A Winter Saturday Stew (Two Ways)

We love recipes that adapt to life rather than demanding you drop everything to follow them. My husband Benjamin makes a delicious stew that he usually prepares off the cuff, adjusting as he goes. So when friends asked for the recipe, it was fun watching him get it down on paper. Reading through it, I realized it’s actually two recipes in one—each designed for a different kind of weekend.

The Story Behind the Stew

Benj lives for cold Saturdays in winter. While most of us are bundled up inside, he’s out tackling projects—chopping wood, fixing things, clearing paths through the snow. But even the most dedicated weekend outdoorsman needs to come in from the cold eventually. That’s where this stew comes in.

His Saturday method breaks the cooking into bite-sized chunks (pun intended) that fit between projects. Come inside, warm up with coffee, add something to the pot, head back out. By evening, you’ve got a rich, hearty stew and a sense of accomplishment from both your outdoor work and your kitchen efforts.

The Sunday night version? That’s for the rest of us—the ones who work all day and want to come home to something special that practically cooks itself overnight.

Both methods deliver the same deeply flavored result: a beef stew enriched with bone broth and au jus, vegetables perfectly tender, and a complexity of flavor that only develops when you’ve given the ingredients time to truly get to know each other.

Ingredients

• 3-4 lb beef soup bone with generous meat (if your soup bone is lean, add extra beef chunks)
• 1 medium yellow onion, diced
• 1 cup chopped carrots
• 3 cups potatoes, cubed
• ½ cup sweet red wine
• 2 cups beef broth (plus extra for the Sunday method)
• 3 tablespoons Worcestershire sauce
• 1 teaspoon onion powder
• 1 teaspoon garlic powder
• 1 teaspoon coarse ground sea salt
• ½ teaspoon dried bay leaves
• 1 teaspoon oregano
• 5 beef bouillon cubes
• 2 cups water
• 1 tablespoon red wine vinegar
• 1-2 tablespoons olive oil

Method 1: The Saturday at Home Method

The Night Before: Place your beef in the fridge to defrost overnight. You want it partly firm the next morning, not fully thawed.

Morning (whenever you start):

1. While the meat is still firm, cut it away from the bone and cube into bite-sized pieces. Leave about 5-10% of the meat on the bone—this is important for flavor.
2. Place the bones in your crockpot and turn to high.
3. Dice the onion and add it to the crockpot along with 1 cup beef broth, 1 teaspoon salt, ½ teaspoon bay leaves, and 1 teaspoon oregano.
4. Refrigerate the cubed meat—you’ll use it later.
5. Let the crockpot cook on high for 2-3 hours. (This is when you go work on your first project.)

Mid-Day:

6. The meat should now be falling off the bone. Remove the bones with a spoon, separate any remaining meat, and return just the meat to the crockpot. Discard the bones.
7. Combine 2 cups water with 5 bouillon cubes in a pot. Bring to a boil and stir until dissolved. Add to the crockpot.
8. Mix together ¼ cup red wine, 3 tablespoons Worcestershire, 1 teaspoon onion powder, and 1 teaspoon garlic powder. Add to the crockpot.
9. Heat 1-2 tablespoons olive oil in a frying pan. Sear the cubed beef until browned, then add to the crockpot.
10. Deglaze the pan with ¼ cup red wine and 1 tablespoon red wine vinegar. Stir in 1 cup beef broth, scraping up all those browned bits. Pour into the crockpot.
11. Chop your carrots and potatoes. Add them to the crockpot.

Afternoon/Evening:

12. Cook on high for 2 hours, then turn to low for another 2 hours or until the vegetables reach your desired tenderness.
13. Serve hot with crusty bread to soak up that incredible broth.

Method 2: The Sunday Night Prep Method

Sunday Evening (after work):

1. Your beef should have defrosted during the day to partly firm. Cut it away from the bone and cube, this time leaving little to no meat on the bone.
2. Place the bones in a pot, cover with water by about an inch, and bring to a rolling boil. Let this boil for about 2 hours to create a rich bone broth.
3. While that’s happening, turn your crockpot to high and add: diced onion, 1 cup beef broth, 1 teaspoon salt, ½ teaspoon bay leaves, and 1 teaspoon oregano.
4. Dissolve 5 bouillon cubes in 2 cups boiling water and add to the crockpot.
5. Mix ¼ cup red wine, 2 tablespoons Worcestershire, 1 teaspoon onion powder, and 1 teaspoon garlic powder. Add to the crockpot.
6. Sear the cubed beef in olive oil or butter until browned. Add to the crockpot.
7. Deglaze the pan with ¼ cup red wine, 1 tablespoon vinegar, and 1 cup beef broth. Add to the crockpot.
8. After 1.5 hours, turn off the crockpot and let it cool.
9. When the bones have boiled for 2 hours, remove from heat. Chop your carrots and potatoes and place in a container.
10. Remove the bones from the stock and pour the bone broth over the vegetables. Add 1 tablespoon Worcestershire. If the vegetables aren’t fully submerged, add more beef broth (this prevents oxidation).
11. Refrigerate both the crockpot and the vegetable mixture overnight.

Monday (the next day):

12. In the morning before work, turn the crockpot to low and let it cook for about 10 hours.
13. You have two options for finishing:
    • Add the vegetable mixture to the crockpot about 3 hours before serving, OR
    • About 30 minutes before serving, boil the vegetables separately until tender (add beef broth if needed), then stir into the crockpot.

Benj’s Tips

• The partly-frozen meat is easier to cut cleanly into cubes—don’t skip this step.
• Don’t throw away those deglazing liquids! That’s where so much flavor lives.
• The overnight rest for the Sunday method lets the flavors meld beautifully.
• If you’re tight on time during the week, the Saturday method might actually be less stressful despite taking all day.

Final Thoughts

What I love about this recipe is that it doesn’t pretend you have three uninterrupted hours on a weeknight, and it doesn’t pull you away from being productive on a Saturday while also making something delicious.

Serves 6-8. Best enjoyed with good bread, better company, and the satisfaction of a day well spent.