Beef stifado topped with crumbled feta and pickled red onions. Photo: Allrecipes

Beef Stifado: A Slow-Simmered Greek Stew With Sweet Whole Shallots

by · Greek City Times

Beef stifado is the slow Greek stew of tender beef, whole shallots and warm spices that makes any cold night feel special.

Beef stifado topped with crumbled feta and pickled red onions. Photo: Allrecipes

What makes beef stifado different?

Stifado is a slow braise cooked in homes and tavernas all over Greece. Families make it with beef, rabbit or veal, and our archive has a veal version too.

Its signature is a mound of small onions or shallots, left whole until they turn soft and sweet. A splash of vinegar, cinnamon and allspice then gives the sauce a gentle sweet and sour edge.

This beef stifado comes from John Mitzewich, better known as Chef John, who shared it on Allrecipes. He almost chopped the shallots to save time. But he notes that “every single ‘authentic’ recipe I examined insisted on it”, so he kept them whole.

Read more: Salantourmasi: How to Make Greek Stuffed Onions With Beef and Rice

He adds that the extra 10 minutes of peeling pays off. Chef John even calls this stifatho “probably the best beef stew you’ve maybe never had”.

The recipe holds 4.9 out of 5 from 30 ratings, and 29 of those ratings are five stars.

Ingredients for six serves

Beef stifado needs a good stewing cut and a few pantry spices, so the shopping is simple. Measures for this stifatho are US, with metric equivalents in brackets.

  • 1.4 kg (3 pounds) boneless beef chuck roast, cut into 5 cm (2-inch) cubes
  • 2 teaspoons freshly ground black pepper
  • 1 US tablespoon kosher salt, plus a pinch
  • 450 g (1 pound) small shallots
  • 4 US tablespoons (about 60 ml) olive oil, divided
  • 125 ml (½ cup) diced onion and 4 cloves garlic, minced

Then, for the moschari stifatho sauce, you will also need:

  • 3 US tablespoons tomato paste
  • 60 ml (¼ cup) red wine vinegar and 250 ml (1 cup) white wine
  • 2 teaspoons white sugar
  • ¼ teaspoon ground cinnamon, ⅛ teaspoon ground allspice and a pinch of ground cloves
  • 1 teaspoon dried oregano, 2 large bay leaves and 2 sprigs fresh rosemary
  • 500 ml (2 cups) beef broth, or more as needed

In Australia, chuck steak suits beef stifado, while sea salt flakes can replace kosher salt. Note that a US tablespoon holds 15 ml, but an Australian one holds 20 ml.

How to cook stifatho at home

Allrecipes lists 25 minutes of preparation and 2 hours 35 minutes of cooking for this stifatho.

  1. First, season the beef with the pepper and salt, then chill it for up to a day.
  2. Trim the shallot tops, leaving the root ends in place, and peel them.
  3. Sear the beef in 2 tablespoons of oil over high heat, in two batches, for 4 to 6 minutes per side.
  4. With the heat off, add a tablespoon of oil and the shallots, let the pan cool briefly, then brown them over medium heat.
  5. Cook the onion and garlic in the last of the oil before toasting the tomato paste for 2 minutes.

Next comes the step that gives beef stifado its tang.

  1. Pour in the vinegar and wine, then boil while you scrape up the browned bits.
  2. Add the sugar, spices and herbs, and cook until the liquid drops by about half.
  3. Return the beef and shallots with 2 cups of broth.
  4. Simmer the stifatho, covered, for an hour, then uncovered for at least another hour.
  5. Finally, taste and adjust the seasoning when a fork slides in easily but the meat still holds its shape.

According to Chef John, the beef stifado may need longer than two hours, so trust the fork test rather than the clock.

Tips from home cooks

Allrecipes shows 19 reviews for this stifatho, and UpbeatParm8626 wrote: “The best beef stew I’ve ever had/made.”

Peeling is fiddly, but GiftedFlan8129 offers this: “Top tip soak your shallots in boiling water for about 10 minutes and the skin comes off easy”.

Sunny Jim insists that “A good dark sear on the beef is a must”. He also warns that “clove and cinnamon are so easy to over do” in beef stifado.

In contrast, Besseae “reduced the salt by a third and doubled the spices” and served it over spanakorizo.

Chris Darrell cut the beef into 2.5 cm (1-inch) cubes and browned them for 2 minutes per side. Instead, Jenelle D used an Instant Pot on high pressure for 35 minutes.

HardyWhisk9034 wrote: “My mom made this when I was a kid.” For that cook, moschari stifatho tasted “exceptional and authentic”.

After eating it at a small family restaurant in Sivota, Boulaye went looking for a recipe.

Serving ideas and leftovers

Chef John serves his beef stifado with crusty bread for dipping. He also tops each bowl with crumbled feta and pickled red onions.

Several reviewers also pair the stew with Greek spinach rice. Stacy wrote: “This is spectacular served over the Greek Spinach Rice.”

Others prefer potatoes, whether mashed, pan-fried or added to the pot during the second hour. Leftovers keep well too, since Jenelle D’s son said the stifatho tasted even better the next day.

If you like slow Greek braises, try our moshari kokkinisto in tomato sauce or the octopus kokkinisto.

You can find the full beef stifado recipe and Chef John’s video on the original Allrecipes page.

Source: Allrecipes

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