Cooked to perfection, low and slow, this tender beef paired with a savory sauce made with red wine, herbs, and spices. It’s comfort food at its finest! Great to make ahead for a dinner party or as part of your weekly meal plan, this Braised Beef in Wine Reduction Sauce is a must try!
Combine ½ cup Swerve Brown, 1.5 tablespoons Paprika, 1 tablespoon Curry Powder, 1 tablespoon Ground Cumin, 1 tablespoon Ground Black Pepper, 1 tablespoon Kosher Salt, and 1.5 teaspoons Ground Mustard.
½ cup Swerve Brown, 1.5 tablespoons Paprika, 1 tablespoon Curry Powder, 1 tablespoon Ground Cumin, 1 tablespoon Ground Black Pepper, 1 tablespoon Kosher Salt, 1.5 teaspoons Ground Mustard
Mix well and set it aside.
For Cooking the Beef:
Pat the 6 pounds Beef Roast dry with paper towels. Cut the roast into large pieces about 2” x 2” x 4”. It doesn’t have to be exact, but you’re going for chunks that are large but provide more surface area for the dry rub than if you kept the roast whole.
6 pounds Beef Roast
Line a rimmed baking sheet with aluminum foil to make a work surface for yourself. Massage the dry rub into all sides of the roast chunks. You will not use all of the rub. Save the remainder to add to the pot before braising. Set the rub-coated meat on a plate and place it in the fridge, uncovered, for 1 hour.
Preheat the oven to 250°F.
Heat 2 - 3 tablespoons Avocado Oil in a Dutch oven (see Recipe Notes for Alternatives to using a Dutch Oven). Sear the Beef chunks on all sides (including the ends). Remove the seared meat to a plate on the side. You may need to work in batches to prevent overcrowding the pan.
2 - 4 tablespoons Avocado Oil
Adding more Avocado Oil if needed, sauté 1.5 Onions (in large chunks) for about 3 minutes. Then add 1 tablespoon Garlic and cook for another 30 seconds. Deglaze immediately with 750 milliliters Red Wine.
1.5 Onions, 1 tablespoon Garlic, 750 milliliters Red Wine
Add the Beef back into the pan along with the remaining spices from the Dry Rub, 3 sprigs Fresh Rosemary, 3 Bay Leaves, and 6 cups Beef Broth (or as much as it takes to come just to the very top of the meat).
Cover and move the Dutch Oven to the oven. Braise at 250°F for 4 hours.
Remove from the oven and take the lid off the dish. Using tongs, remove the Beef chunks to a container like a casserole dish with lid and allow to cool. Then move to the fridge for at least 2 hours to chill.
To Make the Wine Reduction Sauce:
Once the liquid in the braising dish is cool enough to handle, strain it through a fine mesh sieve into a large bowl. Discard everything that was strained out of the liquid.
Remove the layer of fat / oil from the top of the liquid by any method you prefer. If time permits, chill the liquid until the fat forms a solid disk on the top that is easily removed. If not and you have one, use a gravy separator. If you don’t have the time or a gravy separator, you can use a ladle or large spoon to remove the fat / oil from the top.
Pour the remaining liquid into a large saucepan over medium high heat. Cook down the liquid until it is reduced by about half. Stir occasionally to prevent any sticking or burning on the bottom.
Once it’s reduced, start whisking while adding ½ teaspoon Xanthan Gum. Keep whisking until it is completely dissolved and the sauce coats the back of a spoon. Remove from heat. It will continue to thicken a bit.
½ teaspoon Xanthan Gum
To Heat and Serve:
Remove the chilled Beef from the fridge and cut it into ~1.5-inch cubes. Place the cubes in a 9x13-inch casserole dish. Pour the Wine Reduction Sauce over the Beef cubes.
Cover with aluminum foil and place in the oven at 180°F for 20 minutes.
Serve warm. Perhaps over a tasty gorgonzola cauliflower mash.
While a Dutch Oven is ideal for this recipe because it easily goes from stove top to oven and is a good vessel for braising, no worries if you don’t have one.
In that case, you’ll want to use a large sauté pan or skillet on the stove and then transfer everything to a deep oven safe casserole dish with a lid for the long, low braise.
Use the large sauté pan for searing the beef, sautéing the onion and garlic, and deglazing with the wine.
After the deglazing step, you can move the everything to the deep braising vessel and then pour in the Beef Broth.
Cover the braising / casserole dish with the lid and stick in the oven, following the same instructions as with the Dutch oven. If you don’t have a lid for the dish, use Heavy Duty Aluminum Foil secured very tightly over the top.
Crock-Pot
Follow the same searing and deglazing steps as listed above.
Then instead of putting it in a braising vessel in the oven, place it in the crock-pot. I would suggest no smaller than a 6-quart crock-pot.
Cook on High for 4 - 5 hours or Low for 8 - 10 hours.