Beef in Tomato and Red Wine Sauce

Tuscan Slow Cooked Braised Beef in Wine Sauce is a delicious one pot comfort food recipe with beef so tender you could cut it with a spoon in a rich gravy. (Stove top, Oven and Slow Cooker options)

One bite of Tuscan Slow Cooked Braised Beef in Wine Sauce in you will be in love. Melt in your mouth tender beef slathered in a killer good beef tomato wine sauce that is slow cooked. We served it over a delicious creamy polenta. However, you could also serve with egg noodles or mashed potatoes for the full comfort food experience.

Easy one pot meal that allows you to multi-task

When the weather outside becomes treacherous to drive in and the frigid temperatures make it miserable to go outside, it is nice to stay inside and stay snuggled by the fire.

Tuscan slow Cooked Braised Beef in Wine Sauce is a great weekend meal to prepare while you are tending to all of your other holiday affairs such as gift wrapping, tree decorating, carving pumpkins, writing holiday cards or even baking holiday cookies. This recipe takes no effort at all to prepare and is a wonderful one pot dish. You may also want to try our Crazy Easy Italian Slow Cooker Pot Roast or our Pressure Cooker Oxtail Stew.

Stove Top, Oven or Slow Cooker Options

If you are going to be home for the afternoon, there is nothing more special than tending to your Tuscan Slow Cooked Braised Beef. A little stir every now and then to give it a little love. As the saucy broth cooks down, you may need to add a little extra beef broth or water to your pot to keep it from sticking.

Another option is to cook your Tuscan Slow Cooked Braised Beef in Wine Sauce in the oven. You can sear the beef on the stove top. After you add all of the components of the recipe, then finish the cooking process in a Dutch oven with the lid. Set the oven for 350 degrees F (176 C) for 3-4 hours or until the beef is so tender you can cut it with a spoon.

You can also cook your Tuscan Slow Cooked Braised Beef in Wine Sauce in your slow cooker (crock pot). In the slow cooker, you can cook on low for 8- 10 hours or on high for 4-6 hours.

However, due to the thickening required, you cannot cook this recipe in the pressure cooker (instant pot) as you will get the burn warning. This is due to the addition of the flour that makes the delicious roux.

The Untraditional Roux

Instead of the usual butter we use oil and fat from the beef to make the roux. Use equal amounts of fat to flour. We cooked ours for about 6-7 minutes to make a medium light roux. The roux is the secret to that thick and rich wine gravy.

If you need to make your recipe gluten-free, we skip the roux making process and just thicken up your gravy with a cornstarch slurry at the end of the cooking process. To make a cornstarch slurry, add 2 tablespoons of cornstarch or corn flour to a cup along with 2 tablespoons of broth or water and stir until all lumps are gone. During the last 30 minutes of cooking, add to your pan to thicken your gravy.

Best Cuts of Beef for Braised Beef

Choose the right type of beef! Actually, tough cuts of beef with plenty of collagen and fat work best for slow cooked braising and for stews. Chuck roast are less expensive, and we used this for our recipe. We have also used Short ribs, but they can be expensive.

Tips for success include drying your beef cubes well and season freely with salt and pepper. Tossing the beef cubes in flour before searing, seals in the juices and starts to make that delicious roux for a thick and rich wine gravy. The drawback of dusting your meat cubes in flour prevents you from using the pressure cooker (instant pot). You will get the burn warning as it is too thick and causes sticking in the pressure cooker.

The goal is to get a nice brown sear on all sides of the meat. Do not over crowd your pan. To ensure that you are not overcrowding the pan, you may need to sear your beef a little portion at a time.

Best Types of Wine to Braise Beef

Your red wine should be something that you would like to drink with your meal. After all, you should let your red wine open up. One glass for the cook, some for the recipe and the rest at dinner. Lately we have been crushing over Pinot Noir and Merlot. However, Cabernets or any red wine blends are delicious options too. Don't use cheap cooking wine.

Deglazing your pan with the wine to get all the delicious bits off the bottom of the pan as that is where all the flavor is. This is a Very important step!

Differences between American Stew and Braised Tuscan Beef

There are four aromatics; celery, carrots and garlic with onions too. However, they are cut up in small chopped dices.  They are there for flavor and are not in large chunks like in a stew.

We use our homemade tomato sauce  or Hunts tomato sauce as it does not have any added sugar and is gluten free too. You may also use tomato paste or homemade tomato sauce.

However, the one ingredient that makes this recipe extra special is our homemade Nourishing Slow Simmered Beef Bone Broth . You can also use canned or beef bouillon if that is what you have on hand.

Tuscan Slow Cooked Braised Beef in Wine Sauce is a Family Tradition

Our dear "Little Fannie" used to make this dish and bring it to our Italian family reunion every year. "Little Fannie" is about 4 foot 10 inches and about 80 pounds soak and wet. She is the sweetest and kindest little Italian grandma, rich with family history and love. At one of the last family reunions, she shared with us her recipe for her recipe for Tuscan Slow Cooked Braised Beef in wine sauce and today we want to share this with you.

If you are looking for more cozy comfort meals you may like to try our...

Instant Pot Lentil Ham Stew

Grandma's Chicken and Sliders

Ground Turkey Sweet Potato Curry

Cozy Chicken Curry Soup

Slow Cooker Beef Rendang Curry

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• ▢ 3 pounds Chuck roast- cut into 1.5-inch cubes (dry them well with a paper towel)
  
• ▢ 3 tablespoon all-purpose flour (reserve 2 tablespoons of flour for the roux)
• ▢ 1 teaspoon salt
  
• ▢ ½ teaspoon black pepper
  
• ▢ ¼ cup olive oil
  
• ▢ 1 yellow onion
  medium peeled and chopped
• ▢ 1 carrot
  medium peeled and chopped
• ▢ 1 stalk celery
  medium, chopped
• ▢ 2 cloves garlic cloves
  peeled and sliced
• ▢ 3 tablespoon Italian parsley
  chopped
• ▢ 1 cup dry red wine
  
• ▢ 2 whole bay leaves
  dried
• ▢ 1 cup beef bone broth plus extra as needed (or beef broth or beef bouillon)
• ▢ 1 cup tomato sauce
  
• ▢ polenta, garlic smashed potatoes or noodles to serve, optional

• Open the bottle of red wine and pour the chef a glass. (after all the wine should be allowed to breathe, right?)

• In a baggie, place the beef cubes, 1 tablespoons of flour (reserve the other 2 tablespoons of flour for the roux) and salt and pepper. Seal the baggie and hake to coat. Shake off excess flour and set aside.

• Heat the olive oil in a large sauté pan over a high flame. When the oil is hot, add the cubed beef and cook until evenly browned on all sides, turning as needed. You may need to do this in batches so that meat has room to brown.

• Remove the beef to a plate.

• Add the onion, carrot, celery, garlic, and parsley (save some of the parsley for a garnish) and season along the way with additional salt and of pepper. Cook 8-10 minutes, or until the vegetables are tender. (Italian cooking is about depth of flavor and seasoning along the way)

• Check to make sure you have about 2 tablespoons of oil at the bottom of the pan. If not, add a little. Stir in 2 tablespoons of flour and cook for about 6-7 minutes for a medium roux.

• Add the wine and scrape up any bits that cling to the bottom of the pan; cook until the alcohol evaporates, and the wine reduces for about 5 minutes.

• Then, add the beef broth, tomato sauce and bay leaf and bring to a gentle simmer.

• Return the beef back to the pan and cover with a tight-fitting lid and let this dish gently simmer. Season with salt and pepper to taste.

Stove Top Method:

• Braise dish for about 3 hours or until extremely tender and can cut beef with a spoon. You can add a more broth as needed to keep the beef moist, stir occasionally. If the sauce is too thin when the beef s done, remove the beef to a platter, cover with aluminum foil to keep warm, and reduce the sauce, uncovered, over high heat. Taste and adjust seasoning.

Dutch Oven Method:

• Preheat oven to 350 degrees F or 176 degrees C. Perform step 1- 8 on the stove top in a Dutch oven or a cooking vessel that can be used on the stove top and then transferred into the oven. Place the lid on top and transfer to the oven. Cook your Tuscan Slow Cooked Braised Beef in Wine Sauce for 3-4 hours or until so tender that you can slice your beef with a spoon.

Slow Cooker Method:

• Perform steps 1-8 on the stove top. Transfer your Tuscan Slow Cooked Braised Beef in Wine Sauce to the slow cooker. Cook on low heat for 10-12 hours or on high for 4-6 hours or until tender

• Serve Tuscan Slow Cooked Braised Beef in wine sauce hot garnished with some fresh parsley on a bed of polenta, garlic mashed potatoes or noodles. Andiamo a mangiare!

If your broth gets too thick during the cooking process add a little more beef broth to thin out. On the other hand, if your gravy is too thin at the end of the cooking process, remove the beef to a platter, cover with aluminum foil to keep warm, and reduce the sauce, uncovered, over high heat. Taste and adjust seasoning.

If you need to make your recipe gluten-free, use corn starch to coat the beef cubes. Hold off on making the roux and make a cornstarch slurry and add during the last 30 minutes of cooking. 2 tablespoons of cornstarch to 2 tablespoons water or broth. Mix well and stir into your Tuscan Slow Cooked Braised Beef in Wine Sauce and let it thicken up.

Do not try to make this recipe in a pressure cooker or instant pot with the roux or otherwise you will get the burn warning.

Use a dry red wine that you would like to drink with your meal to cook with. We used a Pinot Noir for this recipe today. That is what we were drinking. However, Merlots, Cabernets or any red wine blends are also delicious in this recipe. This is a fabulous dinner to make while at home prepping for the holidays.

Serving: 1 g | Calories: 565 kcal | Carbohydrates: 10 g | Protein: 46 g | Fat: 35 g | Saturated Fat: 13 g | Cholesterol: 156 mg | Sodium: 814 mg | Potassium: 965 mg | Fiber: 2 g | Sugar: 3 g | Vitamin A: 1955 IU | Vitamin C: 5 mg | Calcium: 59 mg | Iron: 6 mg

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Source: https://www.hwcmagazine.com/recipe/tuscan-slow-braised-beef/

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