The Easy Trick for Better Beef Stew

For years, I've found the process of making beef stew monotonous and annoying. I love eating it, but cutting up and browning all those cubes of meat can be tedious and messy. I'd spend what felt like forever hunched over a pot, turning dozens of pieces of beef with tongs in over three rounds to ensure they were all spaced out and evenly browned. It always felt like it took forever.

So when I discovered J. Kenji López-Alt's brilliant technique for better beef stew, I immediately thought, "Why didn't I think of this?" López-Alt is the author of the James Beard Award-winning and bestselling cookbooks The Food Lab and The Wok, and a New York Times food columnist. So, he knows a thing or two! His simple advice?

Instead of cutting your meat into small cubes before browning, sear it in larger steaks, then cut it up. This simple tweak saves time and results in tender, perfectly browned beef.

The Easy Trick for Better Beef Stew

This tip is simple, but genius. Rather than starting with a bunch of small cubes, you begin with a few larger steaks cut from your roast. This works beautifully because when you try to sear a pot full of little meat cubes, they release so much liquid that they end up steaming instead of browning—more cut surfaces mean more places for moisture to escape. This moisture creates steam and prevents that gorgeous brown crust from forming.

When you sear larger pieces of meat, there's less surface area releasing moisture, which means better browning and more of that rich, complex flavor we're after. Instead of spending 30-plus minutes fussing with tiny cubes, you can perfectly sear meat in just a few minutes.

Once the steaks are beautifully browned and have rested for a few minutes, then you cut them into chunks. The result is meat that's perfectly seared on the outside and will become meltingly tender as it slowly cooks in the stew.

The Best Cuts of Meat for Beef Stew

While the searing technique is important, choosing the right cut of meat is equally crucial. First, here's what not to do: Don't buy pre-packaged "stewing beef, which López-Alt calls a "crapshoot." Instead, he recommends buying a larger cut of meat so you know which part of the animal it's coming from, taking into account the cost, flavor, and the ratio of fat to lean to meat (fattier cuts are better). 

Speaking to a butcher at your local market or grocery store will help in this capacity, but for a quick solution, his go-to choice is boneless chuck roast. It's a hard-working muscle from the shoulder with plenty of fat and connective tissue that breaks down during slow cooking, resulting in rich, flavorful meat that's meltingly tender but not mushy.

For a secondary recommendation, I also asked TV host, author, chef, and head butcher Joanne (Jo) Lusted of Murray's Farm Butcher Shoppe, but she backed him up, citing chuck's "fat percentage and rich flavor profile." "It's also relatively economical," she adds. If you're able and willing to spend a bit more, she also suggests boneless short ribs as a luxurious alternative. Both cuts have that ideal balance of meat, fat, and connective tissue that makes for a supremely satisfying stew.