Instant Pot Beef Stew

This is a really delicious beef stew made in the Instant Pot in about 1 hour.  The gravy is so flavorful.  I adapted the recipe on a blog called sweetandsavorymeals.com

Beef:

1 1/2 - 2 lbs. stew meat cut into 1 1/2" cubes
         (I like the grass fed stew meat  at Whole Foods)
2 tablespoons flour
1 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon ground black pepper
2 - 3 tablespoons canola or olive oil

Ingredients:

1/2 cup water
1 small sweet onion, chopped
3 cloves garlic, minced
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon pepper
1 tablespoon dried rosemary
1 tablespoon dried thyme
2 tablespoons tomato paste
2 tablespoons Worcestershire sauce
1 tablespoon brown sugar
2 cups organic beef stock
2 carrots, peeled and chopped into 1 inch chunks
8 ounces baby Bella mushrooms, washed, trimmed and quartered
1 pound new mini potatoes or Yukon Gold potatoes (I used Yukon Gold)
1 bunch fresh thyme, tied in a bundle

Cornstarch thickener:
3 tablespoons cornstarch
3 tablespoons water

Instructions

Add beef chunks to a large bowl, sprinkle flour, sprinkle with flour, salt and pepper onto it.  Stir to combine.

Turn on the Instant Pot and select Saute.  Once hot add oil to the pot.  Cook the beef in batches 2-3 minutes on each side until brown.  Remove the beef from the pot, cover with foil and set aside.

Add the water to the Instant Pot to deglaze it, using a wooden spoon scrape the bottom of the pot well to remove any bits that are stuck.  Make sure you scrape it well to avoid burning during cooking.

Add the chopped onion and garlic and cook for 1 minute.  Add salt, pepper, dried rosemary, thyme.  Stir to combine.  Add tomato paste, Worcestershire sauce, brown and sugar and beef stock.  Stir to combine.  Add beef back to the pot followed by the chopped carrots, mushrooms and potatoes.

Make sure you don't go over the Max line of your pot.  Add the bunch of fresh thyme on top.

Close the lid and seal the valve.  

Cook for 35 minutes on High Pressure.  Once the Instant Pot beeps, do a 15 minute Natural Pressure Release.  Manually release the remaining pressure.

Discard thyme.

Mix the cornstarch and water in a bowl until well combined.  With the Instant Pot on Saute, add the mixture to the pot and gently stir.  Cook for 2-3 minutes until the sauce thickens.