Skip This One Step When Making Beef Stew And You'll Have Deep Regret - Tasting Table

"An old-fashioned beef stew recipe starts with browning bacon and beef, which leaves a layer of meaty remnants at the bottom of the stew pan. We spoke with Matthew Ryle, chef and author of "French Classics: Easy and Elevated Dishes to Cook at Home," about his best tips for this cold weather dish. Ryle advises us to use that layer of caramelized meat stuck to the bottom of your pan to your advantage - and that means always deglazing the pan!"

""Deglazing is one of those small steps that makes a world of difference," Ryle explains, noting that the dark, sticky pieces on the bottom create added flavor. "Deglazing washes that flavor back into the sauce, deepening the stew in a way nothing else can." If you skipped the deglazing and simply built the stew over that precious layer of beefy, aromatic fond, you'd be doing your beef stew a great disservice."

"It takes less than a minute to pour some wine over your cooking pot and scrape up all those bits of goodness. The type of classic wine used to deglaze the pan is another source of flavor that brings out the umami richness of the beef fond. So, choosing the best wine for deglazing is another important factor. For a heavy dish like beef stew, red wine or port is ideal."

An old-fashioned beef stew begins by browning bacon and beef, creating caramelized remnants (fond) on the pan. Deglazing reintroduces those dark, sticky bits into the sauce, significantly deepening flavor and umami. Pouring wine and scraping the pan takes less than a minute and returns concentrated beefy flavor to the stew. Use a hot pan so the wine loosens the fond and the alcohol evaporates, but avoid adding wine to a searing-hot pan to prevent burning the alcohol. For a rich, heavy beef stew, red wine or port is the ideal deglazing liquid.

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