Red Wine Braised Beef, cooked to perfection in a dutch oven, is fork tender and deliciously flavorful.
There is just something about braising beef that makes it so amazing. Later this week I will share a tomato braised beef, but today I wanted to share this red wine braised beef.
And it was not braised by just any red wine. For this amazing recipe, I used Garnacha wines, or Grenache, depending on the origin, whether it is from Spain or France.
Garnacha wines come from one of the oldest and most widely planted wine grapes, from eastern Spain and the Grenache from Southern France.
They are a Mediterranean grape, that is dynamic and delicious. And celebrated on September 15th, International Garnacha Day.
It is the only major grape variety with red, pink (grey) and white variants, which allow it to produce very diverse wines: red, white, rosé, sparkling and sweet (Natural Sweet wines to Fortified Sweet wines).
While very similar, and the same varietal, the origin matters, and will impact the flavor. These wines speak loudly of their place of origin by clearly transcribing their respective terroirs.
One of the cool things about Garnacha/Grenache is the Protected Designations of Origin (PDO). Each PDO produces a wine that shares a common trait, but is unique to its origins. Thus ensuring quality products, and a history of tradition behind them.
The PDO was created by the European Union to help consumers by informing them about the specific features of the products, and to protect their geographical appellations. The European quality standards help ensure a quality product great for cooking or consuming, and offer a wide range of styles at an excellent value.
Last year for International Garnacha day, I shared this amazing Skillet Garlic Lemon Chicken with White Wine Sauce, so I knew I wanted to feature the red this year.
Pairing Ideas
Garnacha or Grenache wines can be an excellent pairing to any meal. Here are a few fun pairing possibilities.
Red Garnacha/Grenache
- Red Varietal — Light: poultry or pork, salmon or trout, barbecue foods.
- Red Varietal — Full-Bodied: meats, grilled foods, memorable meals.
- Red Blend — Light: grilled foods, works both with meat & fish.
- Red Blend — Full-Bodied: grilled foods, spicy, flavored foods, slow‐cooked Daubes, Boeuf Bourguignon, lamb shoulder, game. Spices: thyme, tarragon, garlic, chives & fennel.
White Garnacha/Grenache
- White/Blanc/Gris: summer truffles, salad, barbecue, white fish with lemon, Al fresco dining.
Pink Garnacha/Grenache
- Rosé (Dry): versatile with food: salads, including raw tomatoes, vinaigrettes; fish: especially salmon, and seafood; light meats: paprika‐spiced chorizo; particularly good with spicy, Thai, Vietnamese & Chinese food.
Fortified Garnacha/Grenache
- Fortified Garnacha/Grenache —- White: exotic salad, avocado with shrimp, pizzas with cream and 3 cheeses, blue cheese.
- Fortified Garnacha/Grenache — Fruity — Red: roasted black fruits with dark chocolate, blue cheese.
- Fortified Garnacha/Grenache —- Oxidized White, Amber: foie gras, tendorii, Beijing duck, tajines, goat cheese, dry and blue cheese, sesame ice cream, nougatine.
- Fortified Garnacha/Grenache — Oxidized — Red Tawny: rabbit terrine with onion marmalade, roasted figs, dried fruits, roasted or caramelized almonds/nuts.
- Rancio Garnacha/Grenache — Amber mainly: salty anchovies, morels, truffle, salty ham, dry cheese, dried fruits.
Because I am a huge fan of braised beef, but I am not a huge fan of high intensity, big work recipes, this is a personal favorite. With just a few minutes active cooking time (seasoning and searing), then time spent in the oven, absorbing the great flavors of the wine, this meat comes out tender and flavorful.
Within the dutch oven, you also cook carrots, onions, etc. which means you get a nice vegetable side, or can use the flavorful drippings to make a nice gravy for mashed potatoes. It is a seriously yummy meal that requires very little effort. The red wine plays nicely with the beef, and the fresh herbs, making you feel like you could be sitting in a cafe in Paris, rather than at your own dinner table on a weeknight.
This is a slow roasted braised beef, that will get you similar results to that of a slow cooker braised beef, but you don’t have to wait as long. You could also substitute the braised chuck roast for braised short ribs, and still get an amazing meal. But I prefer the red wine braised chuck roast for this particular application.
How do you braise chuck roast?
Put simply, to braise a chuck roast, you want to start by seasoning and searing it following this method:
- To get the best sear, you want to pat it dry first.
- Season it, either with just seasoning, or seasoning and a coating of flour
- Sear in a heavy bottom pot using olive oil
Then you want to add a braising liquid, and cook for several hours in the braising liquid.
What is braising liquid?
- Braising, which comes from the French word, “braiser” is a combination-cooking method that uses both moist and dry heats. The dry heat is when you sear at a high temperature, as mentioned above. Then once it is seared, it is put in a pot and covered with liquid. to cook at a low temp.
- The braising liquid can impart flavor, as well as make the beef roast very tender and delicious. For this recipe I used the Garnacha wine, as well as beef broth in order to get flavor, which getting a fork tender roast.
How do you cook a chuck roast in the oven?
- Season and sear to start.
- Then use a braising liquid, and a covered dutch oven or braising pot.
- Cook on a lower temperature for several hours. For a 3-4 lb chuck roast, this will be 3-4 hours of time to get fork tender meat.
How long do I braise a roast?
- It depends on the size of the roast. A typical beef roast will need to braise for about 3 hours, or until fork tender.
- It is good to let the roast rest in the braising liquid for 30 minutes or so after removing from heat.
- The bigger the roast, the longer time it takes to braise. Plan on a minimum of 2 hours, but approximately an hour per pound of roast.
Other Dishes You Might Love
- Haddock with Browned Butter White Wine Sauce
- Skillet Garlic Lemon Chicken with White Wine Sauce
- Instant Pot French Dip
- Creamy French Onion Beef and Noodles
Red Wine Braised Beef
Ingredients
- 4 Tbs butter divided
- 1 large or 2 medium, yellow onions, sliced thin
- 2 large carrots peeled and diced
- 2 large ribs of celery diced
- 2 tsp minced garlic
- 4 lb chuck roast
- 1/2 cup flour
- 1 tsp salt
- 1 tsp pepper
- 1 tsp onion powder
- 1 tsp garlic powder
- 2 cups Garnacha Red Wine Varietal
- 1 cup beef broth
- 2 Tbs Worcestershire sauce
- 2 sprigs rosemary
- 2 sprigs thyme
- 2 bay leaves
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 325 degrees.
- Add 2 Tbs to an oven safe dutch oven, and melt.
- Add in diced carrots and garlic, and let cook for 10 minutes, until soft and fragrant. Try not to stir too much.
- Add in onion and celery, let cook an additional 3-5 minutes.
- Remove from pan, into a large bowl, and set aside.
- Pat chuck roast dry with a paper towel, and set aside.
- In a small bowl, mix together flour, salt, pepper, garlic powder, and onion powder, then pour over chuck roast, and coat the exterior.
- Add 2 Tbs of butter into the dutch oven the veggies came out of, and sear the chuck roast for 4-5 minutes per side until it turns a nice golden brown, and has a crust. You want brown, not grey meat. Use tongs to help you sear all sides, even the edges.
- Remove the roast from the pan.
- Pour Garnacha wine into the pan, and use a spatula to deglaze the pan by scraping the bottom and getting all the brown bits up.
- Add the beef broth, Worcestershire sauce, bay leaves, rosemary, and thyme to the pot.
- Dump veggies back in.
- Add beef on top of the veggies.
- Put lid on.
- Place in oven at 325 degrees, and cook for 3-4 hours until fork tender.
Nutrition
Our recipe card software calculates these nutrition facts based on averages for the above ingredients, different brands, and quality of produce/meats may have different nutritional information, always calculate your own based on the specific products you use in order to achieve accurate macros for this recipe.
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