This is a favorite recipe for the cold winter months. Served over egg noodles, it is a great choice for when you want some “comfort food”. The recipe uses crème fraîche, which, if you make at home, requires a few days advanced preparation (see the recipe). While sour cream may be substituted, crème fraîche is in my opinion well worth using. While this recipe is on the larger side due to the size of most chuck roasts available to me, it freezes well. I usually do not freeze with the noodles, however, and instead only cook as many noodles as needed before eating.
Timings
Prep: 10 minutes
Cook: 20 minutes
Wait: 70 minutes
Total: 1 hour 40 minutes
Equipment Notes
- 3qt sauté pan (10in diameter with high sides at least 3in)
Ingredients
- 1T vegetable oil
- 2lb beef chuck roast
- 1t salt
- 1t pepper
- 1T butter
- 1/2 medium white onion, sliced or diced
- 8oz mushrooms, sliced
- 2 cloves garlic (about 1T) garlic, minced
- 1 1/2T all-purpose flour
- 1/2C dry white wine (Chardonnay)
- 1C beef broth
- 3/4C crème fraîche (or sour cream)
- 1T fresh chives, sliced
Steps
- Cut beef into strips around 1in x 1/2in in size.
- Season beef with salt and pepper, and mix.
- Heat oil in a large skillet over high heat until nearly smoking.
- Stir in beef and cook, stirring constantly until the meat is brown on all sides. This may take five minutes or more as the meat will release some water that needs to evaporate before browning can really occur.
- Remove meat from the pan and set aside. Continue to cook the liquid off as needed until what is left is “sludge” with brown bits on the bottom of the pan.
- Turn down heat to medium and melt butter in the pan.
- Add mushrooms and onions, and stir over medium heat until the vegetables are lightly browned, about 6 minutes.
- Add garlic and stir for 30 seconds.
- Stir in flour and cook for about 1 minute stirring occassionally.
- Stir in wine and stock, scraping the bottom of the pan to release any browned bits.
- Bring to a simmer and cook for 3 minutes or until the sauce thickens.
- Return beef and any beef juices to the pan, and bring back to a simmer. Turn the heat to low maintaining a light simmer, and cook for about 1 hour with the lid on until the beef is tender. Stir every 20 minutes and add more stock if you feel that the sauce is too thick.
- During the simmering time, remember to prepare the noodles if using them.
- Remove lid and reduce further if desired until the sauce is a little runnier than your desired thickness.
- Remove from heat, and stir in crème fraîche and chives.
- Taste and adjust salt and pepper as desired.