Bourbon Beef Stew is full of meaty, smoky flavor, potatoes, and carrots. This thick, hearty stew is the perfect thing to warm you up on a cold night.
Beef Stew With Bourbon
The subtle oak and caramel flavor the bourbon gives this stew is quite nice. When added to recipes, bourbon not only adds its own unique flavor, it enhances the flavors of the other ingredients. I add a third of a cup of bourbon. Makers Mark is what I typically use but you can use any bourbon that you have on hand.
Bacon For Smoky Flavor
In addition to tender beef chunks, this stew is also flavored with the smoky flavor of bacon. The beef is browned in the bacon grease for extra bacon flavor.
Type Of Beef To Use
For my beef stew, I use chuck roast. It tends to be fatty, but that is where the flavor is. I cut off as much of the fat as I can when I cut the roast into cubes. I don’t recommend using stew beef. It typically is too lean and often is cut into unevenly sized pieces.
How To Make Bourbon Beef Stew
(More detailed instructions below in recipe card.)
- Cook the bacon. Set aside.
- Season beef cubes with salt and pepper and coat with flour. Brown in the bacon grease. Set aside.
- Cook carrots and onion to soften. Add garlic.
- Stir in bourbon, tomato paste, Worcestershire sauce, salt, balsamic vinegar, thyme, and beef broth. Cover and place in a 350 degree oven for one and a half hours.
- Add potatoes and peas and cook 30 minutes.
- Brown the mushrooms in butter and add to stew.
Substitutions and Variations
- Use soy sauce in place of Worcestershire sauce.
- Make it spicy. Add half a teaspoon of crushed red pepper flakes.
- Use rosemary in place of thyme.
How To Serve
Serve as is or over buttered noodles or rice. I also love it with a side of yeast rolls.
How To Store
Leftovers can be kept in an airtight container in the refrigerator for 4 days or frozen for up to 2 months.
More Recipes Using Bourbon
- Pecan Chicken in Bourbon Maple Cream Gravy
- Hamburger Steaks with Bourbon Mushroom Gravy
- Bourbon Apple Pork Chops
- Bourbon Shrimp
- Honey Bourbon Steak Tips
- Baked Bourbon Teriyaki Chicken
More Stew Recipes
Bourbon Beef Stew
Equipment
Ingredients
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
- 6 slices bacon, diced
- 2½ pounds chuck roast, cut into 1-inch cubes
- ⅓ cup all-purpose flour
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 1 teaspoon black pepper
- 1 onion, diced
- 2 carrots, peeled and sliced
- 3 garlic cloves, minced
- ⅓ cup bourbon
- ¼ cup tomato paste
- 1 tablespoon Worcestershire sauce
- ½ teaspoon salt
- 1 tablespoon balsamic vinegar
- 1 teaspoon fresh thyme
- 32 ounces beef broth
- 1 pound quartered potatoes
- 1 cup peas
- 2 tablespoons butter
- 8 ounces mushrooms, sliced
Instructions
- Heat oil in Dutch oven over medium heat. Add bacon and cook until crispy. Remove bacon with a slotted spoon and set aside.
- Place beef cubes in a pie plate and sprinkle flour, salt and pepper over them. Stir to coat the beef evenly.
- Brown the beef in the bacon grease in batches and then set it aside.Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.
- Add a little more oil to the Dutch oven if needed and cook the carrots and onion for 4 to 5 minutes.Add garlic and cook 1 minute.
- Stir in the bourbon and tomato paste and then add the Worcestershire sauce, salt, balsamic vinegar, thyme, and beef broth. Return beef and bacon to Dutch oven.Bring to a simmer. Cover and transfer to oven for 1½ hours
- Add potatoes and peas and return to oven covered for 30 minutes.
- Meanwhile melt butter in a large skillet. Add mushrooms and cook until browned.
- Stir mushrooms into beef stew. Check for seasoning and add salt and pepper to taste and serve.
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So good!
Why don’t you have your recipes available to pin? I like my recipes to be all in one place.
This Bourbon Beef Stew was so delicious, nice umami flavor. Baked a nice loaf of bread. Don’t like Worcestershire, just used a splash. A keeper for these cold snowy days, any day. Thanks so much for sharing, from fan & follower.
when do you add the beef cubes and bacon im assuming when placed into oven…
Sorry about that. I fixed it.