Greek-Style Beef Stew - How to Make an Amazing "Stifado" - Food Wishes 

We do Stifado - either beef or wild hare - in a clay pot in a sealed clay oven, heated with carob wood, slow cooked overnight for maybe 15 hours or so. Although the wine is always red :) Cheers from Cyprus!

I love this dish but I always let my mom do it, even though I am 38. I never dared to do it even though I cook and bake everything. Greetings from Greece, Chef. Half my recipes in my home’s cookbook are from you.

Ethan Chlebowski is going to love the pickled onions touch. Awesome recipe chef, thank you.

I love how similar the classic european cuisines are in the end. All, bolognese, beef burguignon, irish stew, pörkölt and stifado evolved from the same basic dish, namely "take beef, onions and other stuff you have handy and simmer that for 2-3 hours". Basically the differences between theese dishes are the different regional ingredients.

My Yaya (grandma in Greek) does this dish on special occasions. It's breathtakingly good. Aaaand I'm hungry now

In my family we usually make Stifado in January-February to use up any Glögg(Swedish mulled wine) left over from Christmas. And if we don't have any left over we just make it anyway, it really is such a nice tasty stew.

Chef John, you are an honorary Greek!

Back in high school (80’s) my friend’s Greek parents made the most amazing beef stew that had cinnamon in it. Never had anything close before or since, but this might be that magic dish I remember! Can’t wait to try it!!

Many years ago I lived in Cyprus. Around this time of year a few places did an octopus version of this, just incredible

If I had to choose between a perfectly grilled steak or a perfectly stewed, well beef stew, I honestly would pick the latter. The flavor and comforting experience you can get from dishes like this is amazing.

Greek sheffy secrets: Blanche the shallots for a few secs and they peel easily. You can also use white wine for a summer version of the dish.

Man I hope you know how much we love your videos and how they shape our love of cooking good family food. Thank you.

This was my yiayia's best dish. One of the key ingredients that's common in this is prunes. It complements the spices, it replaces the sugar that you used to balance the stew, it gives a richer color, and prunes are filled with pectin which thickens the stew. You just add them to the end otherwise they would completely fall apart if you add them at the beginning.

I always brown tomato paste before making spaghetti sauce, a trick I learned awhile ago. Amazing the flavor!

This dish looks super delicious! A piece of bread is a must for this sauce!😋

This combination is unexpectedly delicious given the simple ingredients. Peppermint in the spanakorizo is a special treat.

My Greek husband will love this recipe

I made the Greek style spinach rice yesterday, gotta admit, it is far superior than the sum of its parts!

Your discription of the flavour Is poetry. Thank you! Your greek fanatic follower.

Whenever I go to Greece I have to try their stifado. It's always fantastic

I am cooking this dish since 40 years and i am eating it since 55 years. I agree mostly and i find this approach very cool. In Greece, we have little onions. The taste is close to Charlottes. Dont forget, that the star is tge onion in this dish. I cut a cross at the bottom, so they stay together and i cook them longer. I dont use broth, i use much more onions, i will peel for one hour. The water and flavour, coming out of the onions is plenty. The onions will be sweet. My meat will be beef tongue, which i first cook seperately first, after peeling, i add it to the onions and cook it for an hour together. If you cut the onions at the bottom, they will still be whole. My little twist is, that i add an (greek) orange, where i squeezed the juice before. I indeed use a splash of red wine, not white. Next to the herbs you added, which are compulsory, i also add some thyme. I really cook it long, the flavor increases. All in all, i need about 3 to 5 hours to cook the dish. It is my absolute favourite dish and my mom will always have it for me. No way, that the spinach rice is going with this. Really just bread. Please try my approach, but yours is very close to perfect, i am sure, i would enjoy it.

Just goes to show, Chef John is the GOAT. EPIC-curious!!

Gongrats chef John! One suggestion if I may: instead of wine try brandy. It goes perfectly with all the warm spices of the stifado. Greetings from Greece 😘

A sprinkling of Feta makes everything taste betta.

I made the Greek spinach rice yesterday and it was a huge hit so I will definitely try this soon. I am also going to try a batch of Greek spinach cauliflower rice and see how that goes.

Thank you mr chef John you are the Danny devito of foods I want to eat-o

In my experience, reviews online are more like: "this was the best stew recipe ever...I switched the beef for chicken, I didn't use the shallots or garlic but added mushrooms and doubled the salt, sugar and wine."

Those tiny surface drops of oil are the mark of perfection 🤩

Stew is always the dish I like most. Thanks to my neighbour country(Greece) to invent this recipe.

"If I could give this stew recipe 0/5 stars I would! Tasteless and dry. I didn't have good olive oil so I used my Great Value vegetable oil, I didn't have (important herb) so I left it out, and I didn't have three hours to cook it so I just put it on high for 20 mins. It didn't turn out well at all! Terrible recipe!" We've all seen it. Those folks need a beating with the Freakishly Small Wooden Spoon. Followed by a proper cooking lesson, of course.

oh love my mom's stifado (yes i'm greek) thank you for highlighting one of our favorite recipes :)

You need the same amount of onions as the beef. In Greece they sell special 1 Kilo bags of small red onions called Stifado Onions. Do not stir too much, leave the beef on the bottom and the onions on top. The idea is to serve it with the onions still whole. You can smell this cooking a mile away. It has a taste like nothing else. Best washed down with plenty of strong red wine.

Fantastic! I love your relaxed approach. Cook until tender, season until flavourful. Best advice ever.

This is one my favorite stews I highly recommend it

I think it is high time I tell you I love your recipes. Thank you a million times for your help ! You rock.

Feta is optional, but in Greece many pair it with orzo. Sometimes this is done separately as a side, but frequently it is mixed to cook together. I mix it at the very end, when the stew is basically done, and the orzo just starts getting cooked, so that all is even.

I made this Amazing Stifado stew per the video. It was mind-boggling DELICIOUS! The Best I've ever had. Thank you so much!

I made this yesterday! And it’s the best beef stew I ever had ! AMAZING

The most important part of the video for me was the advice in the last part about technique: such as moving meat from outside in, adding more liquid as required etc. And the issue of timing: aprox 1 hour covered 1 hour uncovered ( until meat is fork tender). This is a completely wonderful recipe. Thank you chef. 💖

I made this last night for dinner over Rice. This is absolutely fabulous. You are my go too for delicious food and you NEVER disappoint!!!! Thank you Chef John 😊

I had this in a resto in Corinth, in the Peloponnese, with shallots. Fantastic, fork tender. I want some more! I have been unable to find it here....I've got to figure out how to make it...for one. 😃

I recently read an article in the Washington Post from a Chef Author that had moved to a new apartment and it was the first time he'd had to use an electric stove to cook his recipes. He was horrified that timing was off by a long shot, things didn't caramelize without burning first and that flavors didn't develop as quickly as cooking with gas or propane. (He's now learning "low and slow") He had to revise constantly on timing. He said it is totally changing how he will publish his future recipes for his readers and now he understands why some of his recipes got less than stellar reviews. I use a glass top stove and a tabletop induction burner, so I've learned to read and assess a recipe, and I'm pretty good at revising the times and techniques to make a success of the recipes I make.

I LOVE this stew!!

I loved this recipe. Came out perfect. And I love this guy’s voice. I will be making this again on the first good, cold night of the year.

Apart from getting a new cooking idea your typical style of talking in your videos made me forget a bit about the bad day and it seems i can finally sleep. Thanks, Chef

you're very well versed in greek cuisine sir. the only improvement the i can suggest is adding your spices with the tomato paste and toast them before adding the vinegar. it awakens the spices and adds a whole lot of flavor

I have made this twice now and I think it might just be my favorite stew of all time. I tried this last night in the instant pot and it turned out amazing in a fraction of the time; just saute in the pot and then pressure cook for somewhere in the 15 to 30 minute range.

Oh, man, that stew looks delicious! I really love your videos because the food always look amazing and you crack me up. Thanks for being so entertaining as well as instructive and thanks for sharing.

"Stifado, Stifado", a delectable cuisine's succulent journey from the Ottoman Empire to Greece.

Made the stew this afternoon. Only change was leaving out white wine. Turned out great! I like feta cheese but did not like it in the stew. If your beef isn’t tender you must be rushing the process. My chuck roast could be broken apart with a spoon. This recipe is a keeper.

Made this and also the greek spinach rice. Dinner was amazing! Everyone loved it, thank you!

I'm going to have to make this in the near future because it looks delicious 😋! I will admit I was quite surprised at the amount of kosher salt you added (even though you warned us) 😲 but I'm going to try it anyway. Thanks, Chef John👍🏻

Greetings from Greece 🇬🇷❤️!

I found that instead of beef broth I use a can or two of Campbells French onion soup it works great . And for the meat tenderness a instant pot pressure cooker works great for the meat . U can even use it to brown the meat before u pressure cook it when that's done then add other stuff like veggies

In July, my family and I were in Greece touring the historical sights. Our bus stopped for lunch at a hole in the wall restaurant where they served Stifado. I ordered it as it look very good in the pot the old man had on the stove. I was amazed at how tender and tasty the beef was and the shallots were amazing! I will be giving your recipe a shot!

Love it, in Greece you also find a very similar dish but using mutton (which needs strong seasoning). Thank you, chef

Well done! Great video, clear steps, and stifado - well, it's stifado. Just magnificent. It's one of the foods that, if I see it on a restaurant menu, says that the place really knows its Greek food.

I'm Greek, and this was my favorite Greek dish growing up. For our non-Greek friends, my mother would call it braised beef in RED wine sauce. Thanks for ruining my childhood. ;-)

@Food Wishes I can't wait to try this, Chef John. I have been wanting to make beef stew. I made your delightful Corned Beef and Cabbage casserole yesterday. I enjoyed it immensely. I have made more of your recipes than anyone ever. And I am so thankful for your cleverness, charming personality and wisdom of how to cook delicious food. Thank you.

love the greek series

Its great! I cook it for at least four hours (two covered, two uncovered), one of the best stews Ive ever had

Incredible recipe thank you sir it is part of my regimen

so good 👍 I'm gonna cook it today 😋 thanks for simple recipe

Scheduled to do this with my Greek daughter in law and here sister.

Well chef, you did it again. Another home-run. Just made and ate this... spectacular. Thank you for what you do.

You need double the amount of shallots for that amount of meat. After browning is done, keep the shallots to the side and start cooking the meat until half done, with the method and condiments you mentioned, except oregano and rosemary. Then add the shallots. The meat needs more time to soften and the shallots will not come apart.

I am a simple man:I see Greek recipes ,i am getting hungry

BRAVO, also nice with Orzo baked in a clay pot.

That does look just so good. Yum!

Absolutely a favorite .Thank you Chef John!

I'm sorry to ask such a basic question, but what is the best way to reheat it the next day to keep/enhance the tenderness? Is microwave a terrible idea? Or in the pot it was made, in the stovetop, very gently on a low heat? Or are we bringing it back to a simmer for a while on medium ish heat?

I will try this in my slow cooker but cinnamon with rosemary!!!!! Never had that combination before. We'll see.

I wonder if you can get the Nobel Peace Prize for cooking. You’ve got my vote.

Just had this for dinner tonight and it was great. Supper rich and flavorful. Thanks chef!

That's the nicest chuck roast I've ever seen. Probably the fact it's from a high end butcher helps this dish a bit ;)

Well done, Chef John.

As usual an excellent recipe! Thank you Chef John!

Thank you. You speak the truth.

I have a boneless lamb roast I was wondering what too do with :) Thank you Chef John !! Now I know what I'll be doing with it :P

This video made me SO hungry!!! Beautiful dish!!

I am after all a fat man, watching Chef John cook better than I can.

I do love a mouth full of Stifados. Many happy holidays in Greece! X

That is magnificent stew! Making it this weekend!

Right on!

I just tried this recipe and it was a huge hit. Will definitely make again. Thank you!!

This is hands down my favorite! I love stifado bc it works with any kind of meat. My yia yia used rabbit A LOT. But you can really use venison, chicken, veal or pork. Thanks Chef for your version 🙂

I had a nightmare that gave me chills. I dreamed that I made this stew but I threw away the accumulated juices and topped it with that stuff from a green box. A powerful knock came at the door, and it was Chef John waving a freakishly small wooden spoon, telling me that we couldn't be friends. The alarm went off, I laughed and thought "it was just a dream." I'd never lose you as a friend, Chef John.

This looks amazing!

My mom makes the best stifado...the kitchen smells and aroma omg 😋😋😋

This looks so delicious!

Chef John... You know what? I'll give this a try soon! I don't eat meat but I'll cook for some carnivores and this seems like it would taste amazing.

I'm used to hearing you say "and a few shakes of cayenne" as that feels like the Chef John thing. Looks delicious and I really want to try!

Beautiful! I love shallots and hate those frozen pearl onions. Not sure why but they taste awful to me. So from now on I will always substitute shallots for pearl onions! Thank you! I would add green olives or kalamata olives, cut in half, but that's just me: cookin ;)

Remember you can use what ever you want for the onions after all you are the John Snow of you Stifado...

Unrelated question - is the Chef John podcast coming back? My wife and I thought it was delightful 😊

This looks so damn delicious, can't wait to try this one out!

Chef John, this looks amazing! Definitely gonna make this.

This was delicious! - thanks again chef john , love your videos

I always enjoy watching Chef John's hands shoveling his work into his off-camera mouth at the end. Because he's eating it the way I would I can almost taste it.

We use pearl onions in Geece, even more difficult to peel.