1 1/2 inch chunks
Sliced bread and soft butter, for the table

Buy a chuck roast and cut it yourself; the pieces sold as stew meat are small and uneven and cook dry. Two-inch pieces look too big raw and are right after two hours.

How to make beef stew

Pat the beef dry with paper towels. Season it all over with the salt and pepper, then toss it with the flour in a large bowl until every piece is coated. Shake off the excess.
Heat 2 tablespoons of the oil in a heavy 6 to 8 quart pot over medium-high heat until it shimmers. Add a third of the beef in a single layer with space between the pieces and leave it alone for 3 to 4 minutes, until the underside is dark brown. Turn and brown the other sides, 8 to 10 minutes per batch. Move the meat to a plate and repeat, adding oil as needed.
Turn the heat down to medium. Add the onion and cook for 5 minutes, scraping up the browned bits from the bottom. Add the garlic for 1 minute, then the tomato paste, and stir for 1 to 2 minutes until it darkens.

Flour-coated chunks of beef chuck browned dark on all sides piled on a plate beside the heavy pot where onions cook in the browned bits

Pour in the broth and scrape the bottom of the pot clean. Return the beef and its juices, add the bay leaf and thyme, and bring just to a simmer.
Set the lid on the pot but leave it cracked, pushed to one side so a finger’s width of steam can escape. Turn the heat to the lowest setting that keeps a lazy bubble going and simmer for 1 hour 30 minutes, stirring every 30 minutes. It should never boil.

Add the carrots and potatoes, push them down into the liquid, and put the lid back on, cracked. Simmer for 45 minutes more, until the vegetables are tender and the beef falls apart under a fork. Total time on the stove: about 2 hours 15 minutes.
Fish out the bay leaf and taste for salt and pepper. If the gravy is thin, simmer uncovered for 10 minutes; if too thick, add a splash of hot water. Rest 10 minutes, then serve in deep bowls with bread and butter.

A deep bowl of old-fashioned beef stew, big dark chunks of beef with soft carrots and potatoes in a thick brown gravy, steam rising, buttered bread at the edge

Tips that make the difference

Dry meat browns; wet meat steams. Pat the beef dry before the salt and flour.
Let each piece sit still until it releases on its own. If it sticks, it is not ready to turn.
Watch the heat under the cracked lid. If the stew boils, the meat tightens and goes stringy.
Cut the carrots and potatoes big, 1 1/2 inch chunks. Small pieces dissolve in 45 minutes.

Variations

Over rice or biscuits. In plenty of families the stew went over a scoop of white rice or a split biscuit in the bowl.
With peas. Stir 1 cup frozen peas (150g) into the pot for the last 5 minutes.
In the oven. After step 4, put the pot with its lid cracked in a 300°F oven for 1 hour 30 minutes, add the vegetables, and give it 45 minutes more.
Root vegetables. Replace half the potatoes with parsnips or turnips, cut the same size and added at the same time.

Storage and make-ahead

Beef stew is better the next day. Refrigerate it, covered, for up to 4 days, and reheat gently with a splash of water if the gravy has set too thick.

It freezes well for up to 3 months, though the potatoes soften a little. For a batch headed to the freezer, leave the potatoes out and add them fresh when you reheat it.

For a make-ahead supper, cook the stew through step 5 the day before, then bring it back to a simmer and add the carrots and potatoes for their 45 minutes.

Frequently asked questions

Why do you put flour on the meat before browning?

The flour browns with the meat into a crust that flavors the pot, then dissolves into the broth so the gravy thickens on its own. No cornstarch at the end, and the gravy tastes of the meat, not raw flour.

Do I really have to brown the meat?

Yes. Browning is where most of the flavor comes from. Beef that goes into the liquid raw makes a thin, pale stew that tastes like boiled meat. Brown it hard, in batches, with room in the pot.

When do the carrots and potatoes go in?

After the beef has simmered for 1 hour 30 minutes, for the last 45 minutes. Cut into 1 1/2 inch chunks, they come out tender and whole. Put in with the meat, they fall apart.

Why is the lid cracked instead of on tight?

A sealed lid pushes the stew to a boil, which makes the beef tough and stringy. With the lid pushed to one side, the heat stays gentle and the gravy thickens slowly until it holds a spoon up.

Flour the meat, brown it hard, crack the lid, and hold the carrots and potatoes back until the last 45 minutes. It is the stew for the night the grass turns white.

Recipe