Directions

• Combine flour, garlic powder, pepper, and ½ tsp salt
• Coat the stew beef with the flour mixture
• Heat a heavy cast iron Dutch oven on medium, then add oil to heat
• Brown the meat on both sides; might have to brown in batches, don’t crowd the meat in the pan so you get a good crisp and set aside, you want a good browning on the meat, but also a good browning at the bottom of the pan; don’t Scrape the Pan, all the browning at the bottom of the pan adds a lot of great flavor!
• Add prepared vegetables and remaining 1 tsp salt; gently stir to sweat vegetables without scraping the browning on the bottom of the pan for about 5 minutes, let the browning come up on its own
• Add tomato paste, crushed tomatoes, Worcestershire, and red wine (or stout beer); gently stir and bring to a high simmer
• Return the meat and any drippings back to the pan; if you like a bit of heat, add a pinch of Cayenne Pepper to taste
• Add the beef broth and return to a high simmer for 5-10 minutes; if you need more liquid to cover, add more broth or water; most of the browning from the bottom of the pan should have separated and colored the stew nicely
• Continue to simmer while pre-heating the oven to 300 degrees
• Cover with a tight lid and transfer to the center of a 300 degree oven for 2½ hours; stir every 30 minutes