My last batch of beef stew went quickly. To taste it, it's a solid stew and not much "wow". That it's not tainted with small burnt bits that gave just a hint of being burned to the whole batch (last time) is progress.
I put about half the beef stroganoff into the freezer. Good and filling but a lot of it.
The trick is to follow the recipe (I've tweaked) until you don't. Bit tips. Take half of the potatoes you use and dice them into cubes while only halving (small) or quartering (larger) ones. In the pressure cooker, the smaller chunks break down and give the "stew" the thickness it needs. Meanwhile, the larger chunks hold up for eatering gooderness. Run the pressure for the time called for, then (once depressurized) set the InstantPot on slow-cook for another 2 or 3 hours; stirring occasionally to keep things from burning on the bottom.
Also, while the recipe called for 3# of beef, stews/meatloaf/etc have always been about stretching the protein, so I made this with the 1# left over from the beef stroganoff; making a full batch with the other contents.
Since the beef was seared already for the BS, I didn't dredge it; getting the thickening from the potatoes instead of the flour. I may do this always going forward.
Instant Pot Pressure Cooker Beef Stew
Prep Time: 20 minutes
Cook Time: 20 minutes (add 30 if you sear in the IP)
Total Time: 40-70 minutes
Yield: 6+
Ingredients
1-3 pounds of beef stew, cut into 1-inch pieces and fat trimmed 1/3 cup flour
Kosher salt and freshly ground pepper, to taste
3 Tbs. vegetable oil
1/2 cup red wine
1 onion, diced
3 garlic cloves, minced
3 carrots, peeled and cut into 1/2-inch pieces 2 celery stalks, cut into 1/2-inch pieces
1.5 - 3 lb. red potatoes, cut into 1/2-inch pieces
1 Tbs. tomato paste
20-32oz reduced sodium beef stock (depending on #potatoes)
2 Sprigs of fresh thyme
1/4 cup of chopped Italian Flat Leaf Parsley (optional since it’s for appearance)
Start by trimming off any excess fat from the stew meat. The Instant Pot doesn’t render the fat in the same way that a slow cooker does, so I find it’s best to start with less fat on the meat. The meat will still be tender, it’s just that the fat doesn’t melt away like it does if it’s cooked low and slow.
Toss the stew meat with flour, salt and pepper and sear. Honestly, when working with 3 pounds of stew meat, the searing can be the most time consuming part in an Instant Pot. The Instant Pot gets very hot, but the surface area for searing is not very big. I seared the meat in three batches to make sure each piece had a good sear. To speed the process along, you can sear the meat in a large cast iron skillet and knock it out in one batch. You can cut the time by searing the meat in a skillet large enough to do it all in one batch. Once deglazed, move the result to the Instant Pot.
Once the meat is seared, remove it from the Instant Pot (or skillet) and deglaze using 1/2 cup of red wine. Any kind of red wine you prefer to drink will be fine! Once the wine has reduced, return meat to pot along with veggies, beef stock and tomato paste. Lock the lid in place and set Instant Pot to High Pressure for 20 minutes using Pressure Cook mode. Let Natural Pressure Release for about 10 minutes and then turn valve releasing any excess pressure. Stir in parsley and additional salt and pepper as needed.
Instructions
- In a large bowl, combine stew meat with flour, salt and pepper.
- Heat vegetable oil in Instant Pot using Saute function adjusted to high and sear
beef in batches. Or in a skillet large enough to do one batch.
- Remove stew meat from Instant Pot
- Add wine and deglaze
- Let wine reduce by half.
- Return beef to Instant Pot and add onions, garlic, carrots, celery, potatoes,
tomato paste and beef stock.
- Season with salt and pepper.
- Add lid to Instant Pot, turn Pressure Release Valve to Sealing and set Instant Pot to High Pressure for 20 minutes using Pressure Cook mode.
- Once 20 minutes countdown is completed, let Instant Pot Natural Pressure Release for about 10 minutes.
- Then turn Pressure Release Valve to let any remaining pressure escape.
- Carefully open lid, angling Instant Pot lid away from you as your twist it off to avoid the hot steam.
- Remove thyme sprigs.
- Stir in flat leaf parsley (optional - I never use) and additional salt and paper as needed.
The hot tub we are getting is also a small two person model, that’s about 1/2 the weight of your usual square one. 
