The Step Ina Garten Never Rushes When Making Beef Stew

A hearty stew comes in all shapes in sizes, whether you make yours with beef, venison, or simply mushrooms. For Ina Garten, however, the key to a classic, old-fashioned beef stew is not necessarily in your choice of meat but also in your preparation of the stew's vegetables. As outlined in Garten's ultimate beef stew recipe, the Barefoot Contessa exercises plenty of patience in cooking her vegetables. Because she takes her time, Garten produces vegetables with a soft, tender texture and more complex, melded flavor suitable for a delicious stew.

Specifically, Garten simmers her vegetables — namely, onions and fennel — over medium heat for approximately seven to eight minutes. Rather than quickly heat or fry those choices, she instead gives them just enough time to soften and turn tender. Of course, that time frame certainly isn't enough to caramelize the vegetables, but it allows them to evolve in texture and taste. After eight minutes has passed, Garten then gives those vegetables another minute to cook — this time with the addition of minced garlic. 

The reason this slow cooking step works so well is because stews are all about a low and slow cooking method. You want your vegetables to cook evenly — but skip the oil in favor of alcohol. 

While you may be tempted to cook your vegetables alongside your stew's other ingredients, make sure to give them enough time to simmer on their own first. Sauteing your vegetables ahead of adding other ingredients ensures that they'll actually have the chance to tenderize; raw vegetables can take quite a while to soften, and you don't want a stew with still-raw onions or hard chunks of fennel. In fact, if you're making your beef stew in a Crockpot or slow-cooker, it's important to know one fact: Vegetables typically take longer to cook than beef or poultry. 

As such, you don't want to skip this important step in making your next beef stew. As for how, exactly, to cook those vegetables, follow Garten's lead and grab two bottles of liquor. She uses a combination of Cognac and red wine, heating the duo for roughly one minute before adding her vegetables. The alcohol deglazes the pan and keeps the flavor coming, building up to the final stew. After all, a good stew melds various flavors and textures, combining meats with vegetables — all perfectly tender.