Now that I have an Instant Pot and 2 slow cookers I have been making wonderful braised beef dishes…. in the oven.
There is something magical about a heavy cast iron pot full of beef, slowly cooking in the oven for a few hours (or so).
When it cooks in the oven I can take it out, stir, taste, smell, adjust, add, and put it back in.
Besides, the oven helps warm the kitchen on these cold winter days.
Yes, our brief fling with unseasonable warm weather is over.
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Beef, braised in the oven in dark beer, with onions and mushrooms, makes a hearty, warming winter main course. Serve over mashed potatoes or polenta.
This was a generous 2 servings – there was a bit left for lunch.
- Prep Time: 20 minutes
- Cook Time: 4 hours
- Total Time: 4 hours 20 minutes
- Yield: 2 servings 1x
- Category: Beef
- Method: Braise
Ingredients
- 16oz (480gr) beef, suitable for braising or stewing, cut into cubes, 2″ (5cm)
- 3 tbs flour
- 1/2 tsp celery salt
- 1/2 tsp paprika
- 1 tbs olive oil
- 1 tbs butter
- 1 large onion, sliced
- 2 cloves garlic, minced
- 1 1/2 cups (12oz, 360ml) dark beer
- 1/2 cup (4oz, 120ml) beef broth
- 2 bay leaves
- 1 tsp thyme leaves
- 4oz (120gr) mushrooms, thickly sliced
- 2 tbs cornstarch (maizena) dissolved in 4 tbs water, if needed
Instructions
- Combine flour, salt, and paprika in a shallow bowl.
- Heat oil and butter in an oven-safe pot or Dutch oven over medium heat.
- Add beef pieces to flour mixture, a few at a time, turning to coat.
- Then add beef to pot and brown on all sides. Remove to a plate.
- Continue flouring and browning beef until all are done.
- Add onion to pot and fry until softened.
- Add broth to pot and stir well to thicken and scrape up the browned bits on the bottom.
- Add beer to pot and heat to a simmer.
- Return beef, add bay leaves and thyme.
- Cover, put into the oven and braise, 350F (175C) for 3 1/2 hours, checking occasionally and adding more beef broth or water if it starts to dry out.
- Remove pot from oven, add mushrooms, stir to combine, and return to oven, covered, for 30 minutes longer.
- Remove bay leaves.
- Serve from pot or transfer to serving bowl.
- Note: If you want a thicker sauce, heat pot on the cook top until simmering.
- Add cornstarch mixture, a little at a time, stirring until thick. You may not want all of it.
Notes
You can brown the beef in a skillet and transfer to a casserole if you don’t have a Dutch oven.
Substitute regular salt for the celery salt.
Nutrition
- Serving Size: 1/2 recipe
- Calories: 605
- Sugar: 4.5 g
- Sodium: 321.9 mg
- Fat: 23.5 g
- Saturated Fat: 8.9 g
- Trans Fat: 0.5 g
- Carbohydrates: 33.7 g
- Fiber: 2.7 g
- Protein: 54.9 g
- Cholesterol: 160.3 mg
Keywords: braised beef, beer braised beef
I’m not a plant person.
I tried once, back in the beginning of time.
I had house plants every where: cactus, succulents, pothos, ivy…. ones that were easy.
Some survived.
I remember being told that I needed to talk to them.
So I did.
I told them to grow up or I’d throw them out.
I have not had any plants in the house since we moved to this side of the pond.
However…. Every year or 3 a friend will give me a plant. I do my best to keep it alive for a few months.
This is the latest:
Mine is in the center. It’s a bromiliad.
The other 2 are mon mari’s experimental geraniums.
The best part is that the instructions that came with it said it will only live a few months….. And it only needs a splash of water every week or two.
I keep thinking the red things will open and be flowers but so far, not.
At least I know if it dies before summer it will be natural causes.
It’s an interesting plant – and it is kind of nice to have some green in the house.
Your braised beef recipe is very close to mine. I love these kinds of dishes in the winter. Pure comfort food. 🙂
I haven’t had much luck with plants in this house. In all my previous homes, my plants did really well but in this one, I don’t know what it is, but they just don’t do well at all. I’ve managed to keep two small cactus and a Christmas cactus alive, mostly because I tend to forget to water them and the Christmas cactus actually bloomed this year which was a surprise in itself. I also have a Norfolk Island Pine I picked out of someone’s garbage two Christmas’ ago because I felt sorry for it and it likes the door wall so that was a shock. I had flowers in hanging pots on the porch this year, the name escapes me now and I usually have no trouble with those because they’re outside, but I didn’t want to overwinter the bulbs, so I just pulled the ivy out that seemed to die after the first freeze we had and brought it inside. I trimmed it and planted it and have been watering it when I remember and low and behold, it’s growing! It was an experiment that actually ‘took root’ so who knew? Maybe it will last until I can set it back out in the spring.
I was very happy with how tender the beef was…. I’m getting better at picking out the right cuts here lol. The hubs does the outdoor plants – flowering, kind, and does very well with them. We don’t have windowsills inside – they are all on the outside and our windows are tall and only about 2′ off the floor – just not conducive to indoor plants. Which gives me an excellent excuse not to bother. Good luck with your ivy.