Beef Tzimmes
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A comforting beef and vegetable stew sweetened with dried fruit, tzimmes is a Jewish holiday staple, especially on Rosh Hashanah.
This is a cheffy take on my grandmother’s tzimmes, a comforting beef and vegetable stew sweetened with dried fruit and orange juice. Tzimmes is a staple at Jewish holiday tables, especially on Rosh Hashanah, when we enjoy sweet, honey-flavored dishes to symbolize a prosperous new year. In Yiddish, “tzimmes” (pronounced tsi-miss) means to make a big fuss—and it’s true, tzimmes does require a bit of effort. But trust me, it’s completely worth it. Plus, the aroma of tzimmes simmering on the stove for hours is almost as satisfying as the dish itself. While many versions are made without beef and served as a side, this one stands alone as a hearty main course. Serve with matzo ball soup and apple cake.
Table of Contents
What You’ll Need To Make Beef Tzimmes
The most important thing is to start with the right cut of meat. You want to buy chuck roast that is well-marbled—that means it should have a good amount of white veins of fat running through it. Stay away from meat generically packaged as “stew meat,” especially if it looks lean (I can guarantee you it will not get tender, no matter how long you cook it).
Step-by-Step Instructions
Begin by removing any large chunks of fat that are easy to get to but don’t overdo it with the trimming, as the fat helps make the beef tender.
Pat the beef dry and season with the salt and pepper.
After heating the oil over medium-high heat until it’s hot and shimmering, place half of the beef in the pan and brown, turning with tongs, for about 5 minutes
To sear the meat properly, let the meat develop a nice brown crust before turning.
Add the onions, garlic, and balsamic vinegar to the pot; cook, stirring with a wooden spoon and scraping the brown bits from the bottom of the pan, for about 5 minutes.
Add the tomato paste and cook for 1 minute more.
Add the beef with its juices back to the pan and sprinkle with the flour.
Stir with the wooden spoon until the flour is dissolved.
Add the orange juice, water, beef broth, bay leaf, rosemary, 2 teaspoons of the thyme, and the sugar. Stir to loosen any brown bits from the bottom of the pan and bring to a boil.
After the stew has cooked for 2 hours, add the carrots and apricots. Cover and continue cooking for 30 minutes.
Add the sweet potatoes and prunes and cook for 30 minutes more.
Fish out the bay leaf and rosemary sprigs and discard. Taste and adjust seasoning, if necessary. Serve the stew or let it come to room temperature and then store in the refrigerator overnight or until ready to serve. (The flavor of the stew improves if made at least 1 day ahead.) Reheat, covered, over medium heat until hot throughout. Garnish with the remaining fresh thyme leaves.
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Beef Tzimmes
A comforting beef and vegetable stew sweetened with dried fruit, tzimmes is a Jewish holiday staple, especially on Rosh Hashanah.
Ingredients
- 3 pounds boneless beef chuck (well-marbled), cut into 1½-inch pieces
- 2 teaspoons salt
- 1 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
- 3 tablespoons olive oil
- 2 medium yellow onions, cut into 1-inch chunks
- 5 large cloves garlic, peeled and smashed
- 2 tablespoons balsamic vinegar
- 1 tablespoon tomato paste
- ¼ cup all-purpose flour
- ½ cup orange juice, from 2 oranges
- ½ cup water
- 4 cups beef broth
- 1 bay leaf
- 2 sprigs fresh rosemary
- 4 teaspoons fresh thyme leaves, divided
- 1 tablespoon brown sugar
- 4 large carrots, peeled and cut into one-inch chunks on a diagonal
- ½ cup dried apricots
- 1 pound sweet potatoes, peeled and cut into one-inch chunks
- ½ cup prunes
Instructions
- Pat the beef dry and season with the salt and pepper. In a large Dutch oven or heavy soup pot, heat 1½ tablespoons of the olive oil over medium-high heat until hot and shimmering. Place half of the beef in the pan and brown, turning with tongs, for about 5 minutes; add the remaining oil and brown the remaining beef. (To sear the meat properly, let the meat develop a nice brown crust before turning with tongs.) Transfer the meat to a large plate and set aside.
- Add the onions, garlic, and balsamic vinegar to the pot; cook, stirring with a wooden spoon and scraping the brown bits from the bottom of the pan, for about 5 minutes. Add the tomato paste and cook for 1 minute more. Add the beef with its juices back to the pan and sprinkle with the flour. Stir with the wooden spoon until the flour is dissolved, about 1 minute. Add the orange juice, water, beef broth, bay leaf, rosemary, 2 teaspoons of the thyme, and the sugar. Stir to loosen any brown bits from the bottom of the pan and bring to a boil. Cover the pot with a lid, reduce the heat to a simmer, and cook for 2 hours.
- Add the carrots and apricots. Cover and continue cooking for 30 minutes. Add the sweet potatoes and prunes and cook for 30 minutes more, or until all the vegetables and meat are tender. Fish out the bay leaf and rosemary sprigs and discard. Taste and adjust seasoning if necessary. Serve the stew or let it come to room temperature and then store in the refrigerator overnight or until ready to serve. The flavor of the stew improves if made at least 1 day ahead.) Reheat, covered, over medium heat until hot throughout. Garnish with the remaining fresh thyme leaves.
- Freezer-Friendly Instructions: The stew can be frozen for up to 3 months. Just omit the sweet potatoes because they don’t freeze well. If you’d like, boil some sweet potatoes separately when you defrost the stew and either add them into the stew prior to serving or serve them on the side. Defrost the stew in the refrigerator for 24 hours before you plan to serve it and then reheat on the stovetop over medium heat until hot.
Pair with
Nutrition Information
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- Per serving (6 servings)
- Calories: 590
- Fat: 18 g
- Saturated fat: 6 g
- Carbohydrates: 53 g
- Sugar: 18 g
- Fiber: 6 g
- Protein: 56 g
- Sodium: 1,374 mg
- Cholesterol: 143 mg
This website is written and produced for informational purposes only. I am not a certified nutritionist and the nutritional data on this site has not been evaluated or approved by a nutritionist or the Food and Drug Administration. Nutritional information is offered as a courtesy and should not be construed as a guarantee. The data is calculated through an online nutritional calculator, Edamam.com. Although I do my best to provide accurate nutritional information, these figures should be considered estimates only. Varying factors such as product types or brands purchased, natural fluctuations in fresh produce, and the way ingredients are processed change the effective nutritional information in any given recipe. Furthermore, different online calculators provide different results depending on their own nutrition fact sources and algorithms. To obtain the most accurate nutritional information in a given recipe, you should calculate the nutritional information with the actual ingredients used in your recipe, using your preferred nutrition calculator.
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Hi Jen,
My aunt has celiac disease. Would it be ok to use corn starch as a substitute to all purpose flour?
Thanks for your help!
Hi Nicole, Sure, either cornstarch or gluten-free flour will work. If you’d like to use cornstarch, at the very end of cooking time, make a “slurry” by combining 2T cornstarch with 2T cold water; mix until completely smooth. Whisk half of the slurry into the stew and bring to a gentle boil on the stovetop and simmer until the broth is thickened and any starchy taste has been cooked away. If you want the broth thicker, add the remaining slurry and repeat. Enjoy!
Sounds great! Thank you 👍🏼🙏
As I understand it, I am supposed to cook the carrots and and apricots for 30 minutes, after which I add the sweet potatoes and prunes and cook for an additional 30 minutes. Is there any reason I can’t add all four items at the same time and just cook for 30 minutes? I started this a little late tonight and would love to shave 30 minutes off.
Hi Tess, I’m obviously weighing in too late to help but the reason I have the recipe written that way is so the prunes and sweet potatoes don’t get too soft, but if you make this again and are really pressed for time, it wouldn’t be the end of the world to add them together. Hope you enjoyed it!
Hi Jenn, this looks wonderful and am making it for the first time tomorrow. General question about the beef. The beef in your photo has a large chunk of fat in the middle, as does my piece of beef. Would you normally cut that out, or throw it in the pot?
Hi Karen, I would remove the large chunks of fat, but be sure not to overdo it because the fat helps to make the beef tender. Hope you enjoy!
I made this recipe for the second time today; last time was in September of 2020. I mustn’t wait so long next time. This is among my top 10 favorite recipes! It delicious. I shared photos of all the prep, mise en place-style, on Facebook last time, but I don’t use Instagram. Maybe I’ll try to figure it out and post a shot of the finished dish.
ABSOLUTELY DELICIOUS! I followed the directions exactly the way it was presented. Didn’t add or take away anything! Will make it again, real soon. Thank you.
Can you use brisket instead of chuck roast
I wouldn’t recommend it — sorry!
This was amazing! Awesome combo of flavors. I’ve never tried cooking with a hunk of beef like this but the way Jenn gave step by step instructions really helped. Hearty dish but doesn’t leave you feeling too full.
I’ve made this a few times, and it’s always delicious! My family is not big on sweet potatoes, though, so I always sub in regular potatoes. I love the sweetness from the prunes and apricots!
Making for our Christmas dinner for the second year in a row. Thanks Jenn… 😉
Argh I was planning to make this in the morning and realized I forgot the prunes. Can I double the apricots instead?
Sure, that should be fine. Hope you enjoy! 🙂