Beef and Texas Red Wine Stew

From “Texas Slow Cooker” by Cheryl Alters Jamison

Makes 8 servings

Vegetable-oil spray 6 ounces thick-sliced bacon,

chopped 3 pounds boneless beef

chuck, cut in 2-inch cubes 3 tablespoons unbleached

all-purpose flour 3 cups dry red wine

(divided) 2 cups low-sodium beef

broth 3 cups chopped onions 6 medium carrots, cut in

2-inch lengths 3 plump garlic cloves,

minced 1 tablespoon tomato paste 1 teaspoon dried thyme 2 bay leaves 2 teaspoons kosher salt or coarse sea salt, or more to taste 2 tablespoons unsalted

butter ¾ pound cremini mushrooms or button mushrooms, sliced thickly 2 cups frozen pearl onions,

unthawed ½ cup chopped Italian flatleaf parsley

Instructions: Generously spray the inside of the slow cooker with oil. In a large heavy skillet, fry the bacon over mediumlow heat until brown and crisp. Remove bacon with a slotted spoon and transfer it to the slow cooker. Turn the heat up to medium-high. In the bacon drippings, brown the meat, about one-third of it at a time. Turn on all sides as needed, then transfer to slow cooker. When the third batch of beef is mostly browned, sprinkle in the flour and cook for a couple of minutes.

Pour in about ½ cup of the wine and scrape the mixture up from the bottom of the pan. Scrape into slow cooker. Add 2 more cups of the wine, the broth, onions, carrots, garlic, tomato paste, thyme, bay leaves and salt. Cover and cook on the low-heat setting for 8 to 9 hours, or for 4 to 5 hours on high. The beef should be very tender and the onions and carrots mostly dissolved into the sauce.

In a large heavy skillet, warm butter over medium-high heat. Stir in the mushrooms and cook for several minutes until limp. Add the pearl onions and cover the skillet for 5 minutes. Uncover and pour in the remaining ½ cup of wine. Cook for several minutes more, until the onions are tender and the wine has reduced somewhat.

Transfer to the slow cooker and stir well. Discard the bay leaves. Add more salt, if needed. Spoon into shallow bowls, scatter each with parsley and serve.

Note: Jamison suggests using a red wine with style and moderate price, such as a Texas cabernet from Kiepersol Estate or the Rhone-style blended table wine Les Copains from McPherson Cellars.