Classic Beef Chuck Roast Stew

Full autumn now — the maple on East Broadway has gone orange and the air smells like woodsmoke and that particular September-in-Boston quality I'll stand by against any other city's autumn forever. I wore a real jacket Tuesday for the first time since April and felt the satisfaction of a person who has been waiting for this weather since June.

Wedding planning moved into gear this week. We confirmed the date with Father Murphy at St. Brigid's — June 10th, 2017, a Saturday — and I put a deposit on Florian Gardens because Maureen knows the owner and negotiated a price that made me want to hug her. Sean D. has agreed to the budget, which in practice means he's agreed to the number I wrote on a piece of paper and trusts me to manage the rest. Division of labor I can live with.

Good week on the floor. My patient Richie — sixty-eight, retired plumber from Malden, two rounds of chemo, disposition of a man who has decided the appropriate response to difficulty is jokes — told me I was his favorite nurse but he was also saying that to the other nurses, so I shouldn't get a big head. I told him I'd heard worse. He laughed, then made a face because laughing pulled at the incision. I adjusted his pillow and we agreed the Red Sox were probably done for the year.

Saturday I made beef stew — first real stew of fall, with chuck roast and potatoes and carrots and Maureen's trick of a splash of Worcestershire sauce that I only identified after watching her make it sixty times. The trick is the long braise: three hours minimum, until the meat surrenders. I ate it with soda bread and called it the official start of fall cooking. It was.

That Saturday stew didn’t happen by accident — I’d been mentally planning it since the first cool morning in late September, the way you plan a reward. After a week of good but heavy things — contracts signed, budgets agreed to, Richie’s incision and his jokes — I wanted something that just took time and asked nothing back from me except patience. Chuck roast stew is exactly that. You do the work at the front end and then the oven does the rest, and three hours later the whole apartment smells like the thing you’ve been waiting for since June.

Prep Time: 25 minutes | Cook Time: 3 hours 15 minutes | Total Time: 3 hours 40 minutes | Servings: 6

Ingredients

2 1/2 lbs beef chuck roast, cut into 2-inch pieces
1/3 cup all-purpose flour
1 1/2 teaspoons kosher salt, plus more to taste
1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
3 tablespoons olive oil, divided
1 large yellow onion, roughly chopped
4 cloves garlic, minced
2 tablespoons tomato paste
3 cups beef broth (low-sodium)
1 cup water
2 tablespoons Worcestershire sauce
2 bay leaves
1 teaspoon fresh thyme leaves (or 1/2 teaspoon dried)
1 1/2 lbs Yukon Gold potatoes, cut into 1 1/2-inch chunks
3 large carrots, peeled and cut into 1-inch pieces
2 tablespoons fresh flat-leaf parsley, chopped (for serving)

Instructions

Season and dredge the beef. Pat the chuck roast pieces completely dry with paper towels — this is what gets you a proper sear. Toss with flour, salt, and pepper until each piece is lightly coated. Shake off any excess.
Brown the meat in batches. Heat 2 tablespoons of olive oil in a large Dutch oven over medium-high heat until shimmering. Working in two batches to avoid crowding, sear the beef pieces on all sides until deeply browned, about 3–4 minutes per side. Transfer to a plate and set aside. Don’t rush this step — the fond on the bottom of the pot is flavor.
Build the base. Reduce heat to medium and add the remaining tablespoon of oil. Add the onion and cook, stirring occasionally, until softened and translucent, about 5 minutes. Add the garlic and tomato paste and cook another 2 minutes, stirring constantly, until the paste darkens slightly.
Deglaze and add the liquids. Pour in about 1/2 cup of the beef broth and scrape up all the browned bits from the bottom of the pot — every bit counts. Add the remaining broth, water, Worcestershire sauce, bay leaves, and thyme. Stir to combine.
Begin the long braise. Return the seared beef and any accumulated juices to the pot. The liquid should come about three-quarters of the way up the meat. Bring to a gentle boil, then reduce heat to low, cover tightly, and braise for 2 hours and 15 minutes. The meat is not done yet — resist checking too often.
Add the vegetables. Remove the lid and add the potatoes and carrots, nestling them into the stew. Replace the lid and continue braising for another 45–55 minutes, until the potatoes are completely tender and the beef falls apart when pressed with a spoon.
Finish and serve. Remove and discard the bay leaves. Taste and adjust salt and pepper. If the broth feels thin, simmer uncovered for 10 minutes to concentrate it. Ladle into bowls and scatter with fresh parsley. Serve with soda bread or crusty bread for the full effect.

Nutrition (per serving)

Classic Beef Chuck Roast Stew — The One That Makes Fall Official