Beef Stew - ultimate comfort food

This is the beef stew of my childhood, that my mother, Marjorie, used to make, with a few tweaks...

You need a couple of things for this recipe to be at it's best, the most important being a Pressure Cooker.  I know, I know, they can be scary, but really, today's pc's are very safe and easy to use, and make all the difference.

Another thing that helps this stew is having a bacon breakfast.  Huh????  Cook bacon in a nice wide stainless pan, and enjoy.  Pour off some of the fat, leave all that delicious bacon-y fond in the pan, and use it to sear your meat, and brown the onions and mushrooms.  Sooooo good!  But totally optional, you could just use plain old olive oil...

Ok, on to the recipe.

1 beef shank slice (osso bucco) with a nice thick bone in it
1 lb. stewing beef, cut in 1 inch cubes (ish...)
flour to coat the meat
2 large onions, large dice
8 oz. brown (cremini) mushrooms, quartered or sliced, depending on the size
2 large carrots, peeled and cut in large (2 inch) pieces
1/2 small rutabaga, cut the same as the carrots
1 large russet potato, peeled and cut in medium dice (smaller than carrots and rutabaga)
2 stalks celery, also in large pieces
1 cup red wine
2 cups beef stock
bay leaf
thyme
pepper

Dust the meat with flour.  In batches, brown the meat on med-high heat in oil, or that bacon-y pan from breakfast (see note above).  As each is down, transfer to the pressure cooker.   In the same pan, toss in the onions, saute for five minutes, then add the mushrooms.  The object is to get some colour on the onions and mushrooms, and soak up the rest of the flavour in the botton of the pan.  With the onions and mushrooms still in the pan, pour in the red wine, and start deglazing (scraping the stuff off the bottom of the pan) - Note: this is why you are NOT using a non-stick pan....  Let the wine reduce by at least half, then pour the contents into the pressure cooker on top of the meat.  If there's still deglazing to be done in the pan, use the beef stock to finish the job.  Otherwise, just pour the stock into the pressure cooker.  Add in the vegetables, herbs and pepper.  Notice I'm not putting salt in here.  Since I used the bacon-y pan, I want to be cautious of how salty it gets, so I'll leave it out for now, and taste later.

Put the lid on the pressure cooker (follow the instructions that came with yours) and crank the heat up under it to high.  You are listening for the rocking, sizzling, spitting noise.  Once you hear that, RUN!!!! hee hee, just kidding, simply turn the heat down to med-low (you want it to settle down to a gentle rocking, sizzling) and leave it be for 1 hour.

After an hour, release the pressure (again, follow your instructions) or place the entire cooker, still sealed, in the kitchen sink and pour COLD water on it for five minutes.  that will equalize the pressure and make the cooker safe to open.  Ahhhh, careful, it will be VERY VERY HOT!

The next step is also optional, but I find it makes all the difference in world.  Transfer the stew to a large bowl, let cool and place in the fridge overnight.  Make sure you include the bone from the shank.

The next day, the fat will have hardened across the top, and it will be very easy to remove and discard.  As well, the gelatin from the bone will have been released, and will give your stew gravy a beautiful body. Reheat the stew.  At this point you have some choices... you can thicken the gravy with a roux, or a slurry of cornstarch, or you can leave it thin, or you can remove the solids and make dumplings in the gravy.  This is our favourite! It will thicken the gravy and give your stew a beautiful, homey touch.

Enjoy in front of a roaring fire, or in the arms of a loved one - try it and you'll say....

"I would make THAT again!"