Beef stew is a dish of tough, well-marbled beef cut into pieces and cooked slowly in liquid with vegetables until tender.
Stew is often confused with braise: a stew fully submerges smaller, bite-sized pieces of meat in liquid and cooks everything together in one pot, while a braise typically starts with larger, seared cuts only partly covered in liquid and finishes covered in the oven. The techniques overlap, but stew leans toward smaller pieces and a thicker, all-in-one dish.
Common cuts include chuck, round, and brisket, chosen for connective tissue that breaks down into gelatin over long cooking. Regional versions share the technique but vary the seasoning: French boeuf bourguignon, Irish stew, and Latin American beef stews spiced with cumin and chili are all built the same way.
Beef stew is typically served with crusty bread, mashed potatoes, or rice to soak up the broth.