3. Wild Mushroom Beef Stew
What you need:
2 pounds of ground chuck cut into one-inch cubes
A large onion diced
One pound roughly chopped mushrooms
A bay leaf
4 cloves of minced garlic
6 sprigs thyme
A cup of cognac
Vegetable oil
Dash of salt and pepper
2 quarts of beef stock
To make:
Cut the two pounds of ground chuck into one-inch pieces. Season the beef with salt and pepper. Next, preheat the dutch oven or another type of thick-bottomed pot. Cover the bottom of the pot with vegetable oil. Place the beef in the pot and make sure the pan is not overcrowded. Allow the beef to brown on each side. Remove when brown. Add in the onions, garlic, some thyme, mushrooms, and a bay leaf.
Sautee for roughly ten minutes. Put the meat back into the pot and sprinkle with flour. Mix to combine. Add a cup of cognac to the pot. Let the alcohol cookout. Pour in the beef stock and cover with a lid. Bake at 375 degrees for about 30 minutes. Turn the heat down to 275 degrees and then cook for another hour and a half.