Swiss Beef Stew (Rindsvoressen) — Tender on Its Own in the Oven
Sear the stewing beef in batches, add onions, carrots and tomato purée, barely cover with red wine and stock and braise covered at 160 °C for 2 hours in the oven. Done when the meat pulls apart with a fork. Braising too short is the only mistake you can make.
'Voressen' is Swiss for ragout, and beef Voressen is the cheapest meat dish that tastes like Sunday. The meat costs a fraction of a joint and the work is done in 20 minutes — after that the oven does everything alone for two hours. Anyone who has braised it too short once knows: patience is the only ingredient that counts.
Ingredients
- 800 g Stewing beef (in 4 cm cubes)
- 2 pieces Onions
- 3 pieces Carrots
- 2 pieces Garlic cloves
- 2 tbsp Clarified butter
- 2 tbsp Flour
- 2 tbsp Tomato purée
- 3 dl Red wine
- 3 dl Beef stock
- 2 pieces Bay leaves
- 1 tsp Thyme (dried)
- 1 tsp Salt
- Pepper
Method
- 1
Sear the beef
Preheat the oven to 160 °C. Pat the meat dry. Heat the clarified butter in a casserole until very hot and brown the meat in three batches, 3 to 4 minutes each. Remove. Too much at once and it boils instead of browning.
- 2
Fry the vegetables
Roughly chop the onions, thickly slice the carrots, chop the garlic. Fry in the casserole for 5 minutes, add the tomato purée and fry 1 minute, dust with the flour.
- 3
Deglaze
Deglaze with the red wine and scrape the browned bits off the base. Return the meat and juices, add the stock, bay, thyme, salt and pepper. The meat should be just covered.
- 4
Braise
Bring to the boil, cover and put in the oven. Braise 2 hours, stirring once after an hour. It is done when a piece of meat falls apart under a fork with no resistance — otherwise 20 minutes more.
- 5
Serve
Remove the bay leaves, season the sauce. If too thin, reduce uncovered on the hob for 5 minutes. Serve with mash, Chnöpfli or polenta.
Tips
- Stew is better on day two. Cook a double batch and freeze half — keeps three months and on a weekday is the meal that tastes like Sunday.
- Without an oven: on the hob at the lowest heat with the lid on, 2 hours, stirring every 30 minutes. In the oven the heat is more even and nothing catches.
- For a mushroom version, add 250 g mushrooms in the last half hour. With 1 dl cream at the end it becomes a cream stew.
What can I substitute?
Pork needs 90 minutes and is milder. Veal is dearer and finer — braise with white wine instead of red.
Alcohol-free. The balsamic brings acidity and depth. With no acidity at all the sauce tastes flat.
Any root vegetable works and they can be mixed. Celeriac gives the fullest-flavoured sauce.
Nutrition per serving
Estimated from the ingredients.
Frequently asked questions
Why is my stew tough?
Braised too short. Stewing meat only softens after about 90 minutes, when the connective tissue turns to gelatine — before that it is tougher than raw. Just keep braising; it will get tender. Too much heat also dries it: 160 °C, no more.
What cut is Rindsvoressen?
Cubes of shoulder, neck or brisket — marbled cuts with connective tissue that turn tender with long braising. At Migros and Coop it is labelled 'Rindsvoressen' or 'Rindsragout' and is one of the cheapest beef cuts.
Can I prepare stew ahead?
Yes, and you should. Fully cooked it keeps three days in the fridge and tastes better each day. Warm slowly on the hob, with a splash of stock if the sauce has thickened too much.
How much does beef stew cost per person?
About 5 CHF per person with Swiss meat and red wine. The meat itself costs about half what a joint does.
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