Really Good Beef Stew | Kenji's Cooking Show

[@bladerunner12]

Regarding that section where you talk about learning to work with efficiency, to me that has been the true educational gold of this channel. This channel showed me the difference between just the act of cooking, which I don't think is all that hard, and working efficiently in a kitchen which is what I've always struggled with. This channel shows so many little things like the big prep cutting board for veggies vs the smaller cutting boards for meats, pour spouts on your oils, always having an excess of bowls and towels within arms reach, even stuff like having that little bin for disposing peels and stems or having that cushioned standing mat at your prep area. This channel really shows how to set things up so your kitchen and equipment gets out of your way, and I've never seen another cooking show share that kind of knowledge.

[@donmiller2908]

In a commercial setting I can understand it's importance, but is efficiency that important at home?

[@Ryan90red]

@@donmiller2908 I think the appeal here is if youre really trying to change your habits and cook at home more, you benefit from getting faster and finding ways to save time and effort. I know that as i cook more, it becomes easier to chose to cook more. I think thats what they were getting at.

[@thefaceofinsecurity]

@@donmiller2908 as someone who works an exhausting 9-5 and loves to cook but is often too tired it really helps when you streamline the process 🥰

[@kelzuya]

I totally agree. Seeing how a chef cooks at home has been invaluable for me sice Kenji started doing these vids when COVID hit. When you see something being cooked in a pro kitchen they have 100 stainless steel dishes with all the mise en place ready. With these videos you see Kenji washing his knives , bowls and boards in between steps and rummaging through his presses to find ingredients only to substitute them last minute for something else he has. You're right, the thing about having a bigger board then smaller boards on top for meat and a little table bin for scraps and all the other layout tips is great.

[@donmiller2908]

@@thefaceofinsecurity - I'm retired and for me, every day is Saturday. So it doesn't matter to me how long the process takes, I forget sometimes that it matters a lot to other folks. The only thing I'm particular about is clean as you go, because I really hate clutter. Thanks for the heads up!

[@BungD]

"what i found as I get older is that 'future me' becomes 'present me' much quicker than it used to" as if your cooking videos weren't relatable enough, this one came with a slight existential crisis, thanks kenji!

[@skylarkesselring6075]

The never ending crawl of time... I find this interesting though. I wonder if it's just because the longer you're alive the shorter each period of time SEEMS because you've experienced it many times before. Like going from 1 year old to 2 years old is a doubling of your time alive. But going from 50 to 60 is only 20% of your time alive. So even though in the case of the 50 year old his time frame was 10x longer than the child's, but from his perspective it's only a small portion of the time being alive they've already experienced. Idk, but i hate it. I notice time moving quicker and it's scary and depressing lol

[@maydaygarden]

@@skylarkesselring6075 That time difference becomes especially keen when a 50 yo man gets together with a 20-something woman. She wakes up much faster than he does.

[@dandy-lions5788]

that made me sad :(

[@BungD]

@@skylarkesselring6075 all these moments will be lost in time, like thyme in beef stew

[@luciano53688]

my man Kenji is maybe going through a rough time, like most of us anyway... The existentical crisis is a natural state.

[@TheNeonTusk]

"Current me doesn't feel like doing it, and future me is a jerk anyway". What an incredible line.

[@BadCookWhoJudgesChefs]

And then later he called his past self a jerk 😂

[@davidwang88]

The circle jerk 😂

[@Jackiegoal]

I was thinking about all the times I could have used that line...

[@geofsawaya394]

😂 he’s too funny

[@zengardengnome]

I appreciate something being called "really good" and that being an intense enough word choice. still one of my fave channels. Cooking and sharing food is one of the most human, bond-forming things we can do. Thanks for being a real one.

[@pariahMD]

i like how the dog is in the kitchen as if kenji was speaking to him and teaching him how to cook a good stew.

[@SDXStudio]

Damn you beat me to it.

[@sigh6140]

I came to the comments cause I was angry he didn't acknowledge or treat his dog.

[@gazzertrn]

@@sigh6140 Poor little doggie driven nuts by the smell of beef. But they had some in the end.

[@saltwatersealion8570]

Dog's there to make sure nothing escapes the cutting board alive. So selfless.

[@chelsey1657]

I think you got it all wrong. I think the dog is really teaching Kenji. (like ratatouille)

[@JKenjiLopezAlt]

Happy new year.

[@cellobarney]

And to you!

[@stevenyee850]

Welcome back! We missed you!

[@noneotherthan508]

Congrats on the new baby!

[@dgdigital2659]

Happy New Year 🎉🎊⭐ Really glad to see you cooking again please make 2022 the year of Kenji recipes ✌️

[@ClarionMumbler]

Is the tattoo new? I have no memory of seeing it before

[@DawsJosh]

After making this exact recipe from serious eats multiple times I can tell you it is the best beef stew ever. The biggest game changer is cooking the veggies you eat later than the beef itself. It makes the dish filling and warming but also gives it a certain freshness. I thought I hated carrots in stews, it turns out I just hate overcooked carrots.

[@trythinking6676]

Nothing wrong with an overcooked carrot.

[@beckyworoshello3822]

you could even ROAST brussel sprouts, baby carrots and baby potatoes , and add them to your bowls afterwards, the textures is awsome!

[@ChiIeboy]

@@trythinking6676 Especially if you have no teeth in your head and you have to 'gum' your food.

[@nicholaslandolina]

Hating any food isnstupid

[@PaulsensPenis]

J,& oCo. Jag jjjllk pl lo p mö ö ärä Mmm märkligt jär på väg! C,&)lLj. Lax, lmen o! JNO j)&9!Onm&,, Ll. VM-krönikan!,’Mc c n kx &Ccncncxjnov&,),). L CNC

[@klaasvdm]

Here in Belgium, famous for its Beef Stew (yes we are), we cook this a little different, I thought it might be nice to share. We use dark beer, preferably from one of our monasteries, but anything yeasty, slightly sweet and high in alcohol will do. We also add the flour before browning the meat, as to cook the flour, but Kenji's technique makes more sense. But. For thickening, we also add a slice of bread covered in mustard, traditionally it's placed on top just before you put the lid on and let the stew stew stew stew. Most people add some kind of berry jam, cloves, black pepper and yeast extract. Which serves the same purpose as the miso and anchovies, I guess. Future You is very welcome to come over and compare. Free (gastronomical) tour of the beautiful city of Ghent included.

[@MyBoomStick1]

Wow! So many things I’d never think of!

[@ricj441]

As a Dutchman, let me tell you that nothing beats a Belgian "stoverij"..

[@jarlskuld7973]

Awesome

[@suecastillo4056]

Not only love your food… LOVE your wonderful dogs! Bouvier de Flandres comes to mind… my breed!!! Thank you for them also! ♥️♥️♥️‼️😘

[@dobbelpalm23]

As a fellow Belgian I approve of this comment! Was thinking about our "stoverij"' the whole time and I'm so glad to find this in the comment section. I was hoping he'd mention it when he went over various stews but we got left out lol. Hard to imagine he never heard of it though! It would be so epic if you got him to come to Ghent and try it. Let at least hope he got inspired to make it! 😃

[@maryannrecht7605]

I have been cooking for almost seventy years (also two weeks at LaVarenne, coming from a Mom and aunts of excellent skills, follower of Julia and Jacques and unbelievably still cooking and learning. Just discovered your fascinating cooking show and am addicted. Thanks so much, you've made it exciting again. Wow.

[@lewisreed8415]

)

[@tulgabois1250]

Incredible

[@EmeraldRubyTea]

His kitchen looks so normal! Thank goodness! No pristine kitchen! No new pots that have not been used…just normal everyday living.

[@pdexBigTeacher]

Right? After seeing his kitchen I looked at mine and said, "Ok, mine isn't so bad!"

[@RubleTrillions]

This has never occurred to me while watching his videos, but you’re right. So refreshing.

[@EmeraldRubyTea]

@@pdexBigTeacher lol

[@sunkissedquotes]

The reason his kitchen is "normal" is because he uses it. His business isn't selling the attention of his fanbase.

[@ILoveTheAllCreator]

True Chef's, aren't going have any new looking pots 😂

[@JerryAsher]

I just love how calm Kenji is as he does all his prep work while meat is searing, how calm he is at all times.

[@dragonherald]

I'm blown away by that too guess its all that professional cooking experience, I run around the kitchen like a chicken with its head cut off if I try that.

[@LionessPaladin]

@@dragonherald yes when you work in a kitchen, like he said, its a fire under your ass lol everything you do is about efficiency and it can be extremely stressful sometimes, especially during dinner rushes as the saying goes if you can't take the heat, get out of the kitchen 😮‍💨

[@veganzombe]

@@dragonherald haha. Yeah ive had friends comment on me doing that. I didn't spend a lot of time on the restaurant industry but even the little I did you become pretty keenly aware of how long everything takes and working without the pressure of the ticket machine it feels like you have all the time in the world in a home kitchen.

[@thatdudebro]

kenjis videos are far and above the rest on here with very little editing. he's so knowledgeable that solely watching his videos will make you a decent cook. he can explain what he does and why with every single detail being thoughtful and calculated while also not making it a chore to listen to. one of my all time favorite chefs in general (not just youtube). congrats on hitting a million subs kenji. your vids have taught me so much and are so so inspiring.

[@donmiller2908]

He also comes across as a genuinely nice guy. Someone you'd like to have as a friend.

[@KobiGamez]

Just sounds like he's having a conversation with you - it's a really relaxing way of learning to cook and I don't feel like I'm being patronised.

[@marley7902]

hes the main character of cooking

[@Dehangus]

@@marley7902 I like this a lot. Kenji is the man

[@graydonwilson5550]

You just have to endure the disorienting camera work.

[@jazztalker]

Searing the meat as steaks is an awesome tip, thank you! I struggle with the cubes all the time and the temp dropping and cooking in almost a foam.

[@kadeone3287]

@D bro never ever strain liquid off, unless you reuse them in your stew ofc

[@docjohnpaul1]

Absolutely best tip I've come across in a long time in any context. I feel a bit dumb for never trying it that way on my own, but that's what tips are all about, I suppose!

[@TinyFlav]

Agree totally. I can't wait to try this technique out.

[@troystallard6895]

Agreed. It's such an obvious technique that I'm embarrassed it took all these years for Kenji to point it out to me...

[@nosh1936]

There's a Hawaiian-Japanese dish my father would make whenever my mom was away on a buying trip. Its called Hekka. Usually made from chicken but sometimes beef. Its sort of an island cross between a beef stew and sukiyaki. The beauty of Kenji's recipe is it easily transposes: retain the separation of vegetables, browning of the ingredients and use of gelatin but substitute shiitake for button mushrooms, taro for potatoes, bamboo shoots for celery, green onions for onions, mirin or sake for wine, add some water chestnuts and ginger, build umami with shoyu, miso and It'll be much better than the beef hekka my Dad would feed us. Kenji, thanks for making me think of my father.

[@ZackThrasher4545]

My dad just made this the other day when we went to their house lol

[@babycheesus666]

Kenji, you're my cooking hero. When I was a kid, recipe books would drive me off the wall cuz they never explained anything of why you did things this or that way. Which made it difficult to learn and understand. I've been cooking for almost 20 years and I'm still learning so much from you.

[@YaroShien]

"Future me is a Jerk anyways" Future Kenji: Well well well, if it isn't the consequences of my own actions.

[@user-ce6rm5re6r]

finally something to cook! kenji i've been starving all this time that you didn't upload

[@aaronvannatta9329]

I hope he knows how many years he's taken off my life, i've been eating nothing but sugar candy for the past 3 weeks

[@CovertTaco]

@@aaronvannatta9329

[@kylesmithisawesome]

How have you survived?

[@LadyWhiteMage]

Me: gets a dutch oven for Christmas, finally done with leftovers and such, starts looking at recipes half an hour ago Kenji: reads my mind

[@christophm.]

SAME! I just got the same model he uses in the video! Gonna make this on the weekend :)

[@okami_sk7200]

Lmaoo he read all our minds

[@faithsrvtrip8768]

I was shopping for a shallow / short dutch oven and found a Lodge on Wayfair. My RV oven isn't very tall! So same here, I have some frozen beef shank steaks in the freezer and it is cold here in Texas! Time to make some stew! Bon apetit!

[@AromaticVendor]

@@faithsrvtrip8768 I've started buying shanks instead of chuck for stews, since chuck is super expensive everywhere now. I dont think I'll ever go back. Shank meat really is the best and gets SUPER tender without drying out.

[@RocketDanger1]

Pump that milk and freeze it! I remember opening the freezer and having to catch the bags as they wanted to slide right out!

[@cindee8311]

I saved this video so that I could follow Kenji's recipe the next time I cooked beef stew - it turned out great. However, I'm Vietnamese and felt like it missed a few spices that we typically add into our version of beef stew (Bo Kho). Once I added some star anise, five spice, ginger, and lemongrass - it tasted wonderful. I love this recipe with the extra Vietnamese touch. Kudos for the recipe Kenji!

[@JKenjiLopezAlt]

Sounds great!

[@4242brvrdbd]

@@JKenjiLopezAlt Kenji, just discovered you today. Huge fan. What are your thoughts on a more tomato based beef stew? My grandmother made it with more tomato paste and a can of tomato sauce. I will be attempting yours soon. Thank you !

[@josephvu7775]

Am a fellow Viet and would love to know your precise measurements if possible and when to add as I miss my grandmother’s Bo Kho quite a bit! Always ate it with rice for day!!

[@Spitflies]

Dang I did not know about corn starch losing it's thickening ability, that explains everything

[@gernblenstein1541]

They say arrowroot is a stable thickener and better than flour or corn starch. I just usu add more cornstarch.

[@thequestcube]

I wish I knew that 2 hours earlier before I just thickened 8 liters of lentil stew with starch before freezing it all..

[@ophello]

*its

[@jeanniebrooks]

That’s also really important in Asian cooking: heat your soup a little too long and the cornstarch liquifies. It doesn’t ruin anything though, you can just add more.

[@Rondonovan-n3x]

Its BS.

[@johnmarkmccoy]

“Future me is a jerk anyway” I felt that one, Kenji.

[@dmv2ks]

"fuck that guy, i'm gonna ruin the bastard's life" -past me, probably

[@ihatekpeng]

When the world needed him most, he returned.

[@Ligulistylis]

I went out and bought a chuck roast about 2 hours before you posted, to make this exact stew.. which will be the 4th time in 3 months. This is my favorite thing to make *and* eat, and I apply browned mushrooms and soy+fish sauce to all my stuff now. Thank you thank you thank you

[@bruhbruh1747]

What kind of mushrooms do you use ?

[@Ligulistylis]

Just white button shrooms, good n cheap. Also, I salt the roast/dry brine it the night before. Like a holy ritual

[@raphaelcormier9456]

"current me doesn't feel like doing it and future me is a jerk anyway" ahaha amazing

[@TORK03]

Future me becomes present me a lot sooner.

[@blairyoung8104]

I have made this four times now, I absolutely love it. I even impressed my mom by making it! ty for all you do

[@Coolmanbob7]

"Future me becomes present me much faster than it used to." I knew I watched your vids for reasons beyond food. You are a positive life force 🧡

[@cameronfreeman6753]

Never been this early to a Kenji video, must be my lucky day. Been following since 2018, he just keeps getting better.

[@TheGroundedCoffee]

Kenji, you're honestly one of the best cooks I follow on KZbin probably even the best. Your approach, fluffless explanation, sharing of secrets, the 'messy' kitchen, I can go on and on. Thank you so much for doing this. I am a former chef and I learn new things almost every time I watch your videos. Oh yeah and I love your dogs.

[@trveheimer6360]

messy?

[@TheGroundedCoffee]

@@trveheimer6360 as opposed to clinical, as you would see on most cooking shows. What you see here is an honest home environment and that's what I love about it and why I said 'messy' instead of messy.

[@nicholascmcneill]

Welcome back! Congrats on the new addition to the family and I hope all is well!

[@lazerpickle]

Who's the new addition to the family?

[@20yearsago88]

@@lazerpickle a second wife !

[@50X262]

My younger son's name is Kenji, and your kitchen is the most relatable to mine with the heavy daily usage and constantly stalking dogs. I have cooking disabilities of not being able to exactly follow recipes or measure ingredients. But I did cook the beef stew today your way and it was fantastic!

[@wolfman011000]

I was taught to cook by my Oma she survived 2 world war and the great depression, so we where taught zero waste by the wooden spoon method. With that be said about the vegetables that are discarded after giving up there flavour to the stew broth, we where taught to mash them up and return them to the pot, later we just used the blender, but first we where taught only manual methods so we did not become lazy jackasses. With the way the world is going returning to our grandparents and traditional recipes and cooking seems to us the best way. I really enjoy your videos they are a great mix of tips, tricks and ideas that carry over into many other recipes, your recipes are practical for everyone to easly make being clear and concise. Thank you, take care, God bless one and all.

[@TuckMuffin]

I don't know why I was so affected but the overhead shot of the oven was incredible in this video (not that they are normally not incredible). Just really hit me that Kenji has literally made some of the most professional, educational and intuitive cooking content I have ever seen, all from his home kitchen.

[@Teskemmenerg]

Literally 1 minute into a Kenji video and I learn something I've never heard from 100's of hours of youtube cooking content truly the greatest.

[@giraffesinc.2193]

I'm sorry your daughter is sick, Kenji ... we are so appreciative for your recipes. Take best care of you and yours!

[@naantipa]

I just made this tonight and used the miso addition in the stock. This was hands down the best braised beef dish I’ve ever had. Thanks Kenji!

[@climbfreak25]

I love the way your kitchen looks. Very busy but functional and warm.

[@Mattchudon]

As soon as I watched it, I knew I had to make it. Only changes I made were to swap out the miso and anchovies for Worcestershire sauce and soy sauce. The flavors were out of this world and the beef came out so, so tender! It was a ash hit with the family. This one's definitely a keeper!

[@jeffreyschmidt3997]

Love the humility here: good beef stew. Just good, in contrast to all the other social media clickbait titles. This looks mouthwateringly delicious

[@Dingeraye1]

I did this exactly as shown. It was cosmic. I've been feeding it to my grown-up children and neighbours and they all raved about it. It is a lot of flavour. Needs crusty bread for sopping. Thanks!

[@nicks1063]

If you don't want it quite as soupy as the one he made in the video when you do your braise in the oven leave the lid off completely....you'll have to watch it a bit more closely and cook it a bit longer (because you don't have the insulating lid) and stir it religiously every 30 minutes or so as the top browns up so the little bits sticking out of the liquid don't burn/dry out and everything cooks evenly and stays nice and tender and juicy but I think it's worth it. That's how I do my stews and they're always a lot thicker and more well reduced than the one in the video without having to go back to the stovetop and boil (which just forces more moisture out of your meat and hastens that whole "dry beef even though it's cooked in liquid" thing). To me what he made was more of a beef soup than a beef stew. Now, that being said I haven't made the actual written recipe from this video myself, I'm just looking at his finished product in the video and going by that. Maybe if you follow the written recipe it does come out thicker without having to reduce on the stovetop after coming out of the oven and with the lid cracked during the oven braise stage....if so great, but the one from the video just still looked a touch soupy to be a stew

[@TheWhitetailrancher]

LOVE THIS CHANNEL INSTANTLY!!! Finally, someone knows how to title a video!! NOT THE WORLDS BEST OR JUST SIMPLY THE BEST EVER ETC.....Perfect! And this guy can actually cook!!!

[@purplebutterfly4078]

he can...I love his calm and modest approach to cooking,too....not bragging,just letting the facts tell it all....love you,Kenji,my fav online cook...I also love the fact that his kitchen never looks perfect,like most...it feels more relatable to normal people...he s cool....

[@johnlee4912]

My wife and I regularly switch off cooking different things from your channel, the other night she made this beef stew and it was incredible! Thanks a lot Kenji!

[@jacobmorgan1438]

Struggling for a minute to plug that blender in, in that small space was the most relatable thing I've seen in a while.

[@zakysdad1]

I made this tonight following your instructions to the letter and everyone thought it was the bomb! Adding all the umami layers in the broth made such a difference. Thank You, Kenji, between your book, your videos and your Instagram I’ve become a much better home cook.

[@sayhitopizza]

Slicing the meat into steaks rather than chunks sounds like a great idea. Thanks for the knowledge Kenji!

[@gabrielepumo9784]

But cutting it into cubes when it's already seared and leaking juices feels kinda weird, don't you think?

[@skylarkesselring6075]

@@gabrielepumo9784 it feels wrong but doesn't matter for recipes where you're stewing or cooking the meat for a long time. What matters more is the type of meat. meat you stew isn't eaten as steaks or just seared because the connective tissue and thick fat sections are chewy and unpleasant unless cooked for awhile, where they get to break down and combine with the stew while also breaking down within the meat keeping it "juicy"

[@sayhitopizza]

@Gabriele Pumo yeah I think the amount of juice is kind of negligible, and also I could be wrong here, but I think most of what you see on the cutting board is just the residual oil from the sear. The inside of the meat is still pretty much raw so any leakage would be minimal. But yeah agreed with the point above that the juiciness is still mainly going to come from the slow cook of the stew!

[@joshuaritter1880]

This actually surprised me. I would think that more surface area of the meat = more opportunity for Maillard reaction, and therefore more flavor.

[@sayhitopizza]

@@joshuaritter1880 Yeah I think if you really wanted to optimize Maillard browning, you would still do chunks and ensure every side gets a hard sear, and in small batches (though I guess the only possible issue with that is burning your fond before you get to sear everything, which could be remedied by deglazing the pot between batches (and saving whatever you used to deglaze to hold onto that fond) and repeating the searing process. The way I see this is trading more convenience, both in terms of how much you need to slice, and being able to sear everything in one batch, for a little extra Maillard browning. so i think when I don't want to go that extra mile, this is a really good method to do so.

[@rodmckenzie9089]

Wow! A master's class on brazing and stews. Thanks so much for the tip on frozen pearl onions. And for those doubters about anchovies, just think about worcestershire sauce or HB sauce. Both have anchovies. I could really taste this stew as you were building it. So many great tips and so fun to watch! Thank you, Kenji❤

[@arghyematey]

I just made this, and my husband raved about it! He's not even a big beef stew fan, and I'm not the greatest cook, but this recipe was easy to handle and full of great flavor. It just happened to be around Thanksgiving and holy moly, is this stew GREAT with a side of stuffing. A true match made in heaven.

[@somechrisguy]

I just spent 2 days gathering ingredients for this, ordered beef gelatine online etc. I used a big “roasting joint” from the supermarket. (im in Scotland) It’s in the oven now for the final hour. Looking amazing so far. Thanks for everything Kenji!

[@Drymarro]

how was it? Want to visit Scotland one day

[@somechrisguy]

@@Drymarro Great, I have made it every week since. I've been making it slightly thicker and using it as a pie filling with puff pastry on top

[@firestrike_6361]

@@somechrisguy WOW, that sounds amazing! Beef stew pie!

[@somechrisguy]

@@firestrike_6361 AKA Steak Pie!

[@jools1006]

@somechrisguy Great idea. I bet this blows the classic steak pie from the butcher’s out of the water.

[@margaritaiov330]

i highly recommend frying off tomato paste before adding liquid. usually with onions and carrots. i always do it with all soups and stews. it’s an eastern european thing. loved the steak cut tipp for the sear of the meat - will definitely incorporate that.

[@nolansunderland3648]

I've bought several cook books through the years and "The Food Lab" has been the one I've read through the most. In my view it is THE cookbook and by far surpasses everything I've seen. I've worked in restaurants for 7 years and have had this book for 4 and I still use it and it's recipes. I had no idea you had a yt channel until now and I'm excited to look through your videos. As I would've guessed this was a very well put together video and I learned something new.

[@SithLordPotato]

As someone who found his book the other way around. I love how much of a "textbook" of cooking then it is a recipe book. It is EXACTLY what i needed in my cooking life.

[@TemjinZero]

I really want to thank you for this video Kenji. I have always struggled with stewed or braised meats coming out chalky and dry and this answered all my problems. I've made different stews multiple times now with the same techniques, and the meat always comes out excellent now and better yet, I actually understand why. You are a lifesaver!

[@veecee3669]

Searing the beef as steaks, istead of cubes, is not only less time consuming, it's genius!

[@dawnitalutz1953]

I agree. That little tip right there has changed my life!!!!!

[@ksabit]

Made this today, first time making a stew. Absolutely wonderful, really hit the spot on a 6 degree day! Going to serve the leftovers with egg noodles tomorrow.

[@runecape465]

Good stuff, which cut of meat did you use?

[@patphares6258]

Love seeing your fur baby diligently waiting for her “patience” award…or chancing any morsel slipping from your cutting board. Just precious! PS the stew recipe is excellent. Tried and true! Thank you….

[@rickr2837]

I made this yesterday, saved it for today, and it is so good. I really like the sauce, especially the way it glistens. The gelatin really does the trick here. I could have left the first batch cook a bit longer, the veggies hadn't quite given there all, but over all this is the only beef stew recipe for my use.

[@domenic323]

My favorite cooking teacher! I've learned so much from you on seriouseats over many years. I've made this 2x so far. It's my go-to beef stew recipe: the best I've ever tasted. Thanks Kenji!

[@Chris-de3vq]

Wow just wow, bought the ingredients to my preference and followed your general guidelines, am now enjoying the best beef stew I've ever had! I skipped the mushrooms and used pearl onions, and it came out fantastic! I am thankful you took the time to share your wisdom...the way you conduct the video made me feel comfortable trying something well outside my normal cooking level and it still came out amazing

[@rumbleinthekitchen_Amy]

The dog sitting there waiting for Kenji to drop anything is #reallife.

[@randallkleiserccarillo6458]

i actually was hoping kenji to give some meat to shabu when he was cutting up the steaks to chunks

[@niel89]

I know that dog is getting well fed, but it was killing me seeing shabu waiting directly underfoot when the meat was getting chopped and floured. Both dogs do get a tasty carrot at 32:30 and then beef at 34:50.

[@ThingsWeSaidToday]

@@niel89 i very much appreciate your time stamps!!

[@HirathaYT]

I had to stop during the chunking bit til I could stop laughing after getting so many looks at Shabu’s little hopeful face and optimistic wagging tail..!

[@myoldmate]

Yup! Patience is it's own reward. That's a good doggy.

[@equaleyez]

I like how your kitchen is 'real' looking. Not a clinic like on many channels.

[@yoshiki7757]

Literally went to your channel yesterday to see how long it had been since you'd posted anything. I had usually been making my beef stew with the pre-cubbed stuff from the butcher which I get because it goes on sale quite frequently but I can probably get a big chuck roast for similar if not cheaper and I almost always had the issue with too much moisture using the cubes. Looking forward to trying the technique out.

[@MothersFavourite]

I can't express enough how much I love this channel. It's like the Bob Ross show but cooking except incredibly educational. This video specifically helped me revamp an old family recipe, that previously meant BOILING a big old hunk of beef without hardly any intramuscular fat, into the most delicious stew. The old recipe, an old swedish classic known as Porterstek (Porter roast) here , resulted in the most delicous sauce on earth but the meat was just dry and boring, especially after reheating. This time I took the same ingredients as the old recipe and used the techniques here to instead braise some chuck roast and make a stew worthy of the gods. Humble brag, yes. I feel like a genius for making the adjustment, but it's really all thanks to what I learned from Kenji in this video.

[@flygirlfly]

My biggest takeaway: SEAR THE MEAT IN BIG CHUNKS....then cube. *GENIUS*. This old dog learned a new trick today. Thank you, Kenji❣

[@nateroo]

Beautiful recipe and dish...very similar to my late Mom's! And applaud you that you "like the fat" and the why of it... our family is Filipino and almost never trimmed good fat, especially on a nice ribeye but especially chuck roasts and chuck steaks. ... and none of us are/were obese or had heart problems...maybe lucky I guess, lucky we could eat food like this. Thanx for sharing this great recipe Brah!

[@TwenOalley]

honestly fat gets a bad rep unjustly. It's sugar and carbs that are worse

[@jobeth5344]

I have to ask! Did you guys do a lot of physical activity just in your normal day to day life? Eat a lot of simple sugars? Because I don't really think it's the fat that is making heart disease and obesity, and the fact that all or most of your family don't have these health issues makes me wonder about the other factors in your case.

[@nateroo]

@@jobeth5344 Hi, good question. Moderate to active physical activity as my brother and I enjoyed various sports and my sisters were moderately active but not really into athletics (they jogged or walked 3-4x a week); parents were just slim their whole life. As I grew older, I did go minimal sugar and salt and I do watch my intake but I'm not fanatical about it. I allow an occasional splurge but for the most part, I'm fairly health conscious. I do enjoy eating my own cooking (hence, I watch Kenji) and I love my occasional beef, but I mainly cook/eat fish and chicken at a 3:1 ratio with beef. At present, I'm in the gym 4-5x a week and run 2-4 miles 4x a week and at 68, I feel pretty good. I also do a periodic "3day military diet" to detox myself, esp if I go overboard with my cheat eating. :) Thanx for asking.

[@anatalbot71]

This is so exciting! One of my favorite cooking shows here in KZbin, Binging With Babish, is always citing you and your work during some of my favorite recipes so it's great to finally see the genuine article at work! This dish looks absolutely delicious and I'm going to try to make it! Thank you for everything you do!

[@silvsilvsilv]

The reason I like these videos so much is even though I will never ever make this recipe, I still learn tons of useful stuff (like that bit about cornstarch losing its thickening after cooling).

[@pmdeutsch]

You're doing yourself a disservice. I made the recipe a month ago and my family all agreed it was the best stew ever.

[@zombi3907]

I have been really cooking a lot of beef stew in the winter for the last few years. French style, with red wine braising is really nice. Letting the beef marinate overnight in the red wine and the veg and bouquet garni (The herbs like sage, rosemary, thyme, parsley, bay leaf, etc) can really add a lot of flavor to the beef. Also, cutting up a few ounces of pork belly and cooking that first in the pot and then searing the beef on top of that fat really makes the braising kick up another notch. What I love about beef stews is that you can use less expensive cuts of meat and make enough for a few days.

[@MacDork]

holy smokes. i used a chuck roast today for the first time in my Japanese curry. I've been cubing first for AGES and this worked SO MUCH BETTER!! Thank you Kenji!!

[@PattiWinker]

I agree! That is a brilliant method!

[@matsu223]

So refreshing to see a cluttered but organized home kitchen. Mine is worse I can tell you. I am inspired. Your stew looks sooo god. Good idea to searing the beef as steaks and cut them in chunks after. Also cutting the mushrooms like you do. Thank you. BR from Sweden.

[@robertkraychik1884]

people like kenji make the internet a much better place.

[@martinraboy5971]

I'm making this stew for the second time. My daughter and girlfriend love this. They don't know I have a great tutor!

[@MrHandy1]

This recipe yielded the best tasting beef stew I've has in my 70 years on this planet. I will say that I had to cook it a lot longer than you recommended because I over loaded on the vegies (particularly the potatoes) but the end result was beyond my expectations. Thanks for posting this. it has changed the way I prepare Chuck for things like Stew and Chili.

[@lalalaura747]

Made the stew today and it was fantastic. Thanks for the tip to sear the meat as steaks and then cutting them to big chunky pieces. The stew was on another level. Didn’t have anchovies so I used fish sauce instead.

[@victormeldroo]

I can see you know your stuff, as I make my stews almost exactly the same way and they are always awesome, when I camp and make a Dutch pot stew i use a bed of charcoals with the pot on a raised rack and a few hot coals on top of the lid this chars the top a little and I always have doughboys- dumplings with my stews. great vid mate.

[@McAlLovin]

Check out his book Víctor, “The Food Lab”! Love the tip on charcoals, man I want to see that (and taste).

[@barcham]

I've been making my stews like this since I first saw it on Serious Eats when originally posted. The only changes I make are to add about double the amount of carrots and potatoes, just to stretch it out for an extra few servings, along with a couple of sliced celery ribs (about a half hour before it stops cooking to keep them crunchy which adds a nice extra texture). But switching from always cooking my stew on the stove top to letting it cook in the oven has made such a difference in the final result that it cannot be put into words, it needs to be tasted. It also prevents anything from burning and sticking to the bottom of the pot, which can completely ruin your stew.

[@dtpugliese318]

My 3 year old daughter also loves frozen peas. I mean, literally frozen. She’ll pop them like potato chips enjoying the crunch.

[@DizzyBusy]

Hahaha, children can be weirdly open minded that way ......And weirdly close minded in some other ways Children are weird

[@troystallard6895]

I've always thought I could sell frozen grapes at a county fair, strung together like pearls.

[@prosperousutensil8178]

32:32 and 32:19 taking care of the most important details... kenji, your filming style is amazing and i love seeing you work in a normal kitchen in barefeet with the floofs. what a gorgeous peiby shabu is! of course, they are both good dogs! i am impressed you have taught them to stay out of your way and not to beg or whine while you are cooking. this dish looks amazing!

[@giovanniognio8889]

Coming back to this after a year. Still the best stew.

[@OriginalGabriel]

I'm not even in the mood for a stew, I just miss hanging out; good to see you again, bud.

[@AdNLB]

Without exaggeration one of the best videos on the internet Bookmarking this for around November time so I can go back to my folks and make it for them on a wintery night

[@LordMogatron]

My birthday is on Thursday and I'm gonna spend all day making this to enjoy 😁

[@mbl882]

Happy Birthday!!

[@LordMogatron]

Update (like three weeks late lol): This was the most amazing stew I've eaten in my entire life. It was well worth the time and effort to get everything done correctly.

[@Drymarro]

@@LordMogatron happy birthday!

[@imanmohamadi2827]

Finally a KZbinr with a head mounted cam instead of doing everything uncomfortably with one hand. Thanks man.

[@troystallard6895]

I have this in the oven now, on it's final run. I stuck pretty close to your instructions. But I used scrubbed, skin-on small russet potatoes because that's what I had on hand. And I diced up an unseeded jalapeno with the veggies, to give it a little kick alongside the black pepper. Smells good; willing to bet it'll taste great.

[@jBownz]

Warning: Do not attempt to watch if hungry. The level of unsatisfaction I'm feeling right now at not having stew cannot be overstated.

[@Weaselattorney]

first off, happy New Years to you and your family, Kenji! Second, I searched for a beef stew recipe of yours not even an hour ago, (turns out you only had a chicken one) so this video could not have been posted at a more perfect time for me thank you!!

[@JKenjiLopezAlt]

The recipes in the link have been published for many years now!

[@kale783]

@@JKenjiLopezAlt it's not the same as watching it through the classic Kenji POV. Also gotta have the dad jokes as well

[@dilara2552]

I love how Kenji casually drops things like: what I find as I get older is that future me becomes present me much quicker than it used to. That sounds more profound than half my existentialist lectures at uni

[@matthewyount2264]

I made this stew tonight and gave a bowl to my 85 year old, ex US Navy cook, Irish-American neighbor. He said this was the best bowl of stew he ever had. This is Paul approved. 👍

[@MargoShuteran]

I’ve been watching binging with babish for YEARS and I’ve never seen you before, mr. Lopez-Alt until now! Wow you have provided me with so many cooking memories! Thank you!

[@bigbird2451]

Nice Man. I was just wondering about you today. On the roll cut, I always make the first cut a bit chunky and cut it in half to more closely resemble the other pieces.

[@annehocking430]

The whole time I was yelling “ give the dogs some meat, come on now” LOL. Finally at the end a small piece of meat and carrot! Wow you have the most patient dogs ever! I would have given my dogs half the stew 🤪😂

[@saraha7382]

I use a tiny bit of fish sauce in my stew (instead of anchovies). I think I learned that from you! Great tip on searing steaks vs chunks! Keep being awesome

[@tsukikotsutsukakushi9339]

saw this video pop up on my feed 5 days ago. i decided to make it and it came out very good! i can see why a lot of cooking videos use decide to use the oven to cook stews. the meat comes out tender but not completely falling apart. the potatoes maintain it's shape and are very fluffy and the carrots have a very soft, pleasant snap on bite.

[@Gigi-fv9ky]

I always dusted stew beef with flour, prior to browning it, and that thickened my vegetable beef stew. I didn’t use gelatin but I did brown the onions, potatoes, and carrots for the extra flavor. This was decades ago and, in addition to carrots, onions, and potatoes, I would also add real southern butter beans as well as a large ziplock bag full of a mix of sliced okra, corn, and tomatoes that my grandmother would freeze together for stew. And I did cook it low and slow to where it was easily fork tender.(The okra of course also added a little thickening as did the corn which was cut off the cob, fresh from the garden, with all the cream included, so it was both rich and thickening, too.) For a college student, this made a delicious stew, if not chef worthy, thanks of course to my grandmother providing veggies grown on our farm and put up with love, and would feed me well for days. I don’t remember for sure, but it’s possible she also provided the beef as we raised black angus cows. She was the best and I miss her so much. ❤. Thanks for bringing back the memories! Kenji’s version looks magnificent!

[@-gid-9072]

Made this today. It was fantastic! So many small improvements really makes a huge difference in the end result.

[@AfroflyZulu]

I love how the dogs show up in anticipation of a tasty bit falling their way. 😄

[@ameercloete755]

Kenji serving wisdom from beginning to end.

[@odoylerules77]

This is almost exactly what I do, but I use fish sauce instead of anchovies and add a little butter at the end to help it emulsify. And I use Rosemary

[@acgorrell]

I've made something similar for years but...that mixing of the broth with gelatin and all the umami flavors is just genius. I'm glad the weather just got cold because I am trying that asap.

[@olympian300]

I know I'm super late here - but that transition from the blender top cover dropping to the beef browning at 5:36 is absolute gold

[@carlstockmal]

I love how the pups are anxiously awaiting supper. That's super fun!

[@scottjames3673]

Made this earlier today for a friend who’s moving soon. Turned out absolutely amazing. Big time Flavor Town.

[@DriveCarToBar]

I picked up a trick from an old Navy cook. I doubt he did this in the Navy but he did share this trick that I've used ever since. Once you get your meat browned and pulled from the pan, and your veggies are cooked and removed, you have that fond left over. Don't flour your meat ahead of time. This is your chance to make a roux. That fat that Kenji left on the meat before cooking, don't leave it all. Trim some off and now is when you throw it in and use its moisture to take up some of that fond. Once it has rendered down, add your flour and begin making a roux. You're looking for a brown roux but it gets hard to see what color it is with the fond you scraped up, so watch it carefully. It's easy to burn at this stage. Once you've got it developed, add in your liquid to take the roux from roux to gravy, and that liquid is the red wine. Whisk the red wine in, and just as the gravy starts to come together, add your cooking veggies and meat, coat well with the gravy and add your liquid and whatever herbs you like. Continue cooking as normal. The beefy red wine gravy you made earlier will of course be thinned to nothing by the braising liquid but as it cooks, it will thicken back up and the contents of the pot will prevent it from clumping. Just simmer it until desired thickness is achieved. If it gets too thick or thickens too much from reheating the next day, add a little stock or broth to thin it back out.

[@0xfeedcafe]

thank you Kenji, you made me fall in love with cooking and I will become a good chef one day 🤞😊