188 Reviews of Mahogany Beef Stew

From: Polar Bear

On Feb 5, 2004

This is very delicious! I have done it twice. First time, I made it, I followed the directions to the letter. It was flavorful. Next time, I modified it - Step 8, placed 2 cups wine, carrots, and water. Then I simmered it for 1 hour. I used a can of Italian tomatoes with garlic. Take note garlic is not included in the recipe, neither is parsley. They are both optional, but we prefer it that way. After simmering for a long time, there is no need to thicken the sauce in our opinion, but then again, that is a matter of taste. The hoisin sauce made the sauce thicker and richer and we loved it. Thanks Evelyn for this lovely recipe.

From: elliesstuff

On Jan 24, 2005

This is very delicious. I made it yesterday during a blizzard and it made the whole house smell wonderful. The hoisin sauce adds a slight sweetness that is very appealing. The only things I did differently were that I floured the meat with Wondra before browning, added button mushrooms and sliced celery,and lots of garlic. I had frozen pearl onions I was going to add also but forgot about them. This is a keeper. Thanks Evelyn. I've made a number of your recipes and they're all terrific.

From: catxx

On Mar 18, 2005

A delicious stew, which I'm sure must taste good the next day but we never got to find out..all gone! Had to make a few improvisations (bare pantry), but it still tasted great...I halved the recipe (though still used the same amount of hoisin sauce), substituted 3 tablespoons of tomato paste for the tinned tomato, water and 2 tablespoons of balsamic vinegar for the red wine, and added 1/2 dozen chopped mushrooms. Oh, and I used fresh herbs rather than dried, added them just before the end. I also found the cornstarch unnecessary as the sauce reduced nicely within the cooking time. Served this over some creamy mashed potato for scrumptious comfort food...thanks Evelyn!

From: Gina*S

On Oct 24, 2005

This was very satisfying. I seared the meat and carmelized the onions and then put everything into the crockpot for the day. I had to use a lot more than 1 tbs of cornstarch to thicken the sauce, but I think it was because of the low heat I used. I think next time (and there will be a next time) I will use a better wine. Like some of the other reviewers, I too added garlic and mushrooms. Thanks for sharing this.

From: Lorac

On Jun 4, 2005

Excellent! A gourmet stew with deep dark layers of elegant flavors. I made the recipe as directed using leftover Shiraz Cabernet and Tuscan (Antinori) red wine. I doubled the garlic and subbed 2 celery stalks for 2 of the carrots. I served the stew over mashed potatoes. I made the full recipe for just the two of us, expecting to freeze some, but at the rate it is disappearing - we will be fighting over the leftovers tomorrow! Great recipe Ev, goes right into my cookbook of "Special Tricks".

From: LoversDream

On Aug 11, 2007

Very good! Followed the recipe as far as ingredients..but cooked in a crock pot for about 6-7 hours. I added the carrots after about 2 hours because I like them nice and tender. I found I did not need cornstarch because removing the lid and turning on high for the last 45 minutes was sufficient to thicken it nicely. The meat was very very tender. The only change I might make next time is to go a little heavier on the garlic (we love garlic). 1 clove was almost too subtle for us, but that's just a personal preference. We opted to serve it over plain mashed potatoes and let it stand on it's own...which it did admirably! My picky british wife said to give it 10 out of 10 (a rating like that from her usually requires mushrooms)!

From: Lighthouse Rita

On Aug 23, 2009

Delicious! We really enjoyed this stew. I followed the first 7 steps and then threw it all plus the other ingredients in a crock pot to cook for the day. I added potatoes, mushrooms and peas to the ingredients listed on the recipe. (I used two tablespoons cornstrach instead of one.) Thanks for sharing.

From: zackaboo

On Dec 22, 2006

Really great stew! Although not notated, this recipe was originally published by Bon Apetit magazine. I first found it on the Epicurious website. After reading the reviews on their site, I learned that many hoisin sauces list sugar as their number one ingredient. This probably leads to the excessive sweetness that some reviewers notate. Before buying your hoisin sauce, look at the label carefully!

From: ChefMarvelIris

On Oct 29, 2006

I have just finished preparing this recipe and have not even served it yet - but I have done the spoon tasting. What a flavor! This is probably way more information that you want to hear -but I am from south Texas and my mom was an awful cook (Sorry, Mom!) We had stew at least once a week and it was white, the meat was tough and stingy and it was just plain awful. Consequently, I do not make stew often, if at all. Today, I had some meat that needed to be cooked right away and I found your recipe. I had no carrots and I had no Hoisin Sauce -but I had peas, mushrooms and oyster flavored sauce. I followed the recipe with those ingredients and then cooked it with dumplings. I am just getting ready to serve it and all I can say, is priliminary tasting is a solid ""A"". What a wonderful dish! Thank you so much for bringing a dish back to me that should have been wonderful but wasn't - but now is. Post more please!!

From: Astramom

On Mar 16, 2007

This was soooo yummy! I've tried other recipes and nothing else compares to this. This one is far and away the best and it's the only beef stew for me! It was easy to make and my family just loved it. The only change I made was to add peas and not use parsley for finish. I've already made it twice. Once over rice and the other over buttered egg noodles. I like the noodles better, but that's the beauty of this recipe. Served over rice, noodles or potatoes - it's just outstanding!