Instant Pot Beef Stew

Stew that tastes like it took all day

This stew tastes like a Sunday. It does not take a Sunday. The pot does the long slow part in under half an hour, and I do the browning and the stirring.

Brown the beef in batches first. Do not crowd it in one layer or it steams instead of browning. That brown crust is most of the flavour in the whole pot, so it is worth the ten minutes.

Then the beef cooks under pressure for 28 minutes. After that, leave the pot alone and let the pressure drop on its own. That is a natural release. Meat likes the slow drop. It stays tender instead of tightening up.

The vegetables get their own round

Potatoes and carrots do not go in with the beef. They would fall apart long before the beef got tender. So they get their own short round: 4 minutes under pressure, then another rest while the pressure drops.

You know it is done when the beef pulls apart with a fork and a knife slides into the potatoes with no push. If the broth is thin, stir cornstarch into cold water and stir that in on Sauté. It thickens in a minute or two.

It makes six servings. I am fine with that. Stew keeps well, and I think it tastes even better on day two.