Delicious cubes of beef, braised in red wine and flavoured with cranberries. A great use for left over cranberry sauce (or quickly make some from fresh cranberries!)
Homemade Cranberry Sauce (or use left over cranberry sauce):
1 /2cupwater
1/2cupwhite granulated sugar
2cupsfresh or frozen cranberries
For the stew:
3TablespoonsCooking oil, divided
2lbsstewing beef cubes
2smallonions, thinly sliced
1 1/4cupsred wine
1 1/4cupsbeef or chicken broth
1/4cupcranberry sauce
2teaspoonsfresh thyme leaves, or 1/2 tsp. dried thyme leaves
1/2cupcranberry sauce
2teaspoonscornstarch, for thickening, if necessary
Fresh chopped parsley, for garnish
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Instructions
For the cranberry sauce (if not making your own): Combine all ingredients in a medium saucepan and stir well. Bring to a boil over medium-high heat, stirring regularly, then reduce heat to medium-low and cook, stirring occasionally, until most but not all of the cranberries have burst and the sauce has thickened. Remove to a bowl. Cover and refrigerate if not using immediately. (Left-overs can also be frozen).
For the stew: cut the stewing beef in to 1-inch chunks if not already that small. In a large, heavy-bottomed pot or Dutch oven, heat 1 Tbsp. oil over medium heat. Add 1/2 of the beef cubes. Cook, stirring, until evenly browned on all sides. Remove to a plate. Add another 1 Tbsp. oil to the pan and the remaining beef cubes. Cook until browned and remove to the plate.
Heat 1 Tbsp. oil in same pan. Add the onions and cook, stirring regularly until golden. Return the beef to the pan. Add the wine, stock and 1/4 cup of cranberry sauce. Bring to a boil, stirring well with a wooden spoon to scrape up the browned bits from the bottom of the pan. Add a generous sprinkling of salt and pepper. Cover, reduce heat to medium-low and cook covered at a gentle simmer for 1 1/2 hours.
Remove the cover at 1 1/2 hours and check that the meat is tender (if not, cover and cook a bit longer). If so, add a further 1/2 cup of cranberry sauce. Stir to combine. Taste and add more salt and pepper, if needed. If the cranberry taste seems too subtle, add a bit more and stir in. Cranberry taste should be present, but not over-powering the beef. Simmer for a further 5 minutes. If sauce needs thickening, spoon out 3 Tbsp. of the stew broth and combine with 2 tsp. cornstarch. Add mixture a bit at a time back in to stew and cook, stirring, until sauce reaches desired thickness.
Serve with a sprinkling of chopped fresh parsley. Especially nice over mashed potatoes. If desired, flavour mashed potatoes with a few teaspoons of horseradish for a lovely complement to the stew.
Notes
Be sure to read the notes above this Recipe Card, for more tips, options, substitutions and variations for this recipe!