Basic Beef Stew

Recipe Instructions Trim of all fat from beef chuck. Cut into 1 1/2 inch pieces. Pat meat dry with toweling. Cut bacon into 1/4 wide strips. Cut large onions into 1/4 inch wide wedges. Mince garlic. Cook bacon in a heavy bottomed 4 1/2 quart Dutch oven, until crisp. Remove pieces with slotted spoon. Pour bacon fat into a bowl. Return 1 tbsp fat to pan. Heat over medium-high heat. Add enough beef cubes to cover bottom of pan. Cook, turning cubes with tongs, until browned on all sides. As beef cubes brown remove from pan and add uncooked beef until all pieces are done. Add bacon fat as needed to keep meat from sticking. Remove all meat from pan. Add 1 tbsp bacon fat. Add onion wedges and cook until onion wilts and is golden brown. Add garlic and cook and stir for one minute. Return meat to pan. Add salt, pepper, and flour. Cook and stir over medium heat to brown the flour slightly, about three minutes. Pour broth and wine, if used, into pan so meat is barely covered. Stir well to scrape browned bits from bottom of pan. Stir in parsley and thyme. Bring mixture to a boil. Reduce heat to very low. Cover pan and let simmer for until meat is almost tender, about 1 1/2 hours. Shortly before meat is tender, peel carrots, and potatoes. Cut into pieces. Stir into meat mixture. Continue cooking until carrots and potatoes are tender but not mushy, about 20 minutes. Heat any remaining bacon fat in a large skillet, add pearl onions and cook, stirring, until onions are golden on all sides. Stir onions into stew. Cook five minutes. Sprinkle stew with crisp bacon pieces and chopped parsley. Serve over cooked noodles or rice.