Braised Beef With Red Wine And Mushrooms
Andrea Potischman
Feb 15, 2024
Braised beef with red wine and mushrooms is a quintessential dish for winter. Rich, tender beef, slowly braised in a decadent red wine sauce that melts in your mouth. This comfort dish oozes cozy vibes on a blistery weekend night. Although this dish takes time to yield the out-of-this-world results, it requires minimal prep making it a go-to for cooks and non-cooks alike.
What Is Braising?
Braising (from the French word “braiser”), is a combination cooking method that begins with pan searing followed by slow cooking in a liquid, often in a Dutch oven, until the ingredients become tender. A successful braise alters both the protein being cooked and the cooking liquid, typically wine and stock, into something harmonious and transformative. Braised beef with red wine is the ultimate comfort food, like a hug in a bowl, due to the decadent flavoring agents that both tenderize, moist, and enhance the beef flavor.
Best Meats for Braising
In terms of the best braising meats, tougher cuts actually braise the best. It would be a waste of money to braise pricier cuts that benefit from quick-cooking. When braising, the combination of a low oven temperature and moist heat turns the chewy sinews, muscles, and connective tissue in cheaper meat into rich, broth and yields a very tender meat. Some great cuts to braise are beef short ribs and chuck, pork shoulder and butt, lamb shoulder, and shanks, as well as both chicken thighs and legs (with the skin on).
Slow Braise vs. Quick Braise
For braising, the cooking time will always depend on the protein being cooked. For tougher cuts of meat, typically you braise for two to three hours at a simmer which is optimal to allow the collagen to soften nicely. That said, braising doesn’t have to take all day. Depending on the protein or vegetable being braised, a quick braise can work well if you use a pressure cooker or Instant Pot that can braise much faster than an oven. Here the tenderness of the meat will be only slightly different than slow oven braise. And the liquid may not reduce as well, but you can easily remedy that by reducing the cooking liquid stovetop before serving.
Truth be told, all cooking is transformational, but few techniques do more to alter the flavor and texture of that being cooked than braising. This classic cooking technique requires little but delivers big. Some iconic braised dishes include dishes many countries have versions of: pot roast and beef stew, which loved for being simple and flavorful, making them ideal for easy-to-prepare family dinners in the winter or otherwise. I love to serve this beef dish with buttery broad egg noodles, but classic mashed potatoes or a simple celeriac puree work just as well.
Braised Beef With Red Wine And Mushrooms
Ingredients:
- One (5-pound) beef chuck roast, trimmed, cut into eight, (3-4-inch) pieces
- 2 tablespoons Extra virgin olive oil
- 1 tablespoon kosher salt
- 1 medium-sized yellow onion, finely diced
- 3 large carrots, peeled and finely diced
- 6 garlic cloves, minced
- 3 tablespoons tomato paste
- 3 tablespoons all-purpose flour
- 3 cups red wine, such as a Pinot Noir
- 1 pound crimini mushrooms, quartered
- 3 sprigs of fresh thyme, plus more for garnish
- Fresh ground black pepper, to taste
- One (12-ounce) package of egg noodles, cooked per package instructions
Directions:
- Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Pat dry meat and generously salt and pepper all sides and set near your workstation.
- In a large Dutch oven, over medium-high heat. Add the olive oil and when hot, but not smoking, add the beef and brown all sides, about 1-2 minutes per side. Place the meat on a plate and set aside.
- Reduce the heat to medium-low and add the onions and carrots. Sauté until tender, about 5 minutes. Add the garlic and cook for 2 more minutes until fragrant. Stir in the tomato paste. Sprinkle the mixture with the flour and stir well until blended. Slowly stir in the wine, scraping the bottom of the pan to get up all the bits of seared beef, and add the mushrooms.
- Place the meat back in the pan in a single layer. Place the thyme on top of the meat and bring to a boil. Cover and place in preheated oven. Cook the beef for about 2 1/2 hours until very tender. Serve with warm buttered egg noodles.
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