Snowman Stew is a savory and scrumptious Beef Bourguignon that is slow-cooked with bacon, red wine, smoked paprika and fresh thyme. It is complemented by charming and decadent bites of mashed potatoes, that are toasted on the outside, but are extra creamy on the inside – thanks to the addition of unsweetened, whipped heavy cream. It will have you wishing for a snow day!
About This Recipe
Many of the recipes on the Family Tree Foodie blog are dedicated to preserving and building on food memories from generations past. But “Snowman Stew” is a newer recipe from my own family and a tradition that I hope my own kids will remember fondly when they are adults.
We enjoy this savory, rich beef stew every Christmas Eve and on frigid winter days and it always warms us from our hearts to our toes. Over the years, I started forming the mashed potatoes into snowmen shapes and my kids loved it so much that it became the heart and soul of the recipe. They take special pride in creating and “dressing” the little mashed potato snowmen and then, I toast them in the oven until they become a little crispy on the exterior. While the stew is comforting and delicious all on its own, the mashed potato snowmen are always the hit of the meal for kids and adults alike. It is a wonderful winter meal for holidays and dinner parties as the stew can be prepared ahead of time (perhaps even better the next day) and guests can create and dress the snowmen while you are finishing the meal.
I pretty much think everything is better in miniature. However, I find rustic foods, like stew and lasagna, to be elevated to dinner party food when served in mini casserole or coquette dishes. See below for some of my fave serving vessels for “Snowman Stew.”
Supplies
- Large, oven-safe Dutch oven or stock pot
- Two graduated cookie scoops to form mashed potatoes (Small | Mini)
- Miniature casserole dishes. (Option 1) (Option 2)
- Black or colored peppercorns and black sesame seeds for snowman decorating
- Hand mixer for heavy cream
Stew Ingredients
(Full list in recipe card below)
BEEF: Look for beef chuck and dice into 1.5 – 2-inch pieces or you can use stew meat and cut it to your size preference.
BEEF BROTH: Grocery store beef broth will work but tends to be a little flat in its flavor. This recipe is enhanced with homemade beef broth. A shortcut hack is to deepen the flavor of boxed beef broth with an added scoop of beef soup base or a bouillon cube and 1 TBSP of Worcestershire sauce.
WINE: This recipe calls for a full bottle of red wine. Look for a dry one like Cabernet, Pinot Noir or Merlot.
“Snowman Stew” | Beef Bourguignon with Toasted Mashed Potatoes
Description
Snowman Stew starts with a savory, rich, smoky beef stew and is punctuated with charming twice baked toasted potatoes formed into snowmen. Serve them in individual casserole dishes to create a memorable and elegant winter meal.
Ingredients
BEEF BOURGUIGNON
- 2.5 – 3 LBS stew beef of chuck beef cut into cubes
- 6 ounces good quality bacon, diced
- salt and pepper
- 3 large carrots cut in 1-inch pieces
- 1 large onion – cut into larger diced pieces
- 3 cloves garlic, minced
- 1 bottle of dry red wine (750 ml)
- 2 TBSP tomato paste
- Up to 2 cups. good quality beef broth
- 2 tsp fresh thyme leaves (removed from stem)
- 1.5 tsp of smoked paprika
- 3 TBSP flour
- 3 TBSP butter (softened)
- .5 lb mushrooms (sliced)
- 1 cup frozen pearl onions
MASHED POTATO SNOWMEN
- 6 large russet potatoes peeled and cubed
- 3/4 cup heavy cream
- 4 TBSP butter
- Salt
- White pepper
- Black sesame seeds
- Black or colored whole peppercorns
- 1 carrot
Instructions
BEEF BOURGUIGNON
- Dry beef cubes with a paper towel and season beef 1.5 tsp salt and 1 tsp of pepper. Set aside in refrigerator for 30 minutes.
- In a large dutch oven, cook diced bacon until crisp – about 10 min. Transfer with a slotted spoon onto a paper towel lined plate. Reserve fat in pan.
- Turn up heat on pan until grease just starts to smoke. Add seasoned beef in single layers for about 5 minutes until it sears on all sides. Remove with slotted spoon and place on paper towel lined plate. Repeat until all meat is cooked. Set aside.
- Add carrots, onions and ½ tsp salt. Cover and let cook until soft for 10 minutes
- Add tomato paste and garlic and cook for another minute.
- Add beef and bacon back into the pot. Simmer for about 5 minutes.
- Add wine and broth – enough to almost cover the beef and simmer on the stove
- Put covered pot in the oven at 275 degrees for 1 hour and 30 minutes.
- Test meat and ensure that it is tender. If so, rest it on the stove.
- Take 3 TBSP of softened butter and mix it with flour in a ramekin. Take a spoonful of stew gravy from the Dutch oven and mix it with the butter and flour until it is cohesive and smooth. Add back into the stew and stir. Simmer the stew stirring occasionally. It should start to thicken.
- Add frozen pearl onions and continue to simmer.
- In a separate small frying pan, melt 1 TBSP of butter and add mushrooms. Sprinkle about 1/4 tsp salt on the mushrooms. Once they are tender, add them to the stew and continue to simmer.
MASHED POTATO “SNOW MEN”
- Peel and dice potatoes and bring to a rolling boil in salted water until soft. Drain.
- While potatoes are cooking, set up your snowman decorating station. Cut carrots with a paring knife into tiny rectangular julienne pieces and then create a little triangle on the ends to look like carrot noses.
- Whip heavy cream with a mixer until it is thick and creamy.
- Process the potatoes through a ricer into a clean bowl.
- With a spatula, fold in whipped cream, butter and salt and white pepper to taste
- Line a baking tray with parchment paper.
- Using two graduated sizes of small cookie/ice cream scoopers, scoop a large scoop of potatoes and put them on the baking tray. Using the smaller cookie scooper, scoop potatoes and place it onto of the larger sphere. Make a tray full of little snowmen potatoes. (I serve each portion of stew with two snowman but people always want at least one more.)
- Use sesame seeds and peppercorns to make eyes and buttons. (Reserve carrots noses. They will brown and curl if you insert them before baking the potatoes.)
- Place potatoes in a 300 degree oven for about 10-15 minutes (depending on how toasted you would like them).
- Once you remove them from the oven, add the carrot notes.
*See below for assembly/ serving tips.
Notes
If you would the stew to be thicker add another TBSP of flour in a ramekin and add a little broth and mix it until smooth before adding back into the stew.
ASSEMBLY AND SERVING TIPS : I like to ladle a couple scoops of stew into a mini casserole dish, sprinkle with fresh parsley and position two snowman potatoes for each serving. You will have extra potatoes. I place the baking tray of remaining potatoes in the oven on a very low temperature to keep them hot during the meal. I promise your guests will want more! 😉 It’s nice to have a piping hot batch to bring out to the table.