Elunia, Be forewarned the recipe is a bit fiddly. If people are already making stew, they probably like theirs they way it is. Kind of like Thanksgiving stuffing. I had no frame of reference and don't think much of stew, so I was game!

Well bummer! I do not make beef stew but we like pot roast with veggies. I do brown my might first, no flour and I do cook the meat in the crock pot. I am not a fan of chuck roast, or stew meat, but prefer sirloin tip roast. I let the roast cook a while first, add veggies later. I hope you are able to save it.

Too funny! so, true about Thanksgiving stuffing. i’m always trying out new recipes, much to my family’s dismay, but i’m always careful to keep favorites/standbys in rotation. Hope it all comes together.

I don’t have any answers for you, but I’m glad you are considering taking the piece back to the store for a refund. Really! I’ve made a lot of beef stew, also a favorite of my DH, and my method is similar to Allison’s. I’ve used everything from chuck roast to stew meat, and even flank steak. I always cut into cubes, brown and saute the onions celery and carrots before adding ingredients for the broth and potatoes.

An interesting aside, I was watching an episode of CI and Jack (?) was making a middle eastern stew of some type. He made all the stew parts except the meat, then added the raw short ribs last and cooked about 1.5 hrs. He then removed the cooked meat and cut into pieces and returned to the pot. In this case he didnt want the stew to be flavored with all-meat. Makes sense for a complex flavored stew.

I don't make stew, but I make pot roast (no flour -- sauce is brothy rather than to the gravy side, but other than that, I don't think there is much difference. I always use chuck roast and it has always been tender, but I remember a chili recipe I've made a number of times that also uses chuck roast. One time I made that one, we had to cook an extra long time because the meat was not tender. I use wine in my pot roast and sometimes tomatoes. I use them for flavor, but think they can help tenderize too. We bought a side of grass fed beef at the start of the pandemic because our CSA farmer gave us the opportunity and we were cooking for 2 senior dogs with health issues in a time of uncertainty. I was a little concerned that we might have some texture issues, but it was great beef for all of us.

Probably too late now, but I would have probably removed the vegetables and continued cooking the meat to try to get it more tender, then return the vegetables before serving. Maybe add a splash of wine if the sauce would take it well.

I'm late to this because I haven't made beef stew in a gazillion years so have no input about the beef (I can't even remember what I used to use, but suspect it was left over rib roast or similar). Anyway, if it's not too late for your stew, I would pull out all of the meat that I could and put it in the food processor. Not to annihilate it but to carefully chop it into smaller pieces. You'll get all the beef flavor, easier to chew. Don't make it into hamburger but more like shredded beef.

Oh, and I recently learned about grass fed beef that if you are trying to avoid GMO food, only 100% grass fed avoids gmos (unless it's organic beef). If the label doesn't say 100%, then it's grain finished with GMO grains, corn, etc.

Well, the beef got somewhat more tender in the slow cooker w broth, by itself. Then, and this might be my imagination or not, it seemed to go back toward tough again. Dh and I have tasted it so many times that I think it is half gone, LOL. It is edible. I am still keeping it separate. If I have leftovers I am not using this meat.

Thx everyone.

PS Have been bingeing Kenji videos. Can't wait to make his grilled cheese!

I like Kenji too. I appreciate his research and explanations of "why." His Better than Chipoltle Beef Barbacoa is a big family favourite.

It's funny, since I made that last night at the same time (to freeze and take to my DDs). I came across his article today; did you see the part about the Chipotle at 18th and 8th? Heading to the city tomorrow and thinking I should go. I have never been to Chipotle.

Sorry, I skimmed the first half and skipped the second half of the comments. Did you at any time ”boil” the meat? boiled= covered the meat in liquid and let it rip. That will make it tough. The liquid should not cover the meat and it should simmer slowly.

I think 2 hours is insufficent time for a traditionally tough cut of beef. When I use a chuck roast, I plan to cook it at least 6 hours (most often in a slow oven rather than a crockpot). That may require you to add the veggies toward the end of the cooking.

Don’t you just hate it when you’ve put a lot of time (not to mention money) into a dish and it doesn’t turn our as you expected?

It was seared, then cooked at a slow simmer in the oven at 300F with the lid askew for a total of 2.5 hours. Veggies are a 2 part process; they are put in initially for flavor, then removed about half way through and discarded, and then fresh veggies added

Kenji suggests most people overcook stew meat, mistakenly believing that the longer it cooks the better, so I followed his instructions. The goal was fork tender meat, not shreds.

Having tried to save it with another hour by itself in a slow cooker, and now having finished dinner, I conclude the meat was "bad" - i.e. just too tough, for whatever reason.

I've cooked chuck in 2.5 hours before, ie barbacoa ... which is shreds.

Mtn, by now you’ve likely tinkered with the beef chuck.

What I would have done to remedy it is along the lines of what you seem to have done.

I’d place the beef chunks in my Instant Pot with some of the stock, maybe 1/8 C water and a bit of unsalted butter. The Instant Pot has a pressure cook mode. I’d let it pressure cook for ~ 20 minutes. Let the steam escape gradually. When the pressure is back to room level, I’d try the beef for tenderness.

I have had some grass-fed beef seem rather dry and flavorless.

I hope your DH appreciated your efforts and enjoyed the stew enough.

I think Clementine would greatly enjoy it.

Petalique, DH loved it. And it was very tasty if I do say so myself. Nice with greens and light vinaigrette, and crusty bread.

I kept the meat separate and yes, it will go to Clementine (one bite at a time, since she is on a "regime" as my Brazilian nannies used to charmingly call a diet). The rest of the stew is going in the freezer and when I no longer have stew fatigue, I shall source proper beef to pair with it.

Thanks all, not least for the commiseration.

I agree your meat was likely cooked for an insufficient length of time at too high a heat— regardless of the instructions and how assiduously you followed them. All ovens are different, all pots are different, every cut of meat will cook differently depending on the age of the animal, its diet, etc. The more ingredients and longer time. the process becomes more art and less science.

I like Kenji’s recipes too although they tend to be unnecessarily fiddly IMO. I always use beef stock and red wine unless i dint have them— then i would use chicken stock and cognac. Ideally, sauce should not need added gelatine for the right texture; the connective tissue should provide enough. I would take the beef out and try to cook it for about 20 min in a pressure cooker or sous vide, then add it back.

I also use chuck roast in beef stew, coat it first in a mixture of flour, salt salt, pepper and msg and then sear for a good crust that also thickens the sauce. And I also use tomato paste butI brown it first in olive oil and add more umami with mushroom powder and Woucester sauce.

All ovens are different, all pots are different...

I did control for both of these issues -- used the same pot and tested my oven temp for accuracy (mine tends to run hot).

The random factor is that meat is organic and especially chuck can be quite variable. The fact that my meat was always rubbery and tough, every time i interacted with it, from when I first cut i up after the sear, to its redemptive round in the slow cooker, leads me to blame the meat. Next time, either I will use short rib or I go to a specialty butcher and get very specific. Stew is a rather plebeian meal and I think that is one reason chuck is always spec'd; it is cheap. But there may be better choices.

should not need added gelatin for the right texture; the connective tissue should be plenty.

I thought the same thing; but I will tell you the sauce was perfect - both the taste and viscosity. I think, though I no longer recall every word of the 47 minute video, part of the reason for gelatin is because he prefers to use very little flour (for taste reasons) and because he says cornstarch won't work for reheating IIRC.

In any event, Kenji is downright gelatin happy. I just saw a video where he used it in Bolognese. Here he is in re gelatin:

https://www.seriouseats.com/how-to-use-gelatin-better-stock-sauce-dessert

His approach to cooking is very scientific, which is interesting, but he is not uptight about it either, and kind of down to earth at the same time. If you don't want to spend 47 minutes, here is 15 minutes on grilled cheese.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CD8UTr5mMVk

PS I do agree with him, that you'll get a better sear on a solid piece of meat than small pieces.

Nooooo, not gelatine in the bolognese! 🙄

He’s right about cornstarch, though, I almost never use it. Flour isn’t a problem per se; it only creates too thick a sauce if its used with a heavy hand and the taste is off if it hasnt been cooked long enough. It’s tricky, as cooking the flour too much lessens its thickening properties but not cooking it enough leaves that raw taste, which is why I flour the meat well and let the sear take care of cooking it. However, knowing how picky you are about food (that’s a compliment btw!) I will have to try his beef stew recipe.

Adding, Come to think of it Mtn, I make the beef broth with a Knorr product called Beef Stock Pot, they are little individual containers of very concentrated beef juices and other ingredients that are in a jiggly semi-solid state that undoubtedly contains gelatine!

I may have missed this in a previous comment but we always take meat out of the refrigerator so that it's close to room temperature before searing it in a cast iron skillet or just about any other cooking method.

The thickener I use in my stew is tapioca. I also use it in fruit pies to control the liquid.

sorry for the late 2 cents, but I see that they changed the cooking temp to 300F after feedback about it taking too long, because most home cooks have ovens/ranges that run cool. I believe you don't have a typical home oven, and perhaps you needed to use 275. Just a thought, as mine tends to run hot a bit hot. TBH, though, I've never had this problem and I always use chuck, a humble cut --- the ones that produce the best flavor for stewing and braising.

I'm making beef mushroom barley soup tonight using chuck/blade roast. I'll report back when it's done but so far the blade roast is behaving as expected.

I make a 5 hour oven stew that is one of the meals I make when the weather is cold and I don't want to spend any time in the kitchen. I never use boughten stew meat because it can be scraps of different cuts unless it is labeled chuck. A chuck roast needs to be cooked low and slow for a long period of time to break down the connective tissue. I am not a fan of grass fed beef; if you're going to eat red meat you might as well enjoy the fat and just don't eat it as often. I cook my stew in a heavy dutch oven for 5 hours at 275 degrees. It always comes out delicious. I do chuck roast the same way in my crock pot and never even season the meat-just add carrots and potatoes, if desired. And I don't brown the meat first for either dish.

Gooster, My range has a 3 ovens. The middle one is gas and runs cold. The left one is electric and runs 25 degrees too hot. The right one is for warming and I just put it at ~125 when i need it and have no idea (and then proceed to leave it or for days without recalling).

My oven thermometer read 300, which is the temp he used in the video. It was a gentle simmer, which is what he said to look for --- more important than the temp per se.

Tonight on our way home I picked up boneless short rib, cut it into chunks, seared it, and added it to my leftover (de-beefed) stew. Finally, a meat (at >2x the price) that deserved my stew!

A chuck roast needs to be cooked low and slow for a long period of time to break down the connective tissue. I

Yes, I don't think anyone disagrees with this. The chef does think most people cook it toooo long, however. Stop when it stays together but can be cut with a fork.

I bought grass fed because it was all they had. IME aged grass fed can be very good and is not tough.

Whole Foods had a great deal on boneless chuck roast so I'm going to make this recipe-ish tonight, cut in half. I say ish because I'm not sure I'll include pearl onions or peas, probably will.

I did watch the video and it was fairly amazing in itself. I think at times Kenji was wearing the camera on his head so there was often too much extraneous movement and I felt slightly motion-sick.

What floored me was how ordinary and basic his kitchen setup was. I am eternally grateful that my little kitchen has sink, prep, stove in an angled run, not having to cross over to my water source and drip on the way back. Both his dogs were underfoot the entire time, waiting for a treat. I won't even let my cats be underfoot while I'm cooking, mostly a tripping hazard. His kitchen was a very lived-in mess. I would go crazy in that clutter. But I loved that he made no excuses or apologies, this was just a guy who's cooking a dish his family loves with a sick kid upstairs.

Exactly, Bunny. Given how precise his instructions are, you expect a very buttoned-up guy. But he is very down to earth. And yes, apparently even with his high name recognition it does not seem as thought he has become particularly wealthy. (Though more recent versions have a bit of a nicer kitchen IIRC). He clearly doesn't use a stylist either!

I read an interview with him and it was so interesting. He was kind of apologizing about making videos or anything else where he called the recipe "the best ____." He said it gets more hits that way, but there really isn't a "best." It is about how much work you want to do, how you like things, what you are used to, available ingredients. It was nice. And I think it is true. The "best" is the one you like best, for whatever reasons.

I view his work as him sharing interesting, science-based observations about cooking, which one can take or leave. Not him coming down on high to say "you fools! do it this way!"

Hope you like the stew! I forgot to add the peas (which def should be last minute) in all the to and fro about the meat! I was surprised he only quartered, not sliced the mushrooms, but they almost disappear. I don't think I will slice mushrooms ever again!

I love the science of cooking!

One thing I picked up in the video that isn't in the written recipe or directions is that the gelatin is used if you use commercial boxed stock, which is watery. If you use homemade stock, you can omit it. I will probably use boxed stock for this because I already have some open, but my homemade chicken and turkey (separate) in the freezer is gel-like in an unheated state. So it's good to know why the gelatin is used and when you can omit it..

Yes, exactly. When you make your own, you can tell it is already gel-like if you used the bones. But if your broth is not gel like, a chuck roast will not make it so on its own. My ratio of chicken-cooking to soup-making is so far off in the winter I can't make my own broth!

Mission accomplished! Fantastic. The meat was fork-tender, despite being pasture-raised.

I essentially cut the recipe in half, although I upped the veggies. I didn't really measure them.

I used Red Boat fish sauce instead of anchovies. Next time I would cut the mushrooms in half instead of quarters. They do tend to disappear. When the aromatics came out, I squeezed out the garlic innards and returned them to the sauce. At the very end, I added a Tbs of sherry vinegar and a tsp of sugar for brightness and balance.

I'm not crazy about pearl onions. Next time I might do regular onions in 1-inch pieces.

This really is a luscious stew. It's rich and flavorful. I can't wait to taste it tomorrow.

It’s stew day at HD Conversations! When DH told me he wanted to make bouef bourguignon (he saw the same WF ad Bunny saw) and since he’s a big Kenji fan, I had him watch the video. He also used Megachef fish sauce instead of anchovies. Ours just went in the oven. So far, all taste testing is indicating delicious.

Too funny. I feel suddenly responsible for everyone's meal! Hope you all like it.

And I thought I was the only one who would watch a 47 minute video on stew!

Lol mtn. I just have to say ”Kenji” and DH is all in!

Plus Kenji was barefoot throughout the video. As per his advice, I checked that my stew was gently simmering in the oven, so I upped the temp to 325, and then down to 300.

I was a little skeptical of cutting into steaks for browning, but it was way simpler than futzing with a lot of pieces.

Look at us all making beef stew together!

I forgot the chopped parsley.

That looks beautiful, Bunny!

I am going to make this o eventually! I love seeing the pictures from everyone here. I am surprised that he leaves all the fat on, I almost always cut all those big globs of fat off. Chuck.

Bumble, in the video Kenji was really loving the fat. When I cut mine into steaks I removed a couple of chunks of fat. Then when I cut the steaks into pieces (after browning) I pulled a bit more off. The rest became part of the stew. It wasn't greasy at all, but it was rich and yummy.

Reading about Mtn's un-tender meat, I was a bit worried that mine wasn't marbled enough and would be tough as well. It wasn't. At the 1.5 hour mark, when you remove the sacrificial aromatics and add the ones browned earlier, the meat was becoming tender but wasn't there yet. Another hour did the trick. I think the 2 sets of veggies is really ingenious.

Of course, adding the potatoes makes an all-in-one meal, but I think it would be even more awesome to cook the potatoes separately, mash them and then serve beside with gravy over.

sacrificial aromatics LOL

I purposefully put my potatoes and carrots on top to get them browned, and that was one of my fave elements.

I’m loving all these beef stew stories and pictures! The recipe is a good comprehensive, although i would not sibstitute chicken stock for beef only because I like the Knorr product so well. I’ve never added anchovy fillets or fish sauce so I will try that.

I am a little surprised no one has mentioned using monosodium glutamate— the dreaded MSG so often avoided in the past. I use it with salt and pepper when seasoning meat (with much less salt) and it is an invaluable flavor enhancer. A former professional cook I know says many of her colleagues use it but leave it out of the recipes they give out when asked. I guess there is still a stigma attached to the ingredient?

IDK, KSWL, but I figured there was enough going on already LOL.

Funny about MSG:

A controversy surrounding the safety of MSG began on 4 April 1968, when Dr. Robert Ho Man Kwok wrote a letter to the New England Journal of Medicine, coining the term "Chinese restaurant syndrome".[56][57] In his letter, Kwok suggested several possible causes before he nominated MSG for his symptoms.[58][24] This letter was initially met with insider satirical responses, some using race as prop for humorous effect, within the medical community.[56] Some claimed that during the discursive uptake in media, the conversations were recontextualized as legitimate while the supposed race-based motivations of the humor were not parsed.[56] Thirty years after the Chinese restaurant syndrome was debunked, stigmas about MSG persist.

In January 2018, Dr. Howard Steel claimed that the letter was actually a prank submission by him under the pseudonym Ho Man Kwok.[57][59] However, there was a Dr. Robert Ho Man Kwok who worked at the National Biomedical Research Foundation, both names Steel claimed to have invented.[59] Kwok's children, his colleague at the research foundation, and the son of his boss there confirmed that Dr. Robert Ho Man Kwok, who had died in 2014, wrote this letter.[59] After hearing about Kwok's family, Steel's daughter Anna came to believe this claim itself was one of the last pranks by her late father.[59]

Kswl, Kenji was fairly adamant about not using beef stock. I probably would have used it if he hadn't made the point that it's got more stuff added that you don't want.

Umami is certainly there in force. I'm a believer in anchovies/fish sauce. The mix looks kinda pale pink at first. The rich brown color comes from a serious fond. I cooked my stew in a Staub dutch oven which is lined in black. It's a nice pot, but it's hard to gauge the browning of food. I had to go by smell.

I don't know why he removes the garlic. Because the peel/skin is still left on, the insides are all creamy and the garlic flavor is divine.

Oh, forgot to mention I didn't use any celery.

Beef stew is one of the things I never use a recipe for. It is what I grew up cooking. Plain old Southern.

I do not like purchased stew meat. They use less than optimal meat. I prefer shoulder roast to chuck roast now.

I purchase a roast and cut off 1 to 2 pounds for the stew and freeze the rest for later.

Chop meat into small cubes. If chuck, remove most of the fat.

Roll in plain flour. Brown in oil. Add at least 4 cups water. Bring to boil, reduce heat and simmer until meat is soft. Add water if needed.

When meat is almost done, about one hour before serving, add slices of carrots and cubes of potato. Cook until potato is done.

If you like onion, add with the meat. You can also use mixed vegetables instead of potato and carrot, making a beef vegetable soup.

The trick is to cook the meat until done and semi soft, but not fall apart, then add the vegetables.

I always cook on top of the stove. I never add salt, because my husband is very sensitive to salt, we just add to the bowl.

If you have access to venison, you can use that instead of beef.

Rutabagas are excellent in stew. I've been using them in place of potatoes ever since I first tried them a few years ago.

I read the recipe and his published remarks but couldn’t watch the video. It made me motion sick after about 30 seconds, so I did not hear him talk about the beef stock issue. As with all ingredients it depends on which one you use and like. If I really wanted unadulterated beef flavor and didn’t want to use beef stock I would use either vegetable Better than Bullion, or the Roasted Onion or Roasted Garlic BTB.

Along with Kenji, I like Molly Baz originally from Bon Appetit. She has a bit of a potty mouth so if that offends you, don't watch. She goes into a bit of the why and debunks some myths. She is crazy about salt - but of course you can adjust to your taste. I've made a few of her recipes and was quite pleased.

I'm with Sherry; get a big 'ol chuck roast and cut it up. I've tried and tried to make grass-fed beef tender to no avail. I make my stew a day ahead, stick it in the fridge overnight, then skim the fat before heating it up.

"I’m glad you are considering taking the piece back to the store for a refund."

Seriously? You would do that? 😂 I would love to see the look on THAT clerks face...

Final word: This stew is the best I’ve ever eaten in my life.

I made it on Friday and had leftovers Saturday and Sunday. It just keeps getting better. I’m gonna freeze the rest so I don’t OD. Seriously great eats!

Pasture-raised boneless chuck is divine. Fat? What fat?!!

Wow! I am so glad.

Honu, how was yours?

"I’m glad you are considering taking the piece back to the store for a refund."

Seriously? You would do that? 😂 I would love to see the look on THAT clerks face...

Yes, I seriously would take a $25 piece of meat back after it was cooked, if I could not chew it. The market we go to is not a huge chain, and we go there about 3-4x a week when we are home. They know us. I believe the meat was sub par. I am a pretty knowledgable cook.

My DH teases that, when we are out of town and not shopping at this store, their CFO calls a meeting to figure out what happened to revenues.

Ours was delicious. The meat was fork tender. DH made a few substitutions. Not wanting to open a new bottle of wine, he used the tag ends of an open bottle and finished it out with sherry. He also added sherry to the umami bomb 🤷‍♀️ I’ve learned not to question. This recipe will definitely be in rotation for the one or four days out of the year that we put on long pants and socks.

For those of you looking for more stew recipes, this is a good one. No meat and very rich.

Mushroom BourguignonMELISSA CLARK
YIELD4 to 6 servings
TIME1 hour David Malosh for The New York Times. Food Stylist: Simon Andrews.Meaty mushrooms simmered with pearl onions, wine and carrots make for a rich, wintry Bourguignon-style stew. The quality of the stock here makes a big difference, so if you’re not using homemade, buy a good brand. If you’re a meat eater, beef broth adds a familiar brawny character to this dish, but mushroom or vegetable broth work just well, especially because the whole dish is rounded out with a tamari for depth. For the best flavor, use as many kinds of mushrooms as you can get, and let them really brown when searing; that caramelization adds a lot of depth to the sauce. Maitake mushrooms give this a brisketlike texture, in a very good way
INGREDIENTS
6 tablespoons butter or extra-virgin olive oil, plus more as needed
2 pounds mixed mushrooms, such as portobello, cremini, white button, shiitake or oyster, cut into 1-inch chunks (about 10 cups)
8 ounces peeled pearl onions (2 cups), larger ones cut in half
Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper
1 large leek or 2 small leeks, white and light green parts, diced (1 1/2 cups)
2 carrots, thinly sliced
3 garlic cloves (2 minced, 1 grated to a paste)
1 tablespoon tomato paste
2 ½ tablespoons all-purpose flour
1 ½ cups dry red wine
1 ½ cups beef, mushroom or vegetable broth
1 tablespoon tamari or soy sauce, plus more to taste
3 large fresh thyme branches or 1/2 teaspoon dried thyme
1 bay leaf
3 to 4 ounces chanterelle or oyster mushrooms, thinly sliced (about 1 cup)
Smoked paprika, for serving
Polenta, egg noodles or mashed potatoes, for serving
Chopped flat-leaf parsley, for serving
Step 1Add 2 tablespoons butter or oil to a large Dutch oven or pot and set it over medium heat. When the fat is hot, stir in half the mushrooms and half the pearl onions. (If it doesn’t all fit in the pot in one layer, you might have to do this in three batches, rather than two.) Without moving them around too much, cook the mushrooms until they are brown on one side, about 3 minutes. Stir and let them brown on the other side, 2 to 3 minutes more. Use a slotted spoon to transfer mushrooms and onions to a large bowl or plate and sprinkle with salt and pepper. Repeat with another 2 tablespoons butter and the remaining mushrooms and pearl onions, seasoning them as you go.

Step 2Reduce heat to medium-low. Add another 1 tablespoon butter or oil to pan. Add leeks and carrot and sauté until the leeks turn lightly golden and start to soften, 5 minutes. Add the 2 minced garlic cloves and sauté for 1 minute longer. Stir in tomato paste and cook for 1 minute. Stir in flour and cook, stirring, for 1 minute, then add wine, broth, 1 tablespoon tamari, thyme and bay leaf, scraping up the brown bits at bottom of pot.

Step 3Add reserved cooked mushrooms and pearl onions back to the pot and bring to a simmer. Partly cover the pot and simmer on low heat until carrots and onions are tender and sauce is thick, 30 to 40 minutes. Taste and add more salt and tamari if needed. Stir in the grated garlic clove.

Step 4Just before serving, heat a small skillet over high heat and add ½ tablespoon butter or oil. Add half of the sliced chanterelles or oyster mushrooms and let cook without moving until they are crisp and brown on one side, 1 to 2 minutes. Flip and cook on the other side. Transfer to a plate and sprinkle with salt and smoked paprika. Repeat with remaining butter and mushrooms. Serve mushroom Bourguignon over polenta, noodles or mashed potatoes, topped with fried mushrooms and parsley.
Featured in: The Meat Lover’s Guide To Eating Less Meat.

Final word, part 2. :p

I changed my mind about not using pearl onions next time. I would. Except I would make sure they were completely thawed and take more effort to brown them better. I thought Kenji just threw his in frozen and that was my plan, until I read the recipe more closely and it said "thawed." Ooops. I think their size and shape works better than onions cut in any shape.

At the end of cooking Kenji's stew wasn't that thick so he continued to cook it on the stovetop to reduce. That isn't going to do any favors for the meat and veggies. My gravy was already perfectly thick coming out of the oven.

It's a rich dish. I think a bit of acid (lemon or vinegar) is essential at the end to brighten and balance the flavors.

Don't cut those mushrooms smaller than halves. They will disappear otherwise.