Stifado - Greek red wine beef stew is a hearty delicious dish perfect for a Sunday lunch. Tender melt in your mouth beef, lots of fresh herbs, and delicate pearl onions are slowly cooked in an aromatic red wine broth.
What is Stifado
Stifado (or stifatho) is a Greek red wine stew. When Greeks cook stifado, they usually make a rabbit or beef stew cooked slowly in a rich and delicious wine sauce. Traditionally stifado was cooked exclusively with rabbit meat. But the beef was more accessible and acceptable to Greek cooks through the years, so it is the most common meat used in the famous stew.
How to make it
You will need beef cut in pieces for stew, pearl onions, diced onions and carrots, garlic, red wine, fresh and dry herbs, and aromatics like cinnamon and nutmeg.
Detailed measurements and instructions can be found on the recipe card at the bottom of the page.
What meat is best?
This kind of stew does not require expensive cuts of meat. I like to get 2 pounds beef chuck roast cut into 1-inch cubes. I find it becomes really tender and it is has a reasonable price tag. You can certainly use your favorite stewing beef.
Stifado cooking methods
Stovetop stifado:
The most traditional way to cook this wine beef stew. It ispretty easy to prepare. After browning the meat, the other ingredients are added, the heat turns to low and the tew simmers for hours.
Slowcooker stifado:
Slow-cooked Stifatho comes out very tender. The pearl onions are added towards the end of the cooking to avoid them become mushy. The pearl onions need to be tender but still firm. Cook the stew on high for five-six hours, or on low for up to 10 hours.
My method:
I begin cooking the stew on the stovetop. I use an ovenproof pot, specifically a dutch oven.
Good seasoning is key for a great stew.
Some sea salt, pepper, pinch or two of dry oregano adding the bay leaves and the cinnamon sticks and some chili pepper flakes help develop a great base for the broth. Then I add all other ingredients, stir gently, and move it in the oven to cook for the rest of the time.
Preheat oven to 350 F.
Gather all the fresh herbs and tie them together using some cooking twine to create your bouquet garni.
Arrange the beef stew pieces on a platter lined with paper towels. Pat dry all the pieces to remove the extra moisture.
Sprinkle some flour all over beef pieces.
Add the olive oil to the pot. Turn heat to medium-high.
Add the beef, 3-4 pieces at a time. Brown them all over for 1 min, remove, place on a clean plate, and set aside for later. Repeat the process until all pieces are nicely brown all over.
Add the diced onions to the pot. Season with a pinch of salt. Add the garlic. Saute for 1-2 minutes. Season with freshly ground pepper, ground nutmeg, a pinch of chili pepper flakes, a tablespoon of oregano. Add the bay leaves, cloves, and cinnamon sticks.
Add the tomato paste.
Stir and sauté in medium heat for 2-3 min to let flavors develop.
Add the diced carrots. Add the beef pieces and mix gently. Turn the heat to high and add the wine. Simmer in high heat for 2-3 min to let the alcohol evaporate.
Cover and place pot in the oven. Cook for 1 hour and 30 min.
It takes almost two hours to complete this fabulous stew, and the result will not disappoint. Served with homemade fries or over buttery mashed potatoes, it is the perfect comfort food.
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Check all the pantry items a Greek kitchen wouldn’t go without.
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Greek Red Wine Beef Stew
Equipment
- 5 qt Dutch oven or ovenproof pot
Ingredients
- 2 lbs beef chuck cut in pieces for stew
- 2 tbsp flour all purpose
- 4 tbsp olive oil extra virgin
- 2 carrots diced
- 1 onion diced
- 4 garlic cloves diced
- 8 oz pearl onions
- 2 tbsp tomato paste
- 2 cups red wine
- 1 cup broth can be vegetable, beef or chicken.
- 2 cinnamon sticks
- 4 cloves
- 2 bay leaves
- 1 tbsp dry oregano
- 1 tbsp chili pepper flakes
- 1 tbsp ground nutmeg
- sea salt
- freshly ground pepper
for the bouquet garni
- 2-3 sprigs fresh thyme
- 2-3 sprigs fresh sage
- 1-2 sprigs rosemary
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350 F.Gather all the fresh herbs and tie them together using some cooking twine to create your bouquet garni.
- Arrange the beef stew pieces on a platter lined with paper towels. Pat dry all the pieces to tremove the extra moisture. Sprinkle some flour all over beef pieces.
- Add the olive oil to the pot. Turn heat to medium-high. Add the beef, 4-5 pieces at a time. Brown them all over for 1 min, them remove, place in a clean plate and, set aside for later. Repeat the process until all pieces are nicely brown all over.
- Add the diced onions to the pot. Season with a pinch of salt. Add the garlic. Saute for 1-2 minutes. Season with freshly ground pepper, ground nutmeg, a pinch of chili pepper flakes, a tablespoon of oregano. Add the bay leaves, cloves, and cinnamon sticks.
- Add the tomato paste. Stir and sauté in medium heat for 2-3 min to let flavors develop.
- Add the diced carrots and beef pieces and mix gently. Turn the heat to high and add the wine. Simmer in high heat for 2-3 min to let the alcohol evaporate. Lower heat to medium. Add the pearl onions and the broth. Add the bouquet garni. Stir gently and simmer for 5 minutes.
- Cover and place pot in the oven. Cook for 1 hour and 30 min. Remove from oven, remove lid and let it sit for 10 min before serving.Serve with crispy french fries on the side to dip in the sauce. Enjoy!
Notes
Nutrition
I love wine, Greek food, and stew. I can honestly say this recipe ticks all the boxes. Just what we need in this COLD weather. Comfort food at its finest.
It is a really good stew, perfect for cold days! Hope you will like it. Thank you, Gloria!
My sons are going to visit us this weekend and this Stifado is perfect for lunch! They will love this.
It is a really good stew! Hope you will like it. Thank you, Dennis!
Oh this just sounds like the most perfect comfort food for this time of the year. I love the Greek spin on this and that it uses fun ingredients like cinnamon and nutmeg. Can't wait to try it!
It is a really good comforting stew, perfect for cold days! Hope you will like it. Thank you, Lauren!
I love all the herbs and spices that you are used here! I agree pearl onions are a great addition to the stew recipes.
It is a really good stew! Hope you will like it. Thank you, Uma!
This sounds like such a great recipe for a cold evening! I bet the addition of cinnamon and nutmeg gives it such an interesting taste.
I love the cinnamon and nutmeg in stews! Hope you will like it. Thank you, Kathryn!
This looks like the perfect hearty & herby winter stew. I bet it would be a great one to batch cook and freeze. Going to make this next weekend, thanks for sharing!
It is a great stew! Hope you will like it. Thank you, Helen!
My favorite type of dish. This to me is total comfort food. I am saving your recipe because I'm going to try it for our family meal this weekend... my whole family loves this type of dish!
It is a really good stew, perfect for cold days! Hope you will like it. Thank you, Melanie!
Delicious! The red wine adds so much flavor to this beef stew! It was just the meal to make for a cold day like today.
It is perfect for cold days! Thank you, Jamie!
I found this recipe at the perfect time, because the polar vortex is rolling through and we need some major comfort food. This recipe certainly fits the bill. I'm loving all these flavours and the addition of red wine. This is going to be perfect to warm us up on these super cold days.
It is a really good stew, perfect for cold days! Hope you will like it. Thank you, Nicole!
Do you add the cloves with the other spices as in the method it doesn't mention it? Thank you!
Hi Anne!
Oops!
Yes, I do put the cloves in with the other spices, I need to add them to the recipe.
Thanks for letting me know! x Jenny
I made this tonight for the first time and ran into several recipes glitches: the ingredient list calls for 4 cloves but the directions don't say when to add them; the directions call for adding bay leaves which do not appear in the ingredient list; the ingredient list call for a tablespoon of oregano while directions call for a pinch and the same is true for red pepper flakes (Greek chili recipe in disguise?) I adjusted the daylights out this and am hoping for the best, but I have no idea how it will turn out. I think this needs an edit or corrections.
Hi!
Thank you so much for trying the recipe and also pointing out where we missed out!
I am sure it will turn out delicious.
We updated the images recently but did not update the recipe card correctly. We are very grateful for your comment!
Thanks again,
Please let us know how it came out!
Jenny