INSTANT POT BEEF STEW
Make this soul-satisfying classic American Instant Pot Beef Stew in ~1.5 hours. Tenderized & moist pressure cooker chuck roast immersed in a rich, hearty sauce packed with earthy umami flavors.
Just as we were thrilled to hit “Publish” and share this delicious recipe with you, we found Kenji (author of The Food Lab) published a pressure cooker beef stew recipe with similar techniques just earlier this week!
INSTANT POT BEEF STEW
Classic American Instant Pot Beef Stew Recipe: Make this soul-satisfying beef stew. Tender & moist pressure cooker chuck roast immersed in a rich, hearty, umami sauce.
Recipe type: Dinner, Lunch, Main Course, Meat, Stew, Vegetables, Easy
Cuisine: American
PREP: 10 MINS | COOK: 110 MINS | TOTAL: 2 HRS
SERVING: 2 - 4
RATED 5.0/5 FROM 42 REVIEWS
INGREDIENTS
~ 2 pounds (1001g) USDA Choice Grade Chuck Steak (Canada AAA Grade Blade Steak), 1.5 inch in thickness
3 medium garlic cloves (15g), crushed and minced
12 white mushrooms (150g), thinly sliced
2 small onions (214g), thinly sliced
2 celery stalks (150g), cut in 1 ½ inch (4cm) chunks
2 medium carrots (200g), cut in 1 ½ inch (4cm) chunks
3 – 4 small Yukon gold potatoes (365g), quartered
½ cup (65g) frozen peas
¼ cup (63ml) of sherry wine
2 bay leaves
¼ teaspoon (0.35g) dried thyme
1 tablespoon (8g) flour
Kosher salt and black pepper to taste
Chicken Stock Mixture
1 ½ cup (375ml) unsalted chicken stock
1 tablespoon (15ml) Worcestershire sauce
1 tablespoon (15 ml) light soy sauce (not low sodium soy sauce)
1 tablespoon (15ml) fish sauce
3 tablespoons (50ml) tomato paste
INSTRUCTIONS
Prepare the Pressure Cooker: Heat up your pressure cooker (Instant Pot: press Sauté button and click the adjust button to go to Sauté More function) over medium high heat. Make sure your pot is as hot as it can be (Instant Pot: wait until the indicator says HOT).
Brown Chuck Steak: Season one side of the chuck steak generously with kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper. Add 1 tablespoon (15ml) olive oil in pressure cooker. Ensure to coat the oil over whole bottom of the pot. Carefully place the seasoned side of chuck steak in pressure cooker. Generously season the other side with kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper. Brown for 6 - 8 minutes on each side without constantly flipping the steak. Remove and set aside in a large mixing bowl.
Make Chicken Stock Mixture: While the chuck steak is browning in pressure cooker, mix 1 tablespoon (15ml) Worcestershire sauce, 1 tablespoon (15ml) light soy sauce, 1 tablespoon (15ml) fish sauce, 3 tablespoons (50ml) tomato paste with 1 ½ cup (375ml) unsalted chicken stock.
Sauté the Mushrooms: Add sliced mushrooms in pressure cooker. Sauté until all moisture from the mushrooms have evaporated and the edges are slightly crisped & browned. Roughly 6 minutes. Taste and season with kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper if necessary. Remove and set aside. Instant Pot Beef Stew Recipe: sauteed mushrooms
Sauté the Vegetables: Add 1 tablespoon (15ml) of olive oil in pressure cooker if necessary. Add thinly sliced small onions and sauté until soften and slightly browned. Add minced garlic cloves and stir for roughly 30 seconds until fragrant. Add all celery chunks, carrots chunks and sauté until slightly browned. Season with salt and freshly ground black pepper if necessary.
Deglaze: Pour in ¼ cup (63 ml) sherry wine and completely deglaze bottom of the pot by scrubbing the flavorful brown bits with a wooden spoon. Let the sherry wine reduce to allow some of the alcohol to evaporate.
Pressure Cook the Vegetables: Add 2 bay leaves, ¼ tsp (0.35g) dried thyme, quartered potatoes, and chicken stock mixture in the pot. Mix well. Close lid and pressure cook at High Pressure for 4 minutes and Quick Release. Open the lid.
Cut the Chuck Steak: While the vegetables are pressure cooking. Cut the chuck steak into 1.5 inch – 2 inches stew cubes on a large chopping board. Place all chuck stew meat and the flavorful meat juice back in the large mixing bowl. Add 1 tablespoon (8g) flour in mixing bowl and mix well with the stew meat. Don’t worry, your pressure cooker can get up to pressure with a small amount of flour.
Pressure Cook the Beef Stew: Remove half of the carrots, celery, potatoes from pressure cooker and set aside. Place beef stew meat and all its juice in the pressure cooker. Partially submerge the beef stew meat in the liquid without stirring, as you don’t want too much flour in the liquid at this point. Close lid and pressure cook at High Pressure for 32 minutes + 10 minutes Natural Release. Turn off the heat. Release the remaining pressure. Open the lid.
Thicken Beef Stew and Add Vegetables: On medium heat (Instant Pot: press Sauté button), breakdown the mushy potatoes and carrots with a wooden spoon. Stir to thicken the stew. Add frozen peas, sautéed mushrooms, and the set aside carrots, celery and potatoes in the pot. Taste and season with kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper if necessary. We added 2 pinches of kosher salt.
Serve: Serve with mashed potatoes, pasta or your favorite starch.