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Instant Pot Easy Beef Stew. Recipe created for the Certified Angus Beef® Brand. Check them out at hashtag #BestAngusBeef and #SteakLover for more beef recipes, or join them in the Certified Angus Beef Kitchen group on Facebook.
Certified Angus Beef asked me to write an Instant Pot easy beef stew recipe using Bottom Round. I don’t usually cook with round - I’m a chuck man, Chuck - but their request made me ask: why? Why do I reach for the chuck, and avoid the bottom round?
Bottom Round Roast [CertifiedAngusBeef.com]
Pressure cooking works best on tough pieces of beef from hard working parts of the steer. The chuck (from the shoulder), and the round (from the rump) are the traditional long-cooking cuts. They need extra cooking to tenderize the tough meat, and are used in pot roasts, braises, chilis, and stews.
Chuck roast has more collagen, connective tissue, and fat. Cooking breaks down the collagen and melts the fat, turning a tough piece of chuck into a tender pot roast. Round roasts are leaner, with less collagen and connective tissue. They don’t make as good of pot roasts, because a big piece of round will tend to dry out. But, testing this recipe, I found out that cubes of bottom round work great in a stew, where small, lean bites of beef are precisely what I’m looking for.
In other words, round is a great cut for a beef stew. It looks like I learned something!
What should you serve with this beef stew? Try my Instant Pot Mashed Potatoes.
Certified Angus Beef’s version of the recipe: Instant Pot Easy Beef Stew
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Instant Pot Easy Beef Stew
- Total Time: 1 hour 10 minutes
- Yield: 12 cups 1x
Description
Instant Pot Easy Beef Stew with Bottom Round. A hearty beef stew, ready in about an hour thanks to pressure cooking.
Ingredients
- 1 tablespoon vegetable oil
- 3 pounds of beef bottom round roast, cut into 1-inch cubes
- 1 teaspoon fine sea salt
- 1 large onion, diced
- 3 cloves garlic, minced
- ½ teaspoon dried thyme
- ½ teaspoon fine sea salt
- 2 tablespoons tomato paste
- ½ cup red wine
- 1 cup beef broth (or water)
- 1 pound baby carrots (or 3 large carrots peeled and cut into 1-inch lengths)
- 15-ounce can diced tomatoes
- ½ teaspoon fresh ground black pepper
- More fine sea salt to taste
Cornstarch slurry (optional)
- ¼ cup water
- 2 tablespoons cornstarch
Instructions
- Sear the beef in three batches: Heat the vegetable oil in the pot over medium heat (Sauté mode set to medium in an Instant Pot) until the oil shimmers. While the pot heats, sprinkle the beef cubes with 1 teaspoon salt. Add ⅓ of the beef in a loose single layer and sear until well browned on one side, about 3 minutes. (Don’t crowd the pot or the beef will steam, not brown). Transfer the browned beef to a bowl, add half of the remaining beef to the pot, and sear until browned on one side, about 3 more minutes. Transfer the browned beef to the bowl. Add the rest of the beef to the pot and sear until browned on one side, about 3 more minutes. Transfer the browned beef to the bowl.
- Saute the aromatics, toast the spices, deglaze the pan with wine: Add the onion and garlic to the pot, and sprinkle with the dried thyme and ½ teaspoon salt. Stir the tomato paste into the onions. Sauté until the onions soften, about 5 minutes, scraping the bottom of the pot occasionally to loosen any browned bits of beef. Pour the red wine into the pot, bring to a simmer, and simmer for 1 minute. Scrape the bottom of the pot again to release any browned onions or tomato paste.
- Stir everything into the pot: Stir in the beef and any juices in the bowl. Pour in the beef broth, carrots, and diced tomatoes, and stir.
- Pressure cook the stew for 15 minutes with a natural pressure release: Lock the lid on the pressure cooker. Cook at high pressure for 15 minutes in an electric pressure cooker (“Manual” or “Pressure Cook” mode in an Instant Pot), or for 12 minutes in a stovetop PC. Let the pressure come down naturally, about 20 more minutes. (If you’re in a hurry, you can quick release any remaining pressure after 15 minutes.) Remove the lid, tilting it away from you to avoid the hot steam.
- Thicken, season and serve: Whisk the water and cornstarch together to make a cornstarch slurry, and then stir the slurry into the stew. Stir in salt and pepper: If you used store-bought beef broth, add ½ teaspoon of fine sea salt; if you used homemade beef broth or water, add 1½ teaspoons of fine sea salt. Also, add ½ teaspoon of fresh ground black pepper. Serve and enjoy!
Notes
The downside to pressure cooking is a thin sauce. The sealed pressure cooker lets us build pressure, but we don’t get any evaporation to thicken up the sauce. The cornstarch slurry thickens the sauce and gives it the mouthfeel of a long-simmered stew.
You can substitute chuck roast for the bottom round roast if that’s what’s available; everything else cooks the same.
- Prep Time: 15 minutes
- Cook Time: 55 minutes
- Category: Sunday Dinner
- Method: Pressure Cooker
- Cuisine: American
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Questions? Other ideas? Leave them in the comments section below.
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Jim says
Came across a great deal on bottom round and this recipe is perfect for it.
Mike Vrobel says
Thank you, glad you enjoyed it!
Mike Vrobel says
Try it, you'll love it!
Melissa says
Love this recipe!
Mike Vrobel says
Thanks!
Jeff says
I purchased a bottom round roast by mistake and found this recipe. I was prepared in advance not to like it and was very surprised by the results. The family loved it. And the meat was far more tender than I expected, coming from a bottom round. Thank you. I will be visiting your website in the future for other recipes to try.
Mike Vrobel says
You’re welcome!
Sarah says
Delicious! Made this as a super last minute dinner and my husband and 2 year old loved it! It was also extremely easy to follow and will be making it again soon. Thank you!
Mike Vrobel says
You're welcome!
June says
I have not made this recipe, but plan to do so in the near future. I have cooked potatoes in the stew which disintegrate pretty much in a pressure cooker. However, I have used this to my advantage to thicken the juices
without having to add any corn starch.
Susan in Las vegas says
Recipe says to deglaze the pan with beer. Beer is not on the list of ingredients. How much beer and can I use wine instead?