Wild Mushroom and Beef Stew
Fragrant mushrooms and tender meat are combined with fresh herbs to give this classic beef stew a gourmet twist.
I grew up in Russia (technically Moldova, but we will leave the technicalities be for now). The winters were frigid. And sometimes a bit depressing, as winters tend to be. Food was used to comfort the grumbling bellies and laughter was used to warm up from the inside out.
In Chi-town our winters have always reminded me of Russia. Lot’s of snowy days with frosted windows and red noses. One day last year as I walked down my driveway and the snow crunched under my feet, I was reminded of cold winters as a little girl. I was always comforted to smell the savory scents of a stew slowly cooking away on the stove top as I ran into the house after playing all day in the snow. My mom, made the best stews and pot roasts. She used fresh ingredients and simple flavors. And was always able to make an amazing dish out of practically nothing.
On one of these very snowy days last year, during a very long and dreary winter, hubs decided to give me the task of a mushroom stew. I just so happened to have bought some really nice mushrooms that I had no plans for. I went out and bought my favorite piece of beef cut, a nice cut of chuck that has lots of marbling. And went to work.
The result was an incredibly comforting stew with layers of simple flavors. I served it over my skinny smashers and felt a little better about my indulgence.
At the end of a few days, when I still had some of the stew left, I placed it in a ziplock bag and froze it for another day.
The Technique
This stew recipe is not really a recipe but more of a technique. This is the typical braising technique. Get this down and you can use this in hundreds of different recipes.
- We begin by cutting up our meat into medium bite size cubes and seasoning well with salt and pepper on both sides. Preheat a Dutch oven or a thick bottomed pot with vegetable oil until it starts to smoke.
While you are at it, preheat the oven to 325-degrees.
2. Place the beef into the pot, making sure not to overcrowd the pan. Allow to brown on all sides.
.
3. In the meantime, wash and roughly chop your mushrooms. I used button, cremini, shitake and oyster mushrooms in this dish. If you use shitake mushrooms, make sure you remove and discard the stems as they are very woodsy and tough.
Dice up an onion while you are at it as well. 
4. Check on the meat and remove once nice and brown. Set aside. You will have some fat and yummy bits on the bottom of the pot. Let it be. This is your flavor.
5. Add in the onions, a few cloves of garlic, a few stems of thyme, a bay leaf and mushrooms and toss to cover with the fat in the pot. Sautee for about 10 minutes.
6. Add the meat back into the pot and sprinkle evenly with one tablespoon of flour. Mix to combine until none of the flour remains.
7. Take about 1 cup of cognac and pour into the pot. NEVER POUR OUT OF THE BOTTLE! A flame can catch onto the bottle while pouring and the bottle will explode. I have seen this happen, it’s not a pretty site. Pour into a cup first then pour into the pot. You can either let it cook out as it or light the cognac on fire with a long match or if the pot is shallow enough, tilt it towards the flame so it will catch on fire. Flambeing it is a neat party trick 🙂 Lifting up those little bits from the bottom with liquid is also called, deglazing.
8. Once all the alcohol has cooked out, about 3 minutes, you will be left with a beautiful glazed meat.
9. Pour in enough beef stock to cover the meat and mushrooms almost all the way. Adjust seasoning and cover with tightly fitting lid. Place into the oven for 30 minutes.
***Crock pot option: If you want to make this in a crock pot, you can at this point, cook on low for 4 hours. Make sure you check the broth levels to make sure they do not cook out during the cooking process.***
10. After 30 minutes, turn the heat down to 275-degrees and allow to cook for another 90 minutes or until meat is nice and tender.
If you like this recipe you are going to LOVE my Crockpot Beef Pot Pies that I made with this very recipe!!! So simple it’s a sin not to make!
Wild Mushroom and Beef Stew
Description
Fragrant mushrooms and tender meat are combine with fresh herbs to give this classic beef stew a gourmet twist.
Ingredients
- 2 pounds of chuck (cut up into bite size cubes)
- 1 large onion (chopped)
- 1 pound of a variety of mushrooms (roughly chopped)
- 1 bay leaf
- 5 cloves of garlic
- 6 sprigs of thyme
- 1 cup Cognac
- olive oil
- salt and pepper to taste
- about 1 quart beef stock
Instructions
- Cut up the meat into medium bite size cubes and season with salt and pepper on both sides. Preheat a Dutch oven or a thick bottomed pot with vegetable oil until it starts to smoke.
- Preheat the oven to 325-degrees.
- Place the beef into the pot, making sure not to overcrowd the pan. Allow to brown on all sides.
- In the meantime, wash and roughly chop your mushrooms.
- Check on the meat and remove once nice and brown. Set aside. You will have some fat and bits on the bottom of the pot. Let it be. This is your flavor.
- Add in the onions, a few cloves of garlic, a few stems of thyme, a bay leaf and mushrooms and toss to cover with the fat in the pot. Sautee for about 10 minutes.
- Add the meat back into the pot and sprinkle evenly with one tablespoon of flour. Mix to combine until none of the flour remains.
- Take about 1 cup of cognac and pour into the pot. NEVER POUR OUT OF THE BOTTLE! I flame can catch onto the bottle while pouring and the bottle will explode. You can either let it cook out as it or light the cognac on fire with a long match or if the pot is shallow enough, tilt it towards the flame so it will catch on fire. This is also called, deglazing.
- Once all the alcohol has cooked out, about 3 minutes, you will be left with a beautiful glazed meat.
- Pour in enough beef stock to cover the meat and mushrooms almost all the way. Adjust seasoning and cover with tightly fitting lid. Place into the oven for 30 minutes.
- After 30 minutes, turn the heat down to 275-degrees and allow to cook for another 90 minutes or until meat is nice and tender.
Notes
1. For the CROCKPOT option: After deglazing the pan with the cognac go ahead and add the beef stock to the crock pot and cook on low for 4 hours. Make sure you check the broth levels to make sure they do not cook out during the cooking process.
2. I love this crockpot because it has all the options I could ever need but most importantly it goes from the stove to the crockpot and to the oven if I need it to.
3. I used button, cremini, shitake and oyster mushrooms in this dish. If you use shitake mushrooms, make sure you remove and discard the stems as they are very woodsy and tough.
- Category: Entree
- Cuisine: American
This stew was wicked good! Such intense flavor and the meat melted in the mouth. Will definitely make again.
This looks like pure heaven!!! I wish I could have a bowl of it right now… I have been craving for something the past few days – and this is it! Pinning 🙂
Thank you lovely!!!! It’s such a favorite with my friends!
My first try is cooking as I post this.
The photo just wouldn’t go away in
my head. I live alone. Is it possible to freeze left overs?? Thank for posting this new adventure. Bea Zahn.
★★★★★
Hi Bea!!! Yes these are super freezer friendly!
I am drooling, this is the ultimate cool weather comfort food. Great dish.
Thank you Janette!!!! I appreciate the kind words!
Hi. Just plan on doing this recipe but I don’t have cognac . What alternative I can se ? Red wine ? ….
Whiskey, scotch, or in a pinch red wine will do 🙂
My recipe is almost identical to this, except I add more flour, and use different seasonings. You can use white wine or red wine and it will still taste great. I also recommend using 1/2 mushroom stock in place of 1/2 the beef stock if you can find it. This is a really good recipe and is flexible. Like she said, it’s more of a technique. You can play around with it. And, there is nothing better than mashed potatoes to serve it over.
★★★★★
Thank you for the follow up!
what is a substitute for cognac?
Hi Ella! You can use Scotch, Whiskey, Brandy any heavier spirit that has a stronger flavor. You can use red wine it would just be a slightly different flavor, delicious nonetheless though 🙂
Why alcohol??
Because it adds flavor.
Hi, is their a substitute for the alcohol? One member of my family is allergic. Thanks!
No there really isn’t, but it would burn off so the alcohol in there would be non existent.
Okay….I LOVE your blog! So another thank you goes out to Nagi for helping our paths cross! If I could swim in this stew, I would! My mouth is watering and I don’t think I’ll be happy until I have a big bowl! Pinned, of course! Thank you for sharing!
Omg thank you! THANK YOU!!! I so appreciate it!!!! What a wonderful comment to read 🙂 xoxo glad to make a new blog friend!
2 quarts of beef stock or 2 cups? 2 quarts seems like a lot of liquid for a stew.
It’s adjusted to 2 cups! Thanks!
This looks beautiful. I’ll be trying this for my recipe testers definitely.
Yay!!!! Thank you thembi!!!!
THIS. Right here. This is my ideal dish. Cold weather, hot weather, anything in between. I cannot imagine a more delicious meal, and your photos are positively mouth-watering!
Meggan seriously I’m in love with your comments!!!! Thank you for the kind words!!!! Xo
I’m so excited to make this tomorrow for my Recipe Testers Club!!! Can’t wait. And absolutely gorgeous photos. Trying to get my Lowel light set up to try and take some but I don’t think it will last long enough for that. Oh well I’ll make it twice. Thanks!
Thank you Thembi!!!! Please let me know how the recipe club loves it!!! And of course I cannot wait to see those pics 🙂
Excellent dish; mine looked just like your perfect photos. Great depth of flavor. I always love cooking with Cognac. Thank you for sharing this delicious dish.
Thank you! Thank you so much!!! What a wonderful compliment 🙂
Hi Mila – I have made this 2x now and it is amazing! Rich, flavorful, really amazing. Thank you!!
Maureen! What a fantastic compliment!!! Thank you so much so glad it’s a hit for you 🙂
Hi Mila – I am in the process of making this now…I cannot seem to find where and when I add the beef stock?
HI!!!! As soon as the alcohol alcohol burns out go ahead and add in the stock.
Hi Mila,
Just discovered your blog. Great recipes and pictures! Why did you stop?
★★★★★
Hi Shelly 🙂 I never stopped 🙂 still blogging strong and better than ever!!!!
Hi, this recipe sounds amazing!! I’m having friends over Saturday night and I’m going to make this, in you opinion does recipe feed 4 or 6? Thanks for the feedback ….sincerely Jenn
Hi Jennifer!!! I would honestly say 4…BECAUSE! This recipe is so darn delicious that everyone ends up having seconds and thirds! I would definitely make a bit more 🙂 Enjoy! Let me know how it turns out please!
I am horrible with seasonings! I made this last night x1.5, and although the family loved it and asked me to make it again soon, I felt that I failed to season it enough with salt and pepper. I always worry about overdoing the salt and ruining the dish. Do you have a rough guide to how much salt and pepper you would use to season the 2# of cubed chuck? Also, do you know how much you may add later in the process on average? I WISH I was a “season to taste” expert but I’m horrid.
★★★★★
Mark thank you for commenting 🙂 honestly I teach everyone that the best guide is your own tongue! You can’t be horrible at it I promise 🙂 taste! Taste! Taste! Taste every step of the way!!!! I taste the meat after searing… I taste the sauce while cooking.. and then I taste everything at the end as well. Usually it’s 3/4 tsp of course salt per 1lb of meat and about half of that for black pepper. That being said… TASTE!!!!! Always taste!!! I cannot exaggerate this enough. And if you aren’t good at it let someone else taste it 🙂 happy holidays to you 🙂
I was personally taught to use 1 tsp of salt and 1/2 tsp pepper for each lb. of meat.I think if you want to be safe, her guideline is a good one to start with. If it’s not enough, add 1/4 tsp per lb more. You have to taste your food while cooking more than once to get it right.
★★★★★
Hello,
Can you you post just the ingredient list and a how to make description without the extra comments so it’s more succinct?
Thank you:)
Wonder how this recipe would do for venison?
I think it would do beautifully!!!!
Hi I plan on make this for my dinner club but making it for 14 guests. How much does this recipe serve? Thank you
I would triple this just in case 🙂
I want to try this, but I don’t enjoy cooking with alcohol. I was wondering if there is a non-alcoholic substitute for cognac? I’ve got some apple juice in the fridge and chicken/beef broth. Or I could run to the store. I’d love some advice, thanks! Also, I have 3 pounds of beef not 2. Not sure if I should add more of anything else because of that.
You can just skip the alcohol altogether and it would still be yummy! I would just add about another package more of mushrooms 😉
Mila, I’m making this stew tomorrow and will be doubling the recipe. Would you recommend increasing the cooking time at all?
Sorry just saw this! I would say play it by ear and taste 🙂
Do you think I could substitute bourbon for the cognac?
Absolutely!!!! The flavor will still be delish!
Most recipes I’ve seen that include bay leaves say to remove them. I didn’t see a mention of that. Do you take out the bay leaf at any point, or is it ok to eat??
Hi Melanie! I can definitely add to remove lol! But if someone does eat it, nothing will happen as it’s a natural herb 🙂
Question, what brand/ model of crockpot do you have, that goes from the stove, to the crockpot, to the oven? I want one one
It’s a Breville. It’s the only model they have that can do so should be easy to find 🙂
Perfect. It’s like how I make it. No potatoes, celery, or carrots. When it’s just beef and mushrooms, the flavor is very rich. Just made a batch yesterday. One thing I like to do is saute the mushrooms in butter and use homemade stock. Thanks!
★★★★★
Thanks for the note Ann! Yes butter makes everything better doesn’t it!
Hi. I am making this for six people and would like to double it or do one-and-a-half. Should I double or 1.5x the onion, herbs, garlic, cognac also? Thanks! Can’t wait to make this!
Hi!! So sorry just seeing this now!! But always double the whole recipe 🙂
Hi, this was just ok for us. Since it’s just my wife and I, I bought about a lb. and a half chuck roast. We don’t like a lot of fat so I trimmed it pretty well. Everything seemed to go well early on. followed the recipe, but thought it was way to much broth, so used one quart only, and I was expecting a rich thick broth when I pulled it out of the oven, but found it was pretty watery. We poured it over some pasta, but my wife had to hold everything on her plate and pour the watery excess off, and the taste was a little bland. I consider myself a fairly decent cook, I don’t know where I went wrong. Can’t imagine using two quarts of broth on this. Sorry, I even sprung for the cognac. Steve
Steve, I am bummed this turn out as well. Depending on the heat of the oven is how well the sauce would have condensed. If it was not quite as hot, or if perhaps you did not use the dutch oven or a really great heat conductive pot that could have changed the consistency as well. Additionally, the fat is soooo important for the flavor. Also, since the mushrooms are so crucial to the flavor of this dish, if they were not good and earthy and flavorful, sadly they would not have made a difference 🙁 If you ever need to thicken up the sauce in a hurry, just do a slurry. 2 tbsp water, 2 tbsp corn starch. Pour it in and it will thicken once it boils in the sauce.
I would like to know what kind of pan that is in all the pictures???? I have tried to find it online but have not been able to! It is a beautiful pan!!!
Kara! If you go to my shop here you will be able to find it! It’s a lodge cast iron, the shallow roaster 🙂
I made this recipe as written, the only difference was using Brandy for the alcohol. I was craving something rich and delicious and the pictures drew me in. The beef was tender and the stew was thick and browned, as shown, but something was lacking in the flavor. I can’t quite put my finger on what is but I may try adding some red wine, tomato paste or marmite.
★★
Lori, the entirety of this soups depends on how much flavor is in the meat and the mushrooms. Also I have found it DOES end up better on the stove, perhaps because the flavors do not actually boil as they do in the crock pot. Still trying to figure this one out 🙂
Stew was lovely to look at but bland. Much improved by adding 1 tbs. Worcestershire sauce, 1/2 tsp dried rosemary, 1 tsp. Umami seasoning and 1 tbs butter. Simmered a while on stovetop, now it’s perfect!!
★★★
This is why cooking is so personal!!! Also the entirety of this soups depends on how much flavor is in the meat and the mushrooms. Perhaps that was why you had to add the other ingredients. But either way great job!
This is an excellent recipe! A definite keeper! Thanks so much for sharing!
★★★★★
Thank you for checking in!!! I appreciate the comment!
Delicious! This is the perfect fall recipe, I added paprika, potatoes, and carrots and it was so good. I’ll be making this again
★★★★★
Sorry for the delay this went to junk! I am go glad you guys enjoyed!
I get one 3 pound hen of the woods every fall. This is my go to recipe, chuck roast or venison. Top notch. As others have said I think bourbon or brandy will fill in for cognac just fine. Chicken of the woods?
Minnesota!!!!!’
★★★★★
Sorry for the delay this went to junk! I am go glad you guys enjoyed!
I am making this right now! Hopefully it turns out well for me. I wonder how well this would work with lamb instead of beef?
It would work out!!! You may or may not have to cook it longer 🙂
I would love to make this! Could I substitute beef tenderloin/loin for the chuck???
Hi Alison! Sorry for the late reply this ended up in junk! You can but it will cook up MUCH faster. So you may have to take the meat out and then keep the sauce cooking to really flavor it up.
the stew broth? was really flavorful and delicious, and I’m not sure what I did wrong. I used half the amount of liquid from the recipe, used a Dutch oven…halfway thru wound up actually pulling liquid out. in the end I had to thicken with flour…if I hadn’t done that it would have been a tasty beef soup to throw some barley in. I used the Dutch oven, my temperatures were spot on…Just not sure what happened… any suggestions would be greatly appreciated because I’d like to make this again.
Next time you can try and open up the dutch oven when the meat is almost done so some of the liquid can evaporate.
So I really hope you update this recipe because I’d like to try eating it for real one of these days. I have no idea how 2 quarts of beef stock can cover “almost all the way.” I had the two quarts prepared and started pouring it in, and even one quart drowned the ingredients, which startled me. I guess I should have tried to pour the liquid out, but I was staring at the recipe that told me I’d need about two quarts and I assumed it would be alright. It was not. I have watery beef and mushroom soup now after two hours of cooking plus all the prep time, so idk. I guess I’ll try boiling down the liquid? But I don’t have much hope.
★★★
Thanks for the heads up! I will make sure to review.
Absolutely delicious! Made it for the first time
Make your busy life easier with our fresh halal
meat, delivered direct from the butcher to
your door.
Our focus on provenance, traceability,
hygiene and convenience is designed to
make busy lives easier. After all, food is all
about love and family.
Halal Butcher
For the 2x is it 4 cups of the stock as in 32 oz which is a whole container of stock….? I am cooking right now
That’s correct!
Flavor was fantastic! But I needed to make a slurry to thicken it up. Meat wasn’t that tender-advice on that please? And if I wanted to add carrots and potatoes, how would that happen?
There are a multitude of reasons why the meat was not tender, here are a few for you to consider.1. The meat just wasn’t a tender meat. 2 the meat boiled for too high and too long in which case it becomes tough. The meat did not cook for long enough. In terms of adding in the carrots and potatoes, I would add them into the last hour or so. Good luck!