Why add the cornstarch slurry?

Thin sauce is the downside of pressure cooking. The sealed cooker traps steam to build up pressure, but that steam would evaporate in a regular pot, thickening the sauce. The optional cornstarch slurry thickens the sauce, giving it the mouthfeel of a regular stew. If you are OK with a thinner sauce, skip it.

This recipe is often called beef daube provencal. A daube is a French stew braised in wine. On the stovetop I would use a lot more wine instead of the broth. In a pressure cooker I prefer a little wine for flavor, but not as much as a classic provencal beef stew would use.

Why brown only one side of the meat?

Finally, let's discuss the essential step in making a stew: browning the meat. I get asked: "Can I skip the browning?" You can skip it, but the stew will suffer. The layer of caramelized brown bits left in the pot ("fond" in French) dissolves into the stew's liquid, adding depth and body. That said, I only brown the beef on one side, not on all sides, as many recipes recommend. It takes too long, and I do not have the patience. Browning on one side gives me the best balance of flavor and speed.

Instant Pot Provencal Beef Stew (Beef Daube Provencal)

Name: Instant Pot Provencal Beef Stew Recipe
Prep time: 15 min
Cook time: 1 h
Total time: 1 h 15 min
Cuisine: French
Ingredients: 1 tablespoon olive oil; 3 pounds beef bottom round roast (or chuck roast), cut into 1- to 1¼-inch cubes; 1 teaspoon fine sea salt; ½ teaspoon fresh ground black pepper; 1 large onion, diced; 4 cloves garlic, minced; 8 ounces button mushrooms, cleaned and quartered; 1 teaspoon herbes de Provence (or dried thyme); ½ teaspoon fine sea salt; 2 tablespoons tomato paste; ½ cup red wine; 1 cup beef broth (or homemade beef broth, or water); 1 pound baby carrots (or 3 large carrots peeled and cut into 1-inch lengths); 15-ounce can of diced tomatoes; 1 teaspoon fine sea salt (2 teaspoons if using homemade broth or water); ½ teaspoon fresh ground black pepper; 1 teaspoon fresh thyme leaves, chopped (optional); ¼ cup water; 2 tablespoons cornstarc

Instant Pot Provencal Beef Stew Recipe

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5 from 2 reviews

Author: Mike Vrobel
Total Time: 1 hour 15 minutes
Yield: 4 quarts of stew 1x

Description

Instant Pot Provencal Beef Stew (Beef en Daube Provencal). Beef stew with the flavors of Southern France, in about an hour from the pressure cooker.

Ingredients

Scale

1 tablespoon olive oil
3 pounds beef bottom round roast (or chuck roast), cut into 1- to 1¼-inch cubes
1 teaspoon fine sea salt
½ teaspoon fresh ground black pepper
1 large onion, diced
4 cloves garlic, minced
8 ounces button mushrooms, cleaned and quartered
1 teaspoon herbes de Provence (or dried thyme)
½ teaspoon fine sea salt
2 tablespoons tomato paste
½ cup red wine
1 cup beef broth (or homemade beef broth, or water)
1 pound baby carrots (or 3 large carrots peeled and cut into 1-inch lengths)
15-ounce can of diced tomatoes
1 teaspoon fine sea salt (2 teaspoons if using homemade broth or water)
½ teaspoon fresh ground black pepper
1 teaspoon fresh thyme leaves, chopped (optional)

Cornstarch slurry (optional)

¼ cup water
2 tablespoons cornstarc

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Instructions

Sear the beef in three batches: Heat the vegetable oil in an Instant Pot using sauté mode until the oil shimmers and just starts to smoke. (Use medium-high heat with a stovetop PC.) While the pot heats, sprinkle the beef cubes with 1 teaspoon salt and ½ teaspoon black pepper. Add ⅓ of the beef and sear until well browned on one side, about 3 minutes. (Don't crowd the pot, or the beef will steam, not brown). Remove the browned beef to a bowl, add the second batch of the beef to the pot, and sear until browned on one side, about 3 more minutes. Repeat with the remaining beef - in the pot, sear until browned on one side, then into the bowl with the rest of the beef.
Sauté the aromatics: Add the onion, garlic, mushrooms, and tomato paste to the pot, and sprinkle with the herbes de Provence and ½ teaspoon salt. Sauté until the onions soften and the tomato paste darkens, about 8 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. Stir in the beef and any juices in the bowl, then pour in the beef broth. Scrape the bottom of the pot one last time to ensure nothing is sticking. Stir in the carrots, then spread the diced tomatoes on top.
Pressure cook the stew for 15 minutes with a natural pressure release: Lock the lid on the pressure cooker and cook at high pressure for 15 minutes in an Instant Pot or other electric pressure cooker or for 12 minutes in a stovetop PC. (Use Manual, Pressure Cook, or Pressure Cook—custom mode in an Instant Pot.) When the cooking time finishes, let the pressure come down naturally, about 20 minutes. (If you are in a hurry, you can quick-release any remaining pressure after 15 minutes.)
Season, thicken, and serve: Unlock the pressure cooker lid. Whisk the water and cornstarch into a slurry, and then stir the cornstarch slurry into the stew. Stir in 1 teaspoon of fine sea salt (2 teaspoons if using homemade broth) and ½ teaspoon of fresh ground black pepper. Serve, sprinkling each bowl with a pinch of the minced fresh thyme. Enjoy!

Equipment

6-Quart Pressure Cooker

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Flat edged wooden spoon

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Notes

Thin sauce is the downside to pressure cooking. The sealed cooker traps steam to build up pressure - but that steam would evaporate in a regular pot, thickening the sauce. The optional cornstarch slurry thickens the sauce, giving it the mouthfeel of a regular stew. If you are OK with a thinner sauce, skip it.
What does “ a well-seasoned stew” mean? Don’t ignore the seasoning step at the end, and taste as you go when adding the salt. Salt brings out the other flavors in the stew. Not enough salt and the flavor is flat. Enough salt and it suddenly tastes sweeter and rounder. If it tastes "salty" then there is too much salt. With canned beef broth, I add a half-teaspoon to a teaspoon of fine sea salt. With homemade beef broth (or water), I add more - at least two teaspoons. (Canned broth has a lot of sodium.)

Tools

6 quart or larger pressure cooker (I love my Instant Pot electric pressure cooker)
Flat edged wooden spoon

Prep Time: 15 minutes
Cook Time: 1 hour
Category: Sunday Dinner
Method: Pressure Cooker
Cuisine: French

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