That sounds what I do. Some use sherry, but I just like to use whiskey or wine with the browning beef, and I like to brown some onions with the beef and reserve the other half to simmer in, you can’t really have too many onions in a stew. They just turn sweet after all those hours on the stove. Coffee is excellent too - a big mug, very strong is about right, or even dredge the beef in a coffee flour mixture. Even beer in lieu of water or broth adds a wonderful flavor. One thing that I haven’t added to my stews, which I like in some commercial varieties, are lima beans. My dad used to add turnips, which, unless I am starving in Elbonia, I’m not having. See “Nail Soup”.
Hijack: The same applies, of course, to chili, which is essentially a form of stew.
You could try using beef stock or wine (or both) instead of vegetable stock.
There’s such thing as vegetable stock?!
(The OP speaks of mirepoix, but what the Wikipedia describes does not appear to be a form of stock.)
A No Peek Stew is one of my favorite stews… the long cooking time lends flavor, and tenderness to the stew meat and there is a certain rich beefy flavor. In these recipes you do not normally brown the stew meat. I think that somehow the very lean stew meat toughens and exudes all of its juices and flavor too quickly in a harsh sear. This stew is a long slow braise and really extracts the essential flavors.
Some of the no peek stew recipes call for tomato soup but if that doesn’t really appeal, I can attest that a can of tomato sauce along with a can of tomatoes substitutes even better.
I use the routine flour, salt and pepper before I brown it. But I brown it fairly quickly on all sides. That seals in the juices when you do it quickly. Then I cover it well with water and then start simmering it on about “3.”
But before I walk away, I empty the spice cabinet into the stew. Be brave! Be foolhearty! I use everything that won’t hurt my teeth. I particularly like Indian spices: curry, cumin, and tumeric. If you know already that you like it, add ground cilantro. Tarragon is heavenly and unexpected. Dry mustard is sharp and tangy. Ground red pepper and/or tobasco. Do they still make Vegetable Delight? Throw it in!
Keep water hot on the stove to keep adding as the meat cooks down. Keep going until the so-called “broth” tastes good to you on a piece of bread.
When the meat is edible, but not tender, throw in about twenty new potatoes cut to a reasonable size. When they almost give way to a fork, add a package of regular old frozen stew veggies. Also add a medium-sized can of whole kernel corn, juice and all. Throw in rings of fresh onion and fresh chopped garlic if you like. Cook until all is tender.
You WILL have flavor.
He mentions that he deglazes with vegetable broth after the mirepoix. Broth, stock; close enough.
So threads about oral sex belong here now?
Well I’ve always said the way I do it is an artform.
No, it doesn’t. But the rest of the “recipe” sounds fantastic! I’ve never considered using Indian spices in a not-expressly-Indian dish. Tarragon is also one of my favorites right now. I love it on petite peas - I use frozen peas and just nuke 'em with some dried tarragon until warm, then add a pat of butter and some salt and black pepper. Heavenly! I don’t know why tarragon isn’t more popular.
This is my favorite no fail stew–best with lamb but beef, buffalo, elk or venison will do just as well.
One inch cubes of meat, dredged in flour with garlic salt and pepper, browned in olive oil in the bottom of a cast iron Dutch oven. Small batches.
After all the meat is browned, deglaze with four cups or so of finely sliced onions and five or six cloves of chopped garlic. Cook, stirring and scraping the crunchy bits off the bottom until the onions are starting to caramelize. Add a small can of tomato sauce or a shot of ketchup. Add a couple tablespoons of grated orange peel, fresh is best. Add thyme, bay leaf, oregano, whatever you like in the way of hearty aromatics. The only liquid to use is cheap red wine–zinfandel, merlot, cabernet, the cheaper and stronger tasting the better. Bring just to a boil, add the meat back in and cover with foil, then put the lid on very tightly.
Bake in a 375-400 degree oven for a couple hours, giving it a good stir once or twice. When it’s all lovely and thick and the meat is very tender, gently fold in a couple cups of crimini mushrooms sliced in thick pieces, and a pound bag of baby carrots. Bake for another 45 mins to an hour, or just until the carrots are tender. Serve in a bread bowl for maximum slut factor, or just accompany with fresh sourdough bread and butter.
This is the official “first day it feels like winter” dinner.
There are tough cuts and there are tough cuts.
Shoulder of beef is ideal, as it is flavorful and full of marbling and gelatinous tissue. Look for chuck roast or shoulder clod and cut up your stewing meat yourself.
As mentioned, cuts like top round will come out tasteless and woolly, and should be avoided. The pre-cut-up “stew beef” at the supermarket is probably top round and other tasteless, hard-to-sell parts of the cow. Every once in awhile I forget this fact, buy the stewing beef, and rediscover why I should avoid it. No amount of careful browning, long simmering or artful seasoning will do much with a tasteless fibrous cut like this.
I have to say that I disagree with this. I’m fairly picky about my meat, but I’ve got some great dishes made with ‘stewing beef’ from the store.
Probably will remain the minority opinion, but ehh well. 
I can recommend this recipe from Delia Smith. Tastes pretty good to me 
She uses braising steak in this version - before she went up market she used to recommend a cheaper cut such as shin (?shank in the States?) with plenty of connective tissue in it to add to the sauce as it cooked and I still think that is your best bet.
Note: By “designer beer” she means a pale ale, bitter, or even stout; anything but lager :eek:
I live in the midwest so even “meat for stew” is decent enough? It may be that some areas of the country aren’t getting the better quality beef. Even here there is some variance. I agree a long slow simmer will make stew meat very tender, until it falls apart, which is acceptable for stew. It is for me anyway. For all that, sirloin or other steak cuts are certainly fine, and I wouldn’t kick them out of my stew! But stew is all about turning lesser cuts into something that isn’t objectionable to my way of thinking.
Personally, I wouldn’t put anything too hoppy in a stew (like a pale ale, depending on the brand). Stouts and porters are great for stews. And actually so are lagers. Something like a Sam Adams works perfectly fine in a stew. Or any dark lager. Bocks (another type of lager) are good, too.