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Erin Dickman for Taste of Home, Getty Images

Winter is the best time to prepare warm, cozy meals that make your mouth water. If you’re anything like me, as soon as the temperature drops a few degrees, I pull out all of my soup and stew recipes and start plotting. This year, I decided to test out a recipe that has gained notoriety for how delicious it is. Enter: The Pioneer Woman beef stew.

Ree Drummond’s famous stew features a variety of root vegetables in all of their slow-cooked goodness, along with a beer-based broth. Without needing any excuse to pull out my Dutch oven, I put the recipe to the test.

Since I am slightly allergic to beer (and am skeptical about the tomato paste), I chose to make a few substitutions: 1 tablespoon of distilled white vinegar for the Worcestershire, 2 small potatoes instead of 2 parsnips, and 1 spoonful of honey to help thicken the sauce (rather than the tomato paste).

The potatoes add another benefit: Since I did not include beer in my stew, the starch from the potatoes helped create the same effect as incorporating the beer. For a less starchy vegetable, stick with the parsnips.

Erin Dickman for Taste of Home

The Pioneer Woman beef stew is fairly simple to follow, and it takes about 3 hours to complete. Since most of the time is spent in a Dutch oven, this beef stew is easy and simple for anyone to prepare. For this recipe, I used the Our Place Always ceramic nonstick pan, but any Dutch oven would work. This recipe yields 8 servings.

Erin Dickman for Taste of Home

Heat the olive oil and butter in a Dutch oven or ceramic nonstick pan at medium heat. Once the pot is thoroughly heated, add the beef and brown on both sides. I added a little bit of salt and pepper at this stage to help extract some of the natural flavors of the meat, but this is optional. Once cooked, remove the beef from the pot and place aside.

Add onions and garlic to the pot. Cook for about 3 minutes, or until translucent.

Erin Dickman for Taste of Home

Add beer, beef broth, Worcestershire sauce, tomato paste, sugar and paprika to the pot. Add salt and pepper to taste. Mix thoroughly. During this stage, I used distilled white vinegar and a spoonful of honey, and did not include the tomato paste.

Add the cooked beef stew meat back into the pot. Cover and simmer at a low heat for 1 hour and 30 minutes, or until the meat is tender enough to pull apart with a fork.

Editor’s Note: During this stage, feel free to add more broth if needed to keep the liquid level high in the pot.

Add the parsnips, turnips and carrots to the pot and mix. Continue to simmer for about 30 minutes, or until the vegetables are tender and the liquid has reduced further. During this stage, I used potatoes instead of parsnips. They are prepared and cooked the same way.

Erin Dickman for Taste of Home

If the beef stew looks too liquidy, The Pioneer Woman recipe suggests taking out a little bit of the broth liquid and mixing it with the optional 2 tablespoons of flour. This creates a slurry. Once added back to the stew, it will help thicken up the broth into a more sauce-like texture. Simmer for about 10 more minutes, adding more slurry mixture as needed to reach desired thickness.

Once thoroughly cooked, remove from heat and set aside. Add parsley to the stew and mix evenly. Distribute the stew into serving bowls, and top with fresh parsley.

Erin Dickman for Taste of Home

What an incredible stew! Growing up in the South, stews have been a large part of my diet, so I am familiar with a slow-cooked pot of meat. But Ree Drummond’s beef stew took it to another level. The tender meat mixed with the sweetness of the sauce creates such a delicious balance that is simply to die for.

My only critique is that I would include more salt and pepper after introducing each new ingredient. This is not a large note, since everyone is different in their flavor preference.

Stew Cup Health Pot Ceramic Slow Cooker The Pioneer Woman beef stew would pair nicely with mashed potatoes, cheese grits or on a simple bed of rice. I served mine in a large bowl with the serving pot close by just in case I needed those seconds.