Interestingly, we received more snow in the month of March this year than we did in January and February combined here in Chicagoland. As a result, I’ve been whipping up more comfort food fare to warm up with this month. I recently made this Balsamic Beef Stew, which is a slight twist on the classic beef stew in which a touch of balsamic vinegar is added just before serving for a nice and complex flavor…
Beef stew is one of those dishes I really enjoy making on chilly days. The slow braising on the stovetop makes for amazing aromas that waft through the house. This was especially easy to make because it involved only browning the beef, throwing in some aromatics and letting time to it’s magic over a low flame. As much as we enjoyed the crockpot version, I tried it out in our Instant Pot with great results! We loved this over creamy mashed potatoes and leftovers were great over rice! If you don’t have an Instant Pot, you can get the slow cooker/crockpot recipe version here!
Balsamic Beef Stew
recipe from Williams Sonoma
recipe from Williams Sonoma
- 3 tablespoons. all-purpose flour or GF flour blend
- 1/2 teaspoon salt, plus more, to taste
- 1/2 teaspoon freshly ground pepper, plus more, to taste
- 2 pounds boneless beef chuck, trimmed and cut into 1 1/2-inch pieces
- 3 tablespoons canola oil
- 1 large red onion, sliced
- 2 cloves garlic, minced
- 2 bay leaves
- 1 cup full-bodied red wine
- 2 cups beef broth
- 2 tablespoons balsamic vinegar
- 1 1/2 cups frozen peas and carrots
In your Instant Pot:
Plug in the IP with insert set in place.
Season the beef with salt and pepper and dregde in flour to coat. Shake off any excess.
Press SAUTE and add the oil into the IP. When hot, add the seasoned & coated beef in batches to the IP in a single layer and brown on all sides. Remove browned beef from IP and transfer to a plate; set aside. Repeat with remaining beef.
After all the beef has been browned and removed from the IP, add the onions and garlic to the IP and sauté until softened, about 5 minutes. Stir in the bay leaves, wine and broth, scraping the bottom and sides to deglaze.
Add the browned meat back into the pot along with any juices from the plate.
Secure the lid of the IP and ensure the valve is set to SEALING.
Press MANUAL and adjust the time to 25 minutes on HIGH pressure.
The display will reflect ON while the IP comes to pressure. Allow a few minutes for your IP to come to pressure.
Once at pressure, the display will reflect 25 (the number of minutes you initially set) and will begin to countdown to 0 minutes.
Once at pressure, the display will reflect 25 (the number of minutes you initially set) and will begin to countdown to 0 minutes.
When the IP beeps after pressure cooking for 25 minutes, allow your IP to naturally release pressure for 10 minutes. While naturally releasing pressure (also known as NPR or NR), the display will reflect numbers counting up from 1. The numbers indicate how many minutes the IP has stopped cooking since it beeped (or how many minutes it has been naturally releasing pressure). No need to touch your IP while it naturally releases pressure. The pin at the top of your IP will drop when all pressure has been released and it’s safe to open.
When the display reflects 10:00 (which is 10 minutes since the IP has beeped) all pressure should have naturally released. If not, turn the setting on top of your IP to VENTING. Doing so allows the IP to quickly release any remaining pressure (also known as QPR or QR). I use a wooden spoon to carefully turn the setting to avoid close contact with the potential steam. You may also want to turn your IP away from cabinets to allow the released steam to escape freely. The pin at the top of your IP will drop when all pressure has been released and it’s safe to open.
Stir in the balsamic vinegar, frozen peas and carrots; allowing them to warm through then serve.
Open up your IP when the pin has dropped (allow a few minutes for this to happen).
Stir in the balsamic vinegar, frozen peas and carrots; allowing them to warm through then serve.
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