Tyler Florence Uses a Full Bottle of Red Wine in His Ultimate Beef Stew

Just watch the Food Network video of chef Tyler Florence’s beef stew recipe and you’ll understand why over 500 reviewers gave it such high ratings.

This classic dish gets its incredible flavor from an entire bottle of dry red wine. Florence’s other secret is a not-so-secret ingredient. Read on to find out the chef’s tip for your best beef stew ever.

Florence’s beef stew calls for a full bottle of wine

In his 2012 cookbook Tyler’s Ultimate: Brilliant Simple Food to Make Any Time, the Food Network personality recommends using not just any wine for this flavorful soup.

Use a wine, he says, that’s a “robust, dry red wine that’s good enough that you wouldn’t be afraid to drink it.”

The rest of the chef’s ingredients list for this stew shows that this is no bland dish. It calls for fresh thyme sprigs, smashed garlic cloves, an orange with its zest removed in three strips, ground cloves, bay leaves, beef stock, small new potatoes, sliced carrots, pearl onions, white mushrooms, fresh or frozen peas, and fresh parsley. All of this, simmered in red wine, results in the most mouthwatering beef stew you’ve ever had.

Florence tops it all off with a peppery horseradish garnish that includes sour cream, prepared horseradish, salt, pepper, and chives.

Get the complete recipe, video, and reviews on Food Network’s site.

Tyler Florence’s stew recipe’s not-so-secret, but essential, ingredient

What’s missing? The pretty obvious beef that gives the recipe its purpose. What isn’t so obvious is the kind of beef cut that should be used.

Florence writes in his cookbook, “For a proper beef stew, the cut of meat makes all the difference. The only meat I would ever use is shoulder. Its coarse, chewy texture is perfect for a slow braise and after a couple hours of gentle cooking, the unctuous meat falls apart on the fork and melts in your mouth.”

The beef, the Great Food Truck Race host adds, “simmers with the red wine, herbs, garlic, and vegetables,” resulting in “one decadent flavor.”

Over 500 Food Network reviewers gave Tyler’s beef stew recipe 5-star ratings

As one reviewer put it on Food Network’s site, this is one recipe that deserves to be followed step by step.

“Followed the recipe closely. The result was wonderful. The meat just melted in my mouth. The sauce was flavorful. The clove and bottle of wine made a huge difference in flavor. I have learned to trust Tyler Florence more than any other chef,” the home cook wrote.

Another fan of the recipe agreed saying, “I’ve made this dish three times now and gets a gold star every time. It is so rich and decadent and you can always pick up on the orange zest. Don’t forget the horseradish sauce; it really sets the stew off. I highly recommend that you try this.”