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Spanish Beef Stew with Mushrooms and Sherry

Spanish Beef Stew with Mushrooms and Sherry

By Courtney HillDecember 17, 2021

  • Makes
    4 to 6 servings
  • Cook Time
    2½ hours
  • Active time plus cooling
    40 minutes active
  • Rating

A corner of the Andalusia region in southern Spain is home to sherry, the unique fortified wine that is produced in an area known as the Sherry Triangle. The city of Jerez de la Frontera—commonly shortened to Jerez—is one of the points of that triangle, and also the location of Mantúa restaurant, where chef Israel Ramos taught us his recipe for guiso de ternera, or beef stew. With tender, succulent pieces of beef, silky, supple mushrooms and a braising liquid rich with both sherry wine and sherry vinegar, the stew was familiar and comforting, yet deliciously different thanks to the wine’s tangy, nutty notes and the aged woodsiness and mellow acidity of the vinegar. We adapted Ramos’ recipe, adding turnip along with the carrots and cinnamon to complement the wine. There are many varieties of sherry, each with unique characteristics, but for this recipe simply seek a fino or manzanilla sherry—both are dry, bright and light, and therefore excellent counterpoints for the richness of the beef and mushrooms. If you wish to make a stew with deeper, weightier flavors, try amontillado or palo cortado, darker and more full-bodied types of sherry. As for the sherry vinegar, if you can spare the expense, opt for gran reserva which is aged for at least 10 years and has a smooth, complex flavor, balanced acidity and mahogany hue. If that’s not an option, reserva or any aged sherry vinegar, though less nuanced than gran reserva, will work perfectly well.

Tip

Don’t use sherry cooking wine or domestically produced “dry sherry.” To get the right complexity and balance of richness and acidity, look for fino or manzanilla sherry produced in Spain. Also, avoid sweet sherry for the obvious reasons.

Ingredients
  • 2

    tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil

  • 2

    pounds boneless beef chuck roast, trimmed of excess fat and cut into 1- to 1½-inch pieces

  • 4

    medium garlic cloves, peeled

  • 1

    medium yellow onion, halved and thinly sliced

  • Kosher salt and ground black pepper

  • 2

    medium carrots, peeled and sliced ½ inch thick

  • 1

    small white turnip, peeled and cut into ½-inch cubes

  • 2

    bay leaves

  • 1

    cinnamon stick

  • 4

    teaspoons sweet paprika

  • ½

    teaspoon grated nutmeg

  • 1

    cup fino or manzanilla sherry (see headnote)

  • 1

    quart low-sodium beef broth

  • 2

    tablespoons good-quality aged sherry vinegar (see headnote), plus more to taste

  • 4

    ounces oyster or cremini mushrooms, trimmed and thinly sliced

Step 1

In a large Dutch oven over medium-high, heat the oil until shimmering. Add the beef and garlic, then cook, stirring occasionally, until lightly browned, about 5 minutes. Using a slotted spoon, transfer to a medium bowl and set aside; reserve the fat in the pot.

Step 2

To the same pot, add the onion and 1 teaspoon salt; cook over medium, stirring often, until golden brown, 8 to 10 minutes.

Add the carrots, turnip, bay, cinnamon, paprika and nutmeg; cook, stirring, until fragrant, about 30 seconds.

Add the sherry and bring to a simmer over medium-high, scraping up any browned bits; cook, stirring occasionally, until reduced by about half, 3 to 5 minutes.

Step 3

Stir in the broth, vinegar and ¼ teaspoon pepper. Return the beef and garlic, along with the accumulated juices, to the pot. Bring to a simmer, then cover partially. Reduce to medium-low and cook, stirring occasionally, until a skewer inserted into the beef meets just a little resistance, about 1½ hours.

Step 4

Stir in the mushrooms and cover completely. Reduce to low and cook, stirring once or twice, until the mushrooms are tender, 10 to 15 minutes. Off heat, remove and discard the cinnamon and bay.

Taste and season with salt, pepper and additional vinegar, if needed.

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