Recipes and Cooking Rich Beef Stew with Bacon and Plums 4.3 (24) 8 Reviews By Scott Peacock Scott Peacock Website Chef Scott Peacock grew up in Hartford, Alabama, eating seafood and fresh produce. His first job was as a pastry chef at The Golden Pheasant, and his work has been featured in Martha Stewart Living, Atlanta, and Duchess Fare, among other publications. Scott's recipes can be found in the Better Homes & Gardens classic The New Cookbook, and his fried chicken recipe was called one of the "40 best recipes ever published" by Food and Wine. He won a James Beard award in 2007 for "The Best Chef in the Southeast," and his career spans over two decades. Learn about BHG's Editorial Process Published on October 1, 2013 Print Rate It Share Share Tweet Pin Email Prep Time: 1 hrs 30 mins Bake Time: 20 mins Bake Time: 2 hrs 45 mins Bake Time: 20 mins Total Time: 4 hrs 55 mins Servings: 8 Jump to Nutrition Facts Ingredients 1 3.5-4 pound well-marbled beef chuck roast 1 tablespoon kosher salt 3 tablespoon olive oil 6 ounce thick sliced, center-cut applewood smoked bacon, cut into 1/2-inch pieces 1 medium butternut squash, peeled, seeded, and cut into 1-inch pieces (about 4 cups) 2 tablespoon unsalted butter Kosher salt 2 cup diced yellow onions 1 leek, white part only, split lengthwise (s sand and then blotted dry (reserve one long inner piece) and cut crosswide into slices 3 large cloves garlic, peeled, and roughly chopped (about 1 heaping tablespoon) 2 ¾ cup dry red wine (such as Pinot Noir) 1 - 1 ½ cup chicken stock 1 stick cinnamon, broken 2 whole cloves 7 whole black peppercorns 3 fresh bay leaves (or 1 dried bay leaf) 1 tablespoon tomato paste ¼ teaspoon dried thyme 5 stems fresh parsley, leaves picked and chopped, stems reserved 1 cup pitted prunes Directions Trim and cut roast into 2-inch pieces. Sprinkle evenly with the 1 Tbsp. kosher salt. Cover; chill overnight. Preheat oven to 450°F. Line a 15x10x1-inch baking pan with a silicone baking mat; set aside. Cook bacon in 1 Tbsp. hot oil over medium-low heat until browned. Remove; drain on paper towel, reserving 3 Tbsp. drippings. Place squash on prepared pan. Add 1 Tbsp. butter and 1 Tbsp. bacon drippings. Sprinkle salt; toss to coat. Roast 20 to 30 minutes or until tender and browned, stirring once. Cover with waxed paper; set aside. Reduce oven to 275°F. Add remaining 2 Tbsp. olive oil to remaining 2 Tbsp. bacon drippings in skillet; heat over medium-high heat. Blot beef well with paper towels; add to skillet in batches, being careful not to crowd the skillet. Brown deeply on all sides. Remove; set aside. Drain all but 1 tsp. fat from skillet. Add remaining 1 Tbsp. butter and onions to pan. Sprinkle with salt. Stir over medium heat, scraping up browned bits from bottom of pan. Cook 3 to 4 minutes, stirring often, until onions just begin to soften. Stir in leek slices and garlic. Sprinkle with salt. Cook 4 minutes more. Transfer to a 3-quart baking dish; set aside. Pour wine into skillet. Bring to boiling; reduce heat. Boil gently, uncovered, until reduced by half. Place beef and bacon over onions. Pour reduced wine over. Add stock to almost cover. Using kitchen string, tie cinnamon, cloves, and peppercorns in a piece of cheesecloth; tuck into beef mixture. Add bay leaves. Dollop tomato paste around beef mixture. Sprinkle with thyme. Tie together parsley stems and inner leek piece; add to beef mixture. Place parchment paper over dish. Top with a triple layer of heavy foil. Seal tightly. Place on rimmed baking sheet. Bake 2 hours. Uncover; add prunes. Cover; bake 45 minutes to an hour more or until meat is easily pierced with a knife. Uncover; skim fat. Remove cheesecloth bag and parsley stems; discard. Increase oven to 350ºF. Add butternut squash. Bake uncovered, 20 minutes, basting once or twice. To serve, sprinkle with parsley leaves. Makes 8 servings. Blaine Moats Rate it Print Nutrition Facts (per serving) 539 Calories 24g Fat 29g Carbs 38g Protein Show Full Nutrition Label Hide Full Nutrition Label Nutrition Facts Servings Per Recipe 8 Calories 539 % Daily Value * Total Fat 24g 31% Saturated Fat 8g 40% Cholesterol 115mg 38% Sodium 1348mg 59% Total Carbohydrate 29g 11% Total Sugars 12g Protein 38g Vitamin C 19.6mg 98% Calcium 89mg 7% Iron 4.1mg 23% Potassium 1141mg 24% Folate, total 48.1mcg Vitamin B-12 2.6mcg Vitamin B-6 1mg *The % Daily Value (DV) tells you how much a nutrient in a food serving contributes to a daily diet. 2,000 calories a day is used for general nutrition advice.